Capucine
Encyclopedia
Capucine was a French actress and fashion model
best known for her comedic
roles in The Pink Panther
(1963) and What's New Pussycat?
(1965). She appeared in 36 films and 17 television
productions between 1948 and 1990. Her death was a result of suicide
.
, France
on 6 January 1928. (She often confused the issue by saying she was born in 1931 or 1933, and most sources report these years, but there is documentary evidence for a 1928 year of birth.) She attended school in France and received a B.A.
in foreign languages. At 17, while riding in a carriage in Paris
, she was noticed by a commercial photographer. She became a fashion model, working for fashion houses Givenchy
and Christian Dior
. She adopted the name, "Capucine" (French for nasturtium). Capucine met Audrey Hepburn
modeling in Paris. The two would remain friends for the rest of Capucine's life.
; they married the next year. The marriage lasted only six months, and Capucine never married again.
In 1957, film producer
Charles K. Feldman
spotted Capucine while she was modeling in New York City
. Feldman brought her to Hollywood to learn English and study acting under Gregory Ratoff
. She was signed to a contract with Columbia Pictures
in 1958 and landed her first English-speaking role in the film Song Without End
(1960) for which she was nominated for a Golden Globe Award.
For the next few years, Capucine made six more major motion pictures. They included North to Alaska
(1960), a comedy, as a prostitute who becomes the love interest of John Wayne
, and Walk on the Wild Side
(1962), in which she portrayed a redeemed hooker, before moving to Switzerland
in 1962.
Much of 1963's hit film The Pink Panther
was shot in Europe. A crime comedy that led to a number of sequels, the film starred David Niven
and Peter Sellers
along with Capucine.
She continued making films in Europe until her death.
. She later met actor William Holden
in the early 1960s. They starred in the films The Lion (1962) and The 7th Dawn
(1964). Holden was married to Brenda Marshall
, but the two began a two-year affair. After it ended, she and Holden remained friends until Holden's death in 1981.
On 17 March 1990, Capucine jumped from her eighth-floor apartment in Lausanne
, Switzerland
, where she had lived for 28 years, having reportedly suffered from illness and depression for some time.
Model (person)
A model , sometimes called a mannequin, is a person who is employed to display, advertise and promote commercial products or to serve as a subject of works of art....
best known for her comedic
Comedy
Comedy , as a popular meaning, is any humorous discourse or work generally intended to amuse by creating laughter, especially in television, film, and stand-up comedy. This must be carefully distinguished from its academic definition, namely the comic theatre, whose Western origins are found in...
roles in The Pink Panther
The Pink Panther (1963 film)
The Pink Panther is a 1963 American comedy film directed by Blake Edwards and co-written by Edwards and Maurice Richlin, starring David Niven, Peter Sellers, Robert Wagner, Capucine, and Claudia Cardinale...
(1963) and What's New Pussycat?
What's New Pussycat?
What's New Pussycat? is a 1965 comedy film directed by Clive Donner and starring Peter Sellers, Peter O'Toole, Romy Schneider, Capucine, Paula Prentiss and Ursula Andress. It was Woody Allen's film debut, as well as his first produced script. The Academy Award-nominated title song by Burt Bacharach...
(1965). She appeared in 36 films and 17 television
Television
Television is a telecommunication medium for transmitting and receiving moving images that can be monochrome or colored, with accompanying sound...
productions between 1948 and 1990. Her death was a result of suicide
Suicide
Suicide is the act of intentionally causing one's own death. Suicide is often committed out of despair or attributed to some underlying mental disorder, such as depression, bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, alcoholism, or drug abuse...
.
Early life
Capucine was born Germaine Hélène Irène Lefebvre in Saint-Raphaël, VarSaint-Raphaël, Var
Saint-Raphaël is a commune in the Var department in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region in southeastern France.Immediately to the west of Saint-Raphaël lies another, older, town called Fréjus, and together they form an urban agglomeration known as Fréjus Saint-Raphaël...
