Marie-France Pisier
Encyclopedia
Marie-France Pisier was a French actress. She appeared in numerous films of the French New Wave
and twice earned the national César Award
for Best Supporting Actress.
, where her father was serving as colonial governor of French Indochina
. Her younger brother, Gilles Pisier
, is a mathematician and a member of the French Academy of Sciences
. Her sister, Evelyne, was the first wife of Bernard Kouchner
, a French politician and the co-founder of Doctors Without Borders
.
The family moved to Paris when Marie-France was twelve years old. Five years later she made her screen acting debut for director François Truffaut
in his 1962 film, Antoine and Colette
. Pisier had a brief but incendiary romance with the older, married Truffault. Despite its end, she later appeared in Truffaut's Stolen Kisses
(Baiser volés, 1968) and Love on the Run
(L'Amour en fuite, 1979). Love on the Run was the fifth and final film in Truffaut's series about the character Antoine Doinel
, and Pisier was credited as a co-writer of the screenplay. In a review in The New York Times, film critic Vincent Canby
praised her for a "ravishing performance".
Pisier later collaborated on the screenplay to Jacques Rivette
's Celine and Julie Go Boating
(Céline et Julie vont en bâteau, 1974); she also played a significant supporting role in the film. Later in the same year she had a role in Luis Buñuel
’s Phantom of Liberty.
She gained widespread public recognition in 1975 when she appeared in Jean-Charles Tacchella
's popular comedy, Cousin, Cousine
. Her role as the volatile Karine earned her a César Award for Best Supporting Actress.
Her subsequent feature films included three with director André Téchiné
: French Provincial
(Souvenirs en France, 1975); The Bronte Sisters
(Les Sœurs Brontë, 1979), in which she portrayed Charlotte; and Barocco
(1976), for which she won a second César for her performance alongside Isabelle Adjani
and Gérard Depardieu
.
Pisier attempted to crack the American film industry with The Other Side of Midnight
(1977), adapted from a Sidney Sheldon
novel. She appeared on American television in the miniseries The French Atlantic Affair
(1979), and Scruples
the following year. She made two more Hollywood films, French Postcards (1979) with Debra Winger
and Chanel Solitaire
(1981) with Timothy Dalton
.
Returning to France, Pisier made her directorial debut with The Governor's Party (Le Bal du gouverneur, 1990), which she adapted from her own novel. She also played Madame Verdurin in Raúl Ruiz's adaptation of Marcel Proust
, Time Regained (Le Temps retrouvé, 1999).
Pisier's first marriage ended in divorce. She resided in Saint-Cyr-sur-Mer
, Var, and was married to Thierry Funck-Brentano. The couple had a son, Mathieu and daughter, Iris.
made a public statement honouring “her supreme elegance born of the most perfect simplicity.”
French New Wave
The New Wave was a blanket term coined by critics for a group of French filmmakers of the late 1950s and 1960s, influenced by Italian Neorealism and classical Hollywood cinema. Although never a formally organized movement, the New Wave filmmakers were linked by their self-conscious rejection of...
and twice earned the national César Award
César Award
The César Award is the national film award of France, first given out in 1975. The nominations are selected by the members of the Académie des arts et techniques du cinéma....
for Best Supporting Actress.
Life and career
Pisier was born in Dalat, French IndochinaFrench Indochina
French Indochina was part of the French colonial empire in southeast Asia. A federation of the three Vietnamese regions, Tonkin , Annam , and Cochinchina , as well as Cambodia, was formed in 1887....
, where her father was serving as colonial governor of French Indochina
French Indochina
French Indochina was part of the French colonial empire in southeast Asia. A federation of the three Vietnamese regions, Tonkin , Annam , and Cochinchina , as well as Cambodia, was formed in 1887....
. Her younger brother, Gilles Pisier
Gilles Pisier
Gilles I. Pisier is a Professor of Mathematics at the Pierre and Marie Curie University and a Distinguished Professor and A.G. and M.E. Owen Chair of Mathematics at the Texas A&M University. He is known for his contributions to several fields of mathematics, including functional analysis,...
, is a mathematician and a member of the French Academy of Sciences
French Academy of Sciences
The French Academy of Sciences is a learned society, founded in 1666 by Louis XIV at the suggestion of Jean-Baptiste Colbert, to encourage and protect the spirit of French scientific research...
. Her sister, Evelyne, was the first wife of Bernard Kouchner
Bernard Kouchner
Bernard Kouchner is a French politician, diplomat, and doctor. He is co-founder of Médecins Sans Frontières and Médecins du Monde...
