Catherine Deneuve

Armed with her mother's maiden name and her father's acting prowess, Catherine Dorleac (daughter of French stage and screen actor Maurice Dorleac) became Catherine Deneuve -- the icy icon of art house cinema best known for her work with directors Roman Polanski and Luis Bunuel.

Born in Paris on Oct. 22, 1943, Deneuve made her film debut at age 13 in Les Collegiennes (1956) and found stardom eight years later, thanks to a breakthrough role in the 1964 French musical Les Parapluies de Cherbourg (The Umbrellas of Cherbourg). Her subsequent roles in Repulsion (1965) and Belle de Jour (1967) solidified her international appeal, and an Oscar-nominated role in Indochine (1992) secured her place in movie history.

Deneuve later won critics' praise for her performance alongside Icelandic singer Bjork in Lars von Trier's Dancer in the Dark (2000).

Filmography