, France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
on 6 January 1928. (She often confused the issue by saying she was born in 1931 or 1933, and most sources report these years, but there is documentary evidence for a 1928 year of birth.) She attended school in France and received a B.A.
Bachelor of Arts
A Bachelor of Arts , from the Latin artium baccalaureus, is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate course or program in either the liberal arts, the sciences, or both...
in foreign languages. At 17, while riding in a carriage in Paris
Paris
Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
, she was noticed by a commercial photographer. She became a fashion model, working for fashion houses Givenchy
Givenchy
Givenchy is a French brand of clothing, accessories, perfumes and cosmetics with Parfums Givenchy.The house of Givenchy was founded in 1952 by designer Hubert de Givenchy and is a member of Chambre Syndicale de la Haute Couture et du Pret-a-Porter...
and Christian Dior
Christian Dior
Christian Dior , was a French fashion designer, best known as the founder of one of the world's top fashion houses, also called Christian Dior.-Life:...
. She adopted the name, "Capucine" (French for nasturtium). Capucine met Audrey Hepburn
Audrey Hepburn
Audrey Hepburn was a British actress and humanitarian. Although modest about her acting ability, Hepburn remains one of the world's most famous actresses of all time, remembered as a film and fashion icon of the twentieth century...
modeling in Paris. The two would remain friends for the rest of Capucine's life.
Career
In 1949, Capucine made her film debut in the French film Rendez-vous de Juillet. On the set of Rendez-vous, she met Pierre TrabaudPierre Trabaud
Pierre Trabaud was a French film actor. He appeared in 30 films between 1945 and 1989.-Selected filmography:* Antoine and Antoinette * Rendezvous in July * ...Sans laisser d'adresse...
; they married the next year. The marriage lasted only six months, and Capucine never married again.
In 1957, film producer
Film producer
A film producer oversees and delivers a film project to all relevant parties while preserving the integrity, voice and vision of the film. They will also often take on some financial risk by using their own money, especially during the pre-production period, before a film is fully financed.The...
Charles K. Feldman
Charles K. Feldman
Charles K. Feldman was a film producer and talent agent born in New York City. In 1934 he married actress Jean Howard, whom he divorced in 1948...
spotted Capucine while she was modeling in New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
. Feldman brought her to Hollywood to learn English and study acting under Gregory Ratoff
Gregory Ratoff
Gregory Ratoff was a Russian-born American film director, actor and producer. His most famous role as an actor was as producer Max Fabian who feuds with star Margo Channing in All About Eve ....
. She was signed to a contract with Columbia Pictures
Columbia Pictures
Columbia Pictures Industries, Inc. is an American film production and distribution company. Columbia Pictures now forms part of the Columbia TriStar Motion Picture Group, owned by Sony Pictures Entertainment, a subsidiary of the Japanese conglomerate Sony. It is one of the leading film companies...
in 1958 and landed her first English-speaking role in the film Song Without End
Song Without End
Song Without End, subtitled The Story of Franz Liszt is a biographical film romance made by Columbia Pictures. It was directed by Charles Vidor, who died during the shooting of the picture and was replaced by George Cukor. It was produced by William Goetz from a screenplay by Oscar Millard,...
(1960) for which she was nominated for a Golden Globe Award.
For the next few years, Capucine made six more major motion pictures. They included North to Alaska
North to Alaska
North to Alaska is a 1960 comedic western movie directed by Henry Hathaway and John Wayne . It starred Wayne along with Stewart Granger, Ernie Kovacs, Fabian and Capucine....
(1960), a comedy, as a prostitute who becomes the love interest of John Wayne
John Wayne
Marion Mitchell Morrison , better known by his stage name John Wayne, was an American film actor, director and producer. He epitomized rugged masculinity and became an enduring American icon. He is famous for his distinctive calm voice, walk, and height...
