Françoise Giroud
Encyclopedia
Françoise Giroud, born France Gourdji (21 September 1916 in Lausanne
, Switzerland and not in Geneva as often written – 19 January 2003 in Neuilly-sur-Seine
) was a French journalist
, screenwriter
, writer and politician.
She did not graduate from university. She married and had two children, a son (who predeceased her) and a daughter.
as a script-girl on his 1932 version of Marcel Pagnol
's Fanny. In 1936 she worked with Jean Renoir
on the set of La Grande Illusion
. She later wrote screenplays, eventually completed 30 full-length books (both fiction and non-fiction), and wrote newspaper columns. She was the editor of Elle
magazine from 1946 (shortly after it was founded) until 1953, when she and Jean-Jacques Servan-Schreiber founded the French newsmagazine L'Express
. She edited L'Express until 1971, then was its director until 1974, when she was asked to participate in the French national government.
From 1984 to 1988 Giroud was president of Action Internationale contre la Faim. From 1989 to 1991 she was president of a commission to improve cinema-ticket sales. She was a literary critic on Le Journal du Dimanche
, and she contributed a weekly column to Le Nouvel Observateur
from 1983 until her death. She died at the American Hospital of Paris
while being treated for a head wound incurred in a fall.
nominated Giroud to the position of Secrétaire d'État à la Condition féminine, which she held from 16 July 1974 until 27 August 1976, when she was appointed to the position of Ministre de la Culture. She remained in that position until March 1977, for a total service of 32 months, serving in the cabinets of Jacques Chirac
and Raymond Barre
. She was a member of the Radical Party, and on the election documents she listed her profession as "journaliste".
. She managed ACF
, a Nobel-winning charity, from 1984 to 1988.
Giroud often voiced her goal: to get France "out of its rut". She said that Americans had the right idea; they didn't get into a rut. On her first visit to New York City soon after World War II ended, she had been struck by "the degree of optimism, the exhilaration" she had found there. That view stayed with her: "There is a strength in the United States that we in Europe constantly tend to underestimate."
Well into her 80s, Giroud appeared on French television, in the program 100 Ans (which explores the possibility of living to be a hundred). She appeared with face and hands bandaged from a fall just before the filming began. She was asked to recommend the diet that would provide for longevity; she replied "chopped steak and salads". She tried (and failed) to peel an apple with her bandaged hands; when she was unable, she burst out laughing.
Several laudatory newspaper articles about her passing mentioned her sparkling sense of humor.
A special issue of L'Éxpress covered Giroud's passing. It stated:
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 and not in Geneva as often written – 19 January 2003 in Neuilly-sur-Seine
Neuilly-sur-Seine
Neuilly-sur-Seine is a commune in the western suburbs of Paris, France. It is located from the center of Paris.Although Neuilly is technically a suburb of Paris, it is immediately adjacent to the city and directly extends it. The area is composed of mostly wealthy, select residential...
) was a French journalist
Journalist
A journalist collects and distributes news and other information. A journalist's work is referred to as journalism.A reporter is a type of journalist who researchs, writes, and reports on information to be presented in mass media, including print media , electronic media , and digital media A...
, screenwriter
Screenwriter
Screenwriters or scriptwriters or scenario writers are people who write/create the short or feature-length screenplays from which mass media such as films, television programs, Comics or video games are based.-Profession:...
, writer and politician.
Biography
Giroud was born to immigrant Sephardic Turkish Jewish parents; her father was Salih Gourdji, Director of the Agence Télégraphique Ottomane in Geneva.She did not graduate from university. She married and had two children, a son (who predeceased her) and a daughter.
Career
Giroud's work in cinema began with director Marc AllégretMarc 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...
as a script-girl on his 1932 version of Marcel Pagnol
Marcel Pagnol
Marcel Pagnol was a French novelist, playwright, and filmmaker. In 1946, he became the first filmmaker elected to the Académie Française.-Biography:...
's Fanny. In 1936 she worked with Jean Renoir
Jean Renoir
Jean Renoir was a French film director, screenwriter, actor, producer and author. As a film director and actor, he made more than forty films from the silent era to the end of the 1960s...
on the set of La Grande Illusion
Grand Illusion (film)
Grand Illusion is a 1937 French war film directed by Jean Renoir, who co-wrote the screenplay with Charles Spaak. The story concerns class relationships among a small group of French officers who are prisoners of war during World War I and are plotting an escape.The title of the film comes from a...
. She later wrote screenplays, eventually completed 30 full-length books (both fiction and non-fiction), and wrote newspaper columns. She was the editor of Elle
Elle (magazine)
Elle is a worldwide magazine of French origin that focuses on women's fashion, beauty, health, and entertainment. Elle is also the world's largest fashion magazine. It was founded by Pierre Lazareff and his wife Hélène Gordon in 1945. The title, in French, means "she".-History:Elle was founded in...
magazine from 1946 (shortly after it was founded) until 1953, when she and Jean-Jacques Servan-Schreiber founded the French newsmagazine L'Express
L'Express (France)
L'Express is a French weekly news magazine. When founded in 1953 during the First Indochina War, it was modelled on the US magazine TIME.-History:...
. She edited L'Express until 1971, then was its director until 1974, when she was asked to participate in the French national government.