, a French politician and the co-founder of Doctors Without Borders
Médecins Sans Frontières
' , or Doctors Without Borders, is a secular humanitarian-aid non-governmental organization best known for its projects in war-torn regions and developing countries facing endemic diseases. Its headquarters are in Geneva, Switzerland...
.
The family moved to Paris when Marie-France was twelve years old. Five years later she made her screen acting debut for director François Truffaut
François Truffaut
François Roland Truffaut was an influential film critic and filmmaker and one of the founders of the French New Wave. In a film career lasting over a quarter of a century, he remains an icon of the French film industry. He was also a screenwriter, producer, and actor working on over twenty-five...
in his 1962 film, Antoine and Colette
Antoine and Colette
Antoine and Colette is the second film — a short — in François Truffaut's series about Antoine Doinel, the character he follows from boyhood to adulthood through five films...
. Pisier had a brief but incendiary romance with the older, married Truffault. Despite its end, she later appeared in Truffaut's Stolen Kisses
Stolen Kisses
Stolen Kisses is a 1968 French film directed by François Truffaut. It continues the story of the character Antoine Doinel, whom Truffaut had previously depicted in The 400 Blows and the short film Antoine and Colette...
(Baiser volés, 1968) and Love on the Run
Love on the Run (1979 film)
Love on the Run is a 1979 French film directed by François Truffaut. It is Truffaut's fifth and final film about the character Antoine Doinel. A lot of the film is made of a "clip show" of the previous films in the series...
(L'Amour en fuite, 1979). Love on the Run was the fifth and final film in Truffaut's series about the character Antoine Doinel
Antoine Doinel
Antoine Doinel is a fictional character created by French film director François Truffaut. Doinel is to a great extent an alter ego for Truffaut, sharing many of the same childhood experiences, looking somewhat alike and even being mistaken for one another on the street.Although Truffaut did not...
, and Pisier was credited as a co-writer of the screenplay. In a review in The New York Times, film critic Vincent Canby
Vincent Canby
Vincent Canby was an American film critic who became the chief film critic for The New York Times in 1969 and reviewed more than 1000 films during his tenure there.-Life and career:...
praised her for a "ravishing performance".
Pisier later collaborated on the screenplay to Jacques Rivette
Jacques Rivette
Jacques Rivette is a French film director. His most well known films include Celine and Julie Go Boating, La Belle Noiseuse and the cult film Out 1....
's Celine and Julie Go Boating
Celine and Julie Go Boating
Céline and Julie Go Boating is a 1974 French film directed by Jacques Rivette.Shot casually in a documentary style, we see a red-haired woman—we will learn that it is Julie --sitting on a bench in a pleasant but rather non-descript Parisian park. She is reading a book, we can see, on magic...
(Céline et Julie vont en bâteau, 1974); she also played a significant supporting role in the film. Later in the same year she had a role in Luis Buñuel
Luis Buñuel
Luis Buñuel Portolés was a Spanish-born filmmaker — later a naturalized citizen of Mexico — who worked in Spain, Mexico, France and the US..-Early years:...
’s Phantom of Liberty.
She gained widespread public recognition in 1975 when she appeared in Jean-Charles Tacchella
Jean-Charles Tacchella
Jean-Charles Tacchella is a French screenwriter and film director. He was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay for his film Cousin, Cousine , which was also nominated for the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film and which was later remade in a US version starring...
's popular comedy, Cousin, Cousine
Cousin, cousine
Cousin, cousine is a 1975 French film which tells the story of cousins-by-marriage who have an affair when they discover that their spouses have been unfaithful. It stars Marie-Christine Barrault, Victor Lanoux and Marie-France Pisier....
. Her role as the volatile Karine earned her a César Award for Best Supporting Actress.
Her subsequent feature films included three with director André Téchiné
André Téchiné
André Téchiné , is a French screenwriter and film director. He has had a long and distinguished career that places him among the best post-New Wave French film directors....
: French Provincial
French Provincial
French Provincial is a 1975 French drama film directed by André Téchiné, starring Jeanne Moreau, Michel Auclair and Marie-France Pisier. The film presents an overview of French life and politics though the changes within one family in southwestern France from the 1930s through the 1970s.-Plot :At...
(Souvenirs en France, 1975); The Bronte Sisters
The Bronte Sisters
The Bronte Sisters is a 1979 French drama film directed by André Téchiné, starring Isabelle Adjani, Marie-France Pisier and Isabelle Huppert. The film tells the story of the famous Brontë sisters: Charlotte, Emily and Anne and their brother Branwell...