, and Walk on the Wild Side
Walk on the Wild Side (film)
Walk on the Wild Side is a 1962 film directed by Edward Dmytryk, adapted from the 1956 novel A Walk on the Wild Side by Nelson Algren. The film had a star-studded cast, including Laurence Harvey, Capucine, Jane Fonda , Anne Baxter, and Barbara Stanwyck, and was scripted by John Fante. Nonetheless,...
(1962), in which she portrayed a redeemed hooker, before moving to Switzerland
Switzerland
Switzerland name of one of the Swiss cantons. ; ; ; or ), in its full name the Swiss Confederation , is a federal republic consisting of 26 cantons, with Bern as the seat of the federal authorities. The country is situated in Western Europe,Or Central Europe depending on the definition....
in 1962.
Much of 1963's hit film The Pink Panther
The Pink Panther
The Pink Panther is a series of comedy films featuring the bungling French police detective Jacques Clouseau that began in 1963 with the release of the film of the same name. The role was originated by, and is most closely associated with, Peter Sellers...
was shot in Europe. A crime comedy that led to a number of sequels, the film starred David Niven
David Niven
James David Graham Niven , known as David Niven, was a British actor and novelist, best known for his roles as Phileas Fogg in Around the World in 80 Days and Sir Charles Lytton, a.k.a. "the Phantom", in The Pink Panther...
and Peter Sellers
Peter Sellers
Richard Henry Sellers, CBE , known as Peter Sellers, was a British comedian and actor. Perhaps best known as Chief Inspector Clouseau in The Pink Panther film series, he is also notable for playing three different characters in Dr...
along with Capucine.
She continued making films in Europe until her death.
Personal life
Capucine was briefly married to French film actor Pierre TrabaudPierre Trabaud
Pierre Trabaud was a French film actor. He appeared in 30 films between 1945 and 1989.-Selected filmography:* Antoine and Antoinette * Rendezvous in July * ...Sans laisser d'adresse...
. She later met actor William Holden
William Holden
William Holden was an American actor. Holden won the Academy Award for Best Actor in 1954 and the Emmy Award for Best Actor in 1974...
in the early 1960s. They starred in the films The Lion (1962) and The 7th Dawn
The 7th Dawn
The 7th Dawn is a 1964 drama film starring William Holden, Capucine and Tetsuro Tamba. The film was based on the novel The Durian Tree by Michael Keon.-Plot:...
(1964). Holden was married to Brenda Marshall
Brenda Marshall
Brenda Marshall was an American film actress.Born Ardis Ankerson in Negros, Philippines, Marshall made her first film appearance in the 1939 Espionage Agent. The following year, she played the leading lady to Errol Flynn in The Sea Hawk...
, but the two began a two-year affair. After it ended, she and Holden remained friends until Holden's death in 1981.
On 17 March 1990, Capucine jumped from her eighth-floor apartment in Lausanne
Lausanne
Lausanne is a city in Romandy, the French-speaking part of Switzerland, and is the capital of the canton of Vaud. The seat of the district of Lausanne, the city is situated on the shores of Lake Geneva . It faces the French town of Évian-les-Bains, with the Jura mountains to its north-west...
, Switzerland
Switzerland
Switzerland name of one of the Swiss cantons. ; ; ; or ), in its full name the Swiss Confederation , is a federal republic consisting of 26 cantons, with Bern as the seat of the federal authorities. The country is situated in Western Europe,Or Central Europe depending on the definition....
, where she had lived for 28 years, having reportedly suffered from illness and depression for some time.