From 1984 to 1988 Giroud was president of Action Internationale contre la Faim. From 1989 to 1991 she was president of a commission to improve cinema-ticket sales. She was a literary critic on Le Journal du Dimanche
Le Journal du Dimanche
Le Journal du Dimanche is a French weekly newspaper. It is only published on Sundays.-History:The newspaper was created by Pierre_Lazareffin 1948. It now belongs to the Lagardère Group, through Hachette Filipacchi Médias...
, and she contributed a weekly column to Le Nouvel Observateur
Le Nouvel Observateur
Le Nouvel Observateur is a weekly French newsmagazine. Based in Paris, it is the most prominent French general information magazine in terms of audience and circulation ....
from 1983 until her death. She died at the American Hospital of Paris
American Hospital of Paris
The American Hospital of Paris, founded in 1906, located in Neuilly-sur-Seine, is a private, not-for-profit institution that is considered agréé/non-conventionné under the French system of healthcare. It has 187 surgical, medical, and obstetric beds....
while being treated for a head wound incurred in a fall.
Political career
In 1974 French President Valéry Giscard d'EstaingValéry Giscard d'Estaing
Valéry Marie René Georges Giscard d'Estaing is a French centre-right politician who was President of the French Republic from 1974 until 1981...
nominated Giroud to the position of Secrétaire d'État à la Condition féminine, which she held from 16 July 1974 until 27 August 1976, when she was appointed to the position of Ministre de la Culture. She remained in that position until March 1977, for a total service of 32 months, serving in the cabinets of Jacques Chirac
Jacques Chirac
Jacques René Chirac is a French politician who served as President of France from 1995 to 2007. He previously served as Prime Minister of France from 1974 to 1976 and from 1986 to 1988 , and as Mayor of Paris from 1977 to 1995.After completing his studies of the DEA's degree at the...
and Raymond Barre
Raymond Barre
Raymond Octave Joseph Barre was a French centre-right politician and economist. He was a Vice President of the European Commission and Commissioner for Economic and Financial Affairs under three Presidents and later served as Prime Minister under Valéry Giscard d'Estaing from 1976 until 1981...
. She was a member of the Radical Party, and on the election documents she listed her profession as "journaliste".
Other activities
Giroud received the Légion d'honneurLégion 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...
. She managed ACF
Action Against Hunger
Action Against Hunger is an international humanitarian organization with a focus on ending world hunger. Action Against Hunger specializes in responding to emergency situations of war, conflict, and natural disaster...
, a Nobel-winning charity, from 1984 to 1988.
Giroud often voiced her goal: to get France "out of its rut". She said that Americans had the right idea; they didn't get into a rut. On her first visit to New York City soon after World War II ended, she had been struck by "the degree of optimism, the exhilaration" she had found there. That view stayed with her: "There is a strength in the United States that we in Europe constantly tend to underestimate."
Well into her 80s, Giroud appeared on French television, in the program 100 Ans (which explores the possibility of living to be a hundred). She appeared with face and hands bandaged from a fall just before the filming began. She was asked to recommend the diet that would provide for longevity; she replied "chopped steak and salads". She tried (and failed) to peel an apple with her bandaged hands; when she was unable, she burst out laughing.
Several laudatory newspaper articles about her passing mentioned her sparkling sense of humor.
A special issue of L'Éxpress covered Giroud's passing. It stated:
- Women everywhere have lost something. Ms. Giroud defended them so intelligently and so strongly.
Published works
- Françoise Giroud vous présente le Tout-Paris (1953)
- Nouveaux portraits (1954)
- La Nouvelle vague: portraits de la jeunesse (1958)
- I give you my word (1973)
- La comédie du pouvoir (1977)
- Ce que je crois (1978)
- Le Bon Plaisir (1983)
- Une Femme honorable (1981)(published in English as Marie Curie: A life (1986))
- Le Bon Plaisir (screenplay) (1984)
- Dior (1987)
- Alma Mahler ou l'art d'être aimée (1988)
- Leçons particulieres (ISBN 2213025988, 1990)
- Marie Curie, une Femme honorable (television series)(1991)
- Jenny Marx ou le femme du diable (1992)
- Les Hommes et les femmes (with Bernard-Henri LévyBernard-Henri LévyBernard-Henri Lévy is a French public intellectual, philosopher and journalist. Often referred to today, in France, simply as BHL, he was one of the leaders of the "Nouveaux Philosophes" movement in 1976.-Early life:...
, 1993). - Journal d'une Parisienne (1994)
- La rumeur du monde: journal, 1997 et 1998 (1999)
- On ne peut pas etre heureux tout le temps: récit (2000)
- C'est arrivé hier: journal 1999 (2000)
- Profession journaliste: conversations avec Martine de Rabaudy (2001)
- Demain, déjà: Journal, 2000-2003 (2003)
See also
- L'Amour, MadameL'Amour, MadameL'Amour, Madame is a French comedy film from 1952, directed by Gilles Grangier, written by Félix Gandéra, starring Arletty and Jean Marais. The film was known under the title "Coups de soleil" or "Les jeux de la plage et du hasard" , "Die Liebe mit 20" , "Love, Madame" .- Cast :* Arletty :...
(1952, film) - JuliettaJulietta (1953 film)Julietta is a French comedy comedy romance film from 1953, directed by Marc Allégret, written by Françoise Giroud, starring Dany Robin and Jean Marais. Film was based on a novel of Louise de Vilmorin...
(1953, film)