FABIAN, FRANÇOISE

(1933- )

Actress. Françoise Fabian was born Michèle Cortès de Leone y Fabianera in Touggourt, Algeria, to a Polish-Jewish mother and Spanish father. She studied piano at the Conservatoire de musique of Algiers and later moved to Paris, where she entered the Conservatoire d'art dramatique. She debuted in cinema in Pierre Foucaud andAndré Hunébelle's 1955Mémoires d'un flic. She subsequently acted in Michel Boisrond'sCette sacré gamine(1956), Jean Boyer'sLe Couturier de ces dames(1956), Alex Joffé'sLes Fanatiques(1957),Henri Decoin'sLe Feu aux poudres(1957), Clause Boissol'sChaque jour a son secret(1958), and Henri Calef'sLes Violents(1958).In 1957, she married directorJacques Becker.

In the 1960s, she played inAlexandre Astruc'sL'Éducation sentimentale(1962), Gilles Grangier'sMaigret voit rouge(1963), andLouis Malle'sLe voleur(1967). Her international fame soared with her performance in Luis Bunuel'sBelle de jour(1967), and especially with her starring role inÉric Rohmerl'sMa nuit chez Maud(1969). She was highly active in the early 1970s, with leading roles in Yves Boisset'sUn condé(1970),Michel Deville'sRaphaël ou le débauché(1971), Juan Luis Bunuel'sAu rendez-vous de la mort joyeuse(1973),Claude Lelouch'sLa Bonne année(1973), François Leterrier'sProjection privée(1973), andYves Robert'sSalut l'artiste(1973). She also appeared in Czech director Zbynek Brynych's German-language featureDie Weibchen(1970) andJacques Rivette'sOut 1:Spectre(1972).

Fabian has also worked with several Italian directors, among them Sergio Corbucci inGli Specialisti(1971), Carlo Lizzani inTorino nera(1972), Romolo Guerrieri inUn Uomo,una città(1974), Damiano Damiani inPerché si uccide un magistrato(1974), Mauro Bolognini inPer le antiche scale(1975), and Marco Leto inAl piacere di rivederla(1976). Later in the 1970s, she starred in Françoise Sagan'sLes Fougères bleues(1977) and Just Jaeckin'sMadame Claude(1977). She also played in a number of television productions directed by Nina Companeez.

In the 1980s and 1990s, Fabian acted again for Lelouch inPartir,revenir(1985) and for Rivette inSecret défense(1998). In the 1980s, she also appeared in André Delvaux'sBenvenuta(1983), Pierre Granier-Deferre'sL'Ami de Vincent(1983), Jean-Claude Guiguet'sFaubourg Saint Martin(1986),Jacques Demy'sTrois places pour le 26(1988), for which she received aCésarnomination for Best Supporting Actress, and American director Jerry Schatzberg'sReunion(1989). In the 1990s, she acted in the films of prominentwomendirectors: Nelly Kaplan'sPlaisir d'amour(1991) and Danièle Thompson'sLa Bûche(1999). More recently, she had a supporting role in François Ozon's5x2(2004).