Selected filmography
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1949 | Rendez-vous de Juillet | Une amie de Pierre | Uncredited |
| 1951 | Bernard and the Lion | La baronne | |
| 1955 | Mademoiselle de Paris | Alternative title: Mademoiselle from Paris | |
| 1955 | Frou-Frou | Une amie d'Arthus, le peintre | |
| 1960 | Song Without End Song Without End Song Without End, subtitled The Story of Franz Liszt is a biographical film romance made by Columbia Pictures. It was directed by Charles Vidor, who died during the shooting of the picture and was replaced by George Cukor. It was produced by William Goetz from a screenplay by Oscar Millard,... |
Princess Carolyne zu Sayn-Wittgenstein Carolyne zu Sayn-Wittgenstein Carolyne zu Sayn-Wittgenstein was a Polish noblewoman who pursued a 40-year liaison/relationship with Franz Liszt. She was also an amateur journalist and essayist and it is conjectured that she did much of the actual writing of several of Liszt's publications, especially his Life of Chopin... |
|
| 1960 | North to Alaska North to Alaska North to Alaska is a 1960 comedic western movie directed by Henry Hathaway and John Wayne . It starred Wayne along with Stewart Granger, Ernie Kovacs, Fabian and Capucine.... |
Michelle 'Angel' Bonet | |
| 1961 | Le triomphe de Michel Strogoff | Tatoa, a Volskaya | Alternative title: The Triumph of Michael Strogoff |
| 1962 | Walk on the Wild Side Walk on the Wild Side (film) Walk on the Wild Side is a 1962 film directed by Edward Dmytryk, adapted from the 1956 novel A Walk on the Wild Side by Nelson Algren. The film had a star-studded cast, including Laurence Harvey, Capucine, Jane Fonda , Anne Baxter, and Barbara Stanwyck, and was scripted by John Fante. Nonetheless,... |
Hallie Gerard | |
| 1962 | The Lion | Christine | |
| 1962 | I dongiovanni della Costa Azzurra | Alternative title: Beach Casanova | |
| 1963 | The Pink Panther The Pink Panther (1963 film) The Pink Panther is a 1963 American comedy film directed by Blake Edwards and co-written by Edwards and Maurice Richlin, starring David Niven, Peter Sellers, Robert Wagner, Capucine, and Claudia Cardinale... |
Simone Clouseau | |
| 1964 | The 7th Dawn The 7th Dawn The 7th Dawn is a 1964 drama film starring William Holden, Capucine and Tetsuro Tamba. The film was based on the novel The Durian Tree by Michael Keon.-Plot:... |
Dhana Mercier | |
| 1965 | What's New Pussycat? What's New Pussycat? What's New Pussycat? is a 1965 comedy film directed by Clive Donner and starring Peter Sellers, Peter O'Toole, Romy Schneider, Capucine, Paula Prentiss and Ursula Andress. It was Woody Allen's film debut, as well as his first produced script. The Academy Award-nominated title song by Burt Bacharach... |
Renée Lefebvre | |
| 1967 | The Honey Pot The Honey Pot The Honey Pot, also known as The Honeypot, is a 1967 crime comedy film made by Famous Artists Productions and distributed by United Artists. The film stars Rex Harrison, Susan Hayward, Cliff Robertson, Capucine, Edie Adams, and Maggie Smith. It was written for the screen and directed by Joseph L.... |
Princess Dominique | |
| 1969 | Fräulein Doktor Fräulein Doktor Fräulein Doktor is a First World War drama filmed in 1968 and released in 1969. It was a European co-production, starring Suzy Kendall, Kenneth More, Capucine, James Booth, Giancarlo Giannini and Nigel Green. It was produced by Dino De Laurentiis and directed by Alberto Lattuada, with a music... |
Dr. Saforet | |
| Satyricon Satyricon (film) Satyricon is a 1969 Italian fantasy drama film written and directed by Federico Fellini. It is loosely based on Petronius's work, Satyricon, a series of bawdy and satirical episodes written during the reign of the emperor Nero and set in imperial Rome.-Plot:The film opens on a graffiti-covered... |
