Odette Joyeux was a French actress, playwright and novelist. She was born in Paris, where she studied dance at the Paris Opera Ballet

Paris Opera Ballet

The Paris Opera Ballet is the oldest national ballet company in the world, and many European and international ballet companies can trace their origins to it...

 before taking the stage. Joyeux started her film career in 1931. Her first notable film was Marc Allegret

Marc Allégret

Marc Allégret was a French screenwriter and film director.Born in Basel, Basel-Stadt, Switzerland, he was the elder brother of Yves Allégret. Marc was educated to be a lawyer. Allégret became André Gide's lover when he was fifteen and Gide was forty-seven...

's Entrée des artistes (1938). During the 1940s she established herself as one of France's most popular cinema actresses but made few film appearances after the 1950s.

Joyeux is the author of some plays and essays on dance as well as inventor Nicephore Niepce

Nicéphore Niépce

Nicéphore Niépce March 7, 1765 – July 5, 1833) was a French inventor, most noted as one of the inventors of photography and a pioneer in the field.He is most noted for producing the world's first known photograph in 1825...

. She also wrote two novels aimed to inspire dance: L'Âge heureux (which was adapted to a television series) and Côté jardin. Additionally, Joyeux wrote The Bride Is Much Too Beautiful (1956) (adapted to film).

She married actor Pierre Brasseur

Pierre Brasseur

Pierre Brasseur , born Pierre-Albert Espinasse, was a French actor.He was the son of actor Georges Espinasse and actress Germaine Brasseur while the latter was married to Albert Brasseur. His grandfather, Jules Brasseur, was an actor as well...

 from 1935 until their divorce in 1945, by whom she had one child, Claude Brasseur

Claude Brasseur

-Biography:He was born in Neuilly-sur-Seine as Claude Pierre Espinasse, the son of actor Pierre Brasseur and actress Odette Joyeux. He is the godson of Ernest Hemingway and the father of Alexandre Brasseur....

, who is the father of Alexandre Brasseur

Alexandre Brasseur

Alexandre Brasseur is a French actor. He is the son of actor Claude Brasseur and the grandson of actor Pierre Brasseur.-Filmography:*Le Souper *Les Ténors...

.

In 1958 she married director Philippe Agostini

Philippe Agostini

Philippe Agostini is a French cinematographer, director and screenwriter born 11 August 1910 in Paris , died 20 October 2001. He was married to Odette Joyeux until the end of her life.- Biography :...

. They remained married until her death in Ollioules

Ollioules

Ollioules is a commune in the Var department in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region in southeastern France.-Twin townss:Ollioules is twinned with: Weiler-Simmerberg, Germany, since 2004-2005-References:*Notes...

, Var, Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur

Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur

Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur or PACA is one of the 27 regions of France.It is made up of:* the former French province of Provence* the former papal territory of Avignon, known as Comtat Venaissin...

, France from stroke at age 85.

Honours

• She was made Chevalier (Knight) of the Légion d'honneur
  Légion d'honneur
  The Legion of Honour, or in full the National Order of the Legion of Honour is a French order established by Napoleon Bonaparte, First Consul of the Consulat which succeeded to the First Republic, on 19 May 1802...
  
   on 29 November 1989, and promoted to Officier (Officer) in 1998.
• She was made Officier (Officer) of the Ordre national du Mérite
  Ordre National du Mérite
  The Ordre national du Mérite is an Order of State awarded by the President of the French Republic. It was founded on 3 December 1963 by President Charles de Gaulle...
  
   in 1994.

External links