Johanne Harrelle
Encyclopedia
Johanne Harrelle was a Montreal
actress, model, and writer, and the first black woman to rise to prominence in Quebec
and Canada
's fashion world.
She is perhaps most famous for her autobiographical role in Claude Jutra
's first feature, À tout prendre :fr:À tout prendre (1964). Ms. Harrelle, who lived with Jutra for a time, played the lover and companion to the film's other protagonist, Claude, who was played by Jutra himself. Her role in the film, as herself, is very telling as it describes the way in which she was perceived as an exotic outsider in French Canada, and people often assumed that she was Haitian, despite having been born in Montreal. These assumptions are played with in the film, as when she performs a song in patois, Ti-zoizeau http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UNIVDpb6Mt8&feature=PlayList&p=6C22ECD6DD7A2191&playnext=1&index=21
Johanne was baptized Joan Harrell. She was raised with her two brothers in an orphanage after their African American
father died and French Canadian
mother fell ill when she was only 3 years old. She later became known in the fashion world as Johanne Harrelle. Her first appearance on a fashion runway was at Montreal's upscale Ritz Carleton Hotel in the 1950s, when black models were unheard of in Canada.
Harrelle, who was married twice, lived for 15 years with her second husband, the renowned Parisian sociologist Edgar Morin
. She had two sons, Val Harrelle and Alain Cadieux.
Montreal
Montreal is a city in Canada. It is the largest city in the province of Quebec, the second-largest city in Canada and the seventh largest in North America...
actress, model, and writer, and the first black woman to rise to prominence in Quebec
Quebec
Quebec or is a province in east-central Canada. It is the only Canadian province with a predominantly French-speaking population and the only one whose sole official language is French at the provincial level....
and Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
's fashion world.
She is perhaps most famous for her autobiographical role in Claude Jutra
Claude Jutra
Claude Jutra was a Canadian actor, film director and writer. The Prix Jutra are named in his honor because of his importance in Quebec cinema history. He was born and raised in Montreal, Quebec....
's first feature, À tout prendre :fr:À tout prendre (1964). Ms. Harrelle, who lived with Jutra for a time, played the lover and companion to the film's other protagonist, Claude, who was played by Jutra himself. Her role in the film, as herself, is very telling as it describes the way in which she was perceived as an exotic outsider in French Canada, and people often assumed that she was Haitian, despite having been born in Montreal. These assumptions are played with in the film, as when she performs a song in patois, Ti-zoizeau http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UNIVDpb6Mt8&feature=PlayList&p=6C22ECD6DD7A2191&playnext=1&index=21
Johanne was baptized Joan Harrell. She was raised with her two brothers in an orphanage after their African American
African American
African Americans are citizens or residents of the United States who have at least partial ancestry from any of the native populations of Sub-Saharan Africa and are the direct descendants of enslaved Africans within the boundaries of the present United States...
father died and French Canadian
French Canadian
French Canadian or Francophone Canadian, , generally refers to the descendents of French colonists who arrived in New France in the 17th and 18th centuries...
mother fell ill when she was only 3 years old. She later became known in the fashion world as Johanne Harrelle. Her first appearance on a fashion runway was at Montreal's upscale Ritz Carleton Hotel in the 1950s, when black models were unheard of in Canada.
Harrelle, who was married twice, lived for 15 years with her second husband, the renowned Parisian sociologist Edgar Morin
Edgar Morin
Edgar Morin is a French philosopher and sociologist born Edgar Nahoum in Paris on July 8, 1921. He is of Judeo-Spanish origin. He is known for the transdisciplinarity of his works.- Biography :...
. She had two sons, Val Harrelle and Alain Cadieux.