(Les Sœurs Brontë, 1979), in which she portrayed Charlotte; and Barocco
Barocco
Barocco is a 1976 French romantic thriller film, directed by André Téchiné. The film stars Isabelle Adjani, Gérard Depardieu and Marie-France Pisier. Identity, redemption and resurrection are the themes of the film. The plot follows a young woman who convinces her boxer boyfriend to accept a bribe...
(1976), for which she won a second César for her performance alongside Isabelle Adjani
Isabelle Adjani
Isabelle Yasmine Adjani is a French film actress and singer. Adjani has appeared in 30 films since 1970. She holds the record for most César Awards for Best Actress with five, for Possession , One Deadly Summer , Camille Claudel , Queen Margot and Skirt Day...
and Gérard Depardieu
Gérard Depardieu
Gérard Xavier Marcel Depardieu is a French actor and filmmaker. He is a Chevalier of the Légion d'honneur, Chevalier of the Ordre national du Mérite and has twice won the César Award for Best Actor...
.
Pisier attempted to crack the American film industry with The Other Side of Midnight
The Other Side of Midnight (film)
The Other Side of Midnight is a 1977 American film directed by Charles Jarrott and starring Marie-France Pisier, John Beck and Susan Sarandon...
(1977), adapted from a Sidney Sheldon
Sidney Sheldon
Sidney Sheldon was an Academy Award-winning American writer. His TV works spanned a 20-year period during which he created The Patty Duke Show , I Dream of Jeannie and Hart to Hart , but he became most famous after he turned 50 and began writing best-selling novels such as Master of the Game ,...
novel. She appeared on American television in the miniseries The French Atlantic Affair
The French Atlantic Affair
The French Atlantic Affair is a novel by Ernest Lehman which was published in 1977. A 3 part TV miniseries based on the book was produced and broadcast in 1979.-Plot:...
(1979), and Scruples
Scruples (TV miniseries)
Scruples is a 1980 television mini-series, based on the 1978 novel by Judith Krantz. It was produced by Warner Bros. Television and starred Lindsay Wagner.Scruples included the final screen appearance of Gene Tierney.-Plot:...
the following year. She made two more Hollywood films, French Postcards (1979) with Debra Winger
Debra Winger
Mary Debra Winger is an American actress. Three-times an Oscar nominee, she received awards for acting in Terms of Endearment, for which she won the National Society of Film Critics Award for Best Actress in 1983, and in A Dangerous Woman, for which she won the Tokyo International Film Festival...
and Chanel Solitaire
Chanel Solitaire
Chanel Solitaite is a 1981 British-French historical drama film directed by George Kaczender and starring Marie-France Pisier, Timothy Dalton, Rutger Hauer, Brigitte Fossey, Karen Black. The film's subject was Coco Chanel. Its budget was around $7 million....
(1981) with Timothy Dalton
Timothy Dalton
Timothy Peter Dalton ) is a Welsh actor of film and television. He is known for portraying James Bond in The Living Daylights and Licence to Kill , as well as Rhett Butler in the television miniseries Scarlett , an original sequel to Gone with the Wind...
.
Returning to France, Pisier made her directorial debut with The Governor's Party (Le Bal du gouverneur, 1990), which she adapted from her own novel. She also played Madame Verdurin in Raúl Ruiz's adaptation of Marcel Proust
Marcel Proust
Valentin Louis Georges Eugène Marcel Proust was a French novelist, critic, and essayist best known for his monumental À la recherche du temps perdu...
, Time Regained (Le Temps retrouvé, 1999).
Pisier's first marriage ended in divorce. She resided in Saint-Cyr-sur-Mer
Saint-Cyr-sur-Mer
Saint-Cyr-sur-Mer is a commune in the Var department in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region in southeastern France.In addition to Saint-Cyr itself, the commune includes the villages of Les Lecques, a port and beach resort, and La Madrague, a small port.The town square of Saint-Cyr contains a...
, Var, and was married to Thierry Funck-Brentano. The couple had a son, Mathieu and daughter, Iris.
