Jean-Paul Belmondo
| Jean-Paul Belmondo | |
|---|---|
Belmondo in 2013
|
|
| Born |
Jean-Paul Charles Belmondo 9 April 1933 Neuilly-sur-Seine, France |
| Other names | Bebel |
| Occupation | Actor |
| Spouse(s) | Elodie Constantin (1952–1967) Natty Belmondo (2002–2008) |
| Partner(s) |
Ursula Andress (1965–1972) Laura Antonelli (1972–1980) |
| Awards |
Best Actor 1989 Itinéraire d'un enfant gâté |
Jean-Paul Belmondo (French: [ʒɑ̃pɔl bɛlmɔ̃do]; born 9 April 1933) is a French actor initially associated with the New Wave of the 1960s and one of the biggest French film stars of the 1960s, 1970s and 1980s. His best known credits include Breathless (1960) and That Man from Rio (1964).
Belmondo was born in Neuilly-sur-Seine, Hauts-de-Seine, west of Paris. Belmondo's father, Paul Belmondo, was a Pied-Noir sculptor who was born in Algeria of Italian descent, whose parents were of Sicilian and Piedmontese origin. As a boy he was more interested in sport than school, developing a particular interest in boxing and soccer.
Belmondo made his amateur boxing debut on 10 May 1949 in Paris when he knocked out Rene DesMarais in one round. Belmondo's boxing career was undefeated, but brief. He won three straight first round knockout victories from 1949 to 1950. "I stopped when the face I saw in the mirror begin to change," he later said.
As part of his compulsory military service, he served in Algeria as a private for six months.
Belmondo was