Trifena | ||
| 1971 | Red Sun Red Sun Red Sun is a Western film, one of few with an international cast. It stars U.S.-born actor Charles Bronson, Japanese actor Toshirō Mifune, French actor Alain Delon and Swiss actress Ursula Andress. It was filmed in Spain by the British director Terence Young. It was released in Europe in 1971 and... |
Pepita | |
| 1972 | Search Search (TV series) Search is an American science fiction series that aired on Wednesday nights on NBC at 10 pm ET, from September 1972 to August 1973. It ran for 23 episodes, not including the two-hour pilot film originally titled Probe. When picked up for series production, the title had to be changed because Probe... |
Silvana Tristano | Episode: "The Murrow Disappearance" |
| 1975 | Incorrigible Incorrigible (film) Incorrigible is a 1975 French comedy film directed by Philippe de Broca and starring Jean-Paul Belmondo, Geneviève Bujold and Capucine.-Main cast:* Jean-Paul Belmondo - Victor Vauthier... |
Hélène | |
| 1976 | For Love | Marina Reggiani | |
| 1977 | Portrait of a Bourgeois in Black | Amalia Mazzarini | |
| 1978 | Neapolitan Mystery Neapolitan Mystery -Cast:* Marcello Mastroianni - Raffaele Capece* Ornella Muti - Lucia Navarro* Renato Pozzetto - Police Inspector* Michel Piccoli - Conductor Navarro* Zeudi Araya - Elizabeth* Capucine - Sister Angela* Peppino De Filippo - Raffaele's father... |
Sister Angela | |
| 1979 | Arabian Adventure Arabian Adventure Arabian Adventure is a 1979 fantasy adventure film directed by Kevin Connor and starring Christopher Lee and Oliver Tobias. The film was shot at Pinewood Studios, Buckinghamshire, U.K.-Plot synopsis:... |
Vahishta | |
| 1982 | Aphrodite Aphrodite (film) Aphrodite is a 1982 French soft-core exploitation film inspired by a novel by Pierre Louÿs, directed by Robert Fuest with Valérie Kaprisky and Horst Buchholz.- Principal cast :* Horst Buchholz as Harry Laird* Valérie Kaprisky as Pauline... |
Lady Suzanne Stanford | |
| 1982 | Trail of the Pink Panther Trail of the Pink Panther Trail of the Pink Panther is a 1982 comedy film starring Peter Sellers. It was the seventh film in the Pink Panther series, and the last in which Peter Sellers starred as Inspector Jacques Clouseau, although Sellers died before production began and the film thus contains no original material... |
Lady Simone Litton | |
| 1982 | Hart to Hart Hart to Hart Hart to Hart is an American television series, starring Robert Wagner and Stefanie Powers as Jonathan and Jennifer Hart, a wealthy couple who also moonlighted as amateur detectives. The series was created by writer Sidney Sheldon and produced by Aaron Spelling and Leonard Goldberg... |
Lily Von Borg | Episode: "Hart of Diamonds" |
| 1983 | Curse of the Pink Panther Curse of the Pink Panther Curse of the Pink Panther is a 1983 comedy film, the eighth installment of the The Pink Panther series of films started by Blake Edwards in the early 1960s.... |
Lady Simone Litton | |
| 1985 | Murder, She Wrote Murder, She Wrote Murder, She Wrote is an American television mystery series starring Angela Lansbury as mystery writer and amateur detective Jessica Fletcher. The series aired for 12 seasons from 1984 to 1996 on the CBS network, with 264 episodes transmitted. It was followed by four TV films and a spin-off series,... |
Belle Chaney | Episode: "Paint Me a Murder" |
| 1986 | Sins | Odile | Miniseries |
| 1987 | Delirium: Photo of Gioia Delirium (1987 film) Delirium, also known as Photo of Gioia and Delirium: Photo of Gioia is a 1980 Italian giallo film directed by Lamberto Bava and starring Serena Grandi.-Plot:A former prostitute is in charge of a successful men's magazine... |
Flora | |
| 1987 | My First Forty Years | Principessa Caracciolo | |
| 1990 | Blaues Blut | Gräfin von Altenberg | Unknown episodes |