Death
The 66-year-old actress died on 24 April 2011. She was found dead in her swimming pool by Funck-Brentano and is believed to have drowned. She is survived by her sister Évelyne, brother Gilles, and both children. The local mayor announced her death to the news media, and President Nicolas SarkozyNicolas Sarkozy
Nicolas Sarkozy is the 23rd and current President of the French Republic and ex officio Co-Prince of Andorra. He assumed the office on 16 May 2007 after defeating the Socialist Party candidate Ségolène Royal 10 days earlier....
made a public statement honouring “her supreme elegance born of the most perfect simplicity.”
Filmography
Pisier appeared in more than 70 films including:- Antoine and ColetteAntoine and ColetteAntoine and Colette is the second film — a short — in François Truffaut's series about Antoine Doinel, the character he follows from boyhood to adulthood through five films...
(Antoine et Colette) (1962) as Colette - Le Diable et les Dix CommandementsLe Diable et les Dix CommandementsLe Diable et les Dix Commandements , is a French comedy-drama film from 1963, directed by Julien Duvivier, written by David Alexander and Michel Audiard, starring Michel Simon and Louis de Funès...
(1963) - Les Yeux cernésLes Yeux cernésLes Yeux cernés is a 1964 French thriller film directed by Robert Hossein who wrote original story. The screenplay was written by Claude Desailly, André Tabet and Georges Tabet...
(1964) - Trans-Europ-ExpressTrans-Europ-Express (film)Trans-Europ-Express is a 1966 film written and directed by Alain Robbe-Grillet and starring Jean-Louis Trintignant and Marie-France Pisier. The title refers to the Trans Europ Express, a former international rail network in Europe....
(1966) - Stolen KissesStolen KissesStolen Kisses is a 1968 French film directed by François Truffaut. It continues the story of the character Antoine Doinel, whom Truffaut had previously depicted in The 400 Blows and the short film Antoine and Colette...
(Baisers volés) (1968) as Colette Tazzi (uncredited) - The Phantom of Liberty (Le Fantôme de la liberté) (1974)
- Celine and Julie Go BoatingCeline and Julie Go BoatingCéline and Julie Go Boating is a 1974 French film directed by Jacques Rivette.Shot casually in a documentary style, we see a red-haired woman—we will learn that it is Julie --sitting on a bench in a pleasant but rather non-descript Parisian park. She is reading a book, we can see, on magic...
(Céline et Julie vont en bateau) (1974) - Souvenirs d'en FranceFrench ProvincialFrench Provincial is a 1975 French drama film directed by André Téchiné, starring Jeanne Moreau, Michel Auclair and Marie-France Pisier. The film presents an overview of French life and politics though the changes within one family in southwestern France from the 1930s through the 1970s.-Plot :At...
(French Provincial) (1975) - Cousin, cousineCousin, cousineCousin, cousine is a 1975 French film which tells the story of cousins-by-marriage who have an affair when they discover that their spouses have been unfaithful. It stars Marie-Christine Barrault, Victor Lanoux and Marie-France Pisier....
(1975) as Karine - BaroccoBaroccoBarocco is a 1976 French romantic thriller film, directed by André Téchiné. The film stars Isabelle Adjani, Gérard Depardieu and Marie-France Pisier. Identity, redemption and resurrection are the themes of the film. The plot follows a young woman who convinces her boxer boyfriend to accept a bribe...
(1976) as Nelly - The Other Side of MidnightThe Other Side of Midnight (film)The Other Side of Midnight is a 1977 American film directed by Charles Jarrott and starring Marie-France Pisier, John Beck and Susan Sarandon...
(1977) as Noelle Page - Le corps de mon ennemi (1978) as Gilberte Liegeard
- Love on the RunLove on the Run (1979 film)Love on the Run is a 1979 French film directed by François Truffaut. It is Truffaut's fifth and final film about the character Antoine Doinel. A lot of the film is made of a "clip show" of the previous films in the series...
(L'amour en fuite) (1979) as Colette Tazzi - The Bronte SistersThe Bronte SistersThe Bronte Sisters is a 1979 French drama film directed by André Téchiné, starring Isabelle Adjani, Marie-France Pisier and Isabelle Huppert. The film tells the story of the famous Brontë sisters: Charlotte, Emily and Anne and their brother Branwell...
(1979) - ScruplesScruples (TV miniseries)Scruples is a 1980 television mini-series, based on the 1978 novel by Judith Krantz. It was produced by Warner Bros. Television and starred Lindsay Wagner.Scruples included the final screen appearance of Gene Tierney.-Plot:...
(1980) TV mini-series as Valentine O'Neill - Chanel SolitaireChanel SolitaireChanel Solitaite is a 1981 British-French historical drama film directed by George Kaczender and starring Marie-France Pisier, Timothy Dalton, Rutger Hauer, Brigitte Fossey, Karen Black. The film's subject was Coco Chanel. Its budget was around $7 million....
(1981) as Gabrielle "Coco" ChanelCoco ChanelGabrielle Bonheur "Coco" Chanel was a pioneering French fashion designer whose modernist thought, menswear-inspired fashions, and pursuit of expensive simplicity made her an important figure in 20th-century fashion. She was the founder of one of the most famous fashion brands, Chanel... - L'as des asL'as des asL'as des as is a 1982 French-German comedy film starring Jean-Paul Belmondo and directed by Gérard Oury.-Plot:...
(1982) - Der Zauberberg [The Magic Mountain] (1982)
- Le Prix du DangerLe Prix du DangerLe Prix du Danger is a 1983 French-Yugoslav science fiction movie, directed by Yves Boisset. It is based on Robert Sheckley's The Prize of Peril, published in 1958.-Story:...
(1983) - Der stille OzeanDer stille OzeanDer stille Ozean is a 1983 Austrian drama film directed by Xaver Schwarzenberger. It was entered into the 33rd Berlin International Film Festival, where it won the Silver Bear for an outstanding single achievement.-Cast:* Hanno Pöschl as Dr...
(1983) - Les NanasLes Nanas-Synopsis:Christine, in her forties, learns that her partner Robert has been having an affair for the past few months. As a liberated woman, Christine refuses to remain in such a situation, and surrounded by her girlfriends who are themselves struggling to find their Mr Right, she takes steps to...
(1985) - ParkingParking (1985 film)Parking is a French fantasy film from 1985. It was directed and written by Jacques Demy, starring Francis Huster, Laurent Malet, and Jean Marais...
(1985) - Le Tiroir secretLe Tiroir secretLe Tiroir secret is a 1986 French family drama TV mini-series directed by Michel Boisrond, Edouard Molinaro, Nadine Trintignant and Roger Gillioz. The screenplay was written by Danièle Thompson, Jean-Patrick Manchette, Patrick Besson and Roger Grenier...
(1986) TV mini-series - The AbyssThe Abyss (1988 film)The Abyss is a 1988 drama film directed by André Delvaux. It was entered into the 1988 Cannes Film Festival. It is based on the novel of the same name by Marguerite Yourcenar.-Cast:* Gian Maria Volonté – Zénon* Sami Frey – Prieur des Cordeliers...
(1988) - Le Fils de GascogneLe Fils de GascogneLe Fils de Gascogne is a French film directed by Pascal Aubier from a scenario by Patrick Modiano and Pascal Aubier, released on 8 May 1996....
(Gascogne's Son) (1996) - Why Not Me?Why Not Me? (film)Why Not Me? is a 1999 French comedy film written and directed by Stéphane Giusti. It is about a group of gay French friends living in Barcelona who decide to have a dinner party and come out to their parents.-Cast:* Amira Casar as Camille...
(1999) as Irene - Time RegainedTime Regained (film)Time Regained is a 1999 French drama film directed by Raúl Ruiz. It is an adaptation of the final volume of In Search of Lost Time by Marcel Proust...
(1999) as Madame Verdurin - Inch'Allah DimancheInch'Allah DimancheInch'Allah Dimanche is a 2001 French/Algerian movie by Yamina Benguigui about the life of an Algerian immigrant woman in France. The film won a variety of international awards, including the 2001 International Critics' Award at the Toronto International Film Festival...
(2001) - PaidPaid (2006 film)Paid is a 2006 English language feature film directed by Laurence Lamers. It was filmed in Netherlands between 2004 and 2005 with Anne Charrier, Murilo Benício, Tom Conti, Guy Marchand, Corbin Bernsen, Marie-France Pisier, Beppe Clerici and Tygo Gernandt....
(2006) - Dans ParisDans ParisDans Paris is a 2006 film starring Romain Duris, Louis Garrel, Guy Marchand, Marie-France Pisier, and Joanna Preiss. It concerns two brothers, Paul and Jonathan , who attempt to help one another out of their respective troubles and worries while living with their divorced father, Mirko...
(Inside Paris) (2006) - Pardonnez-moiPardonnez-moiPardonnez-moi is a 2006 French film written and directed by Maïwenn, starring Maïwenn, Pascal Greggory, Hélène de Fougerolles, and Aurélien Recoing. The film was retitled Forgive Me for the English-language international market...
(2006) - Il reste du jambon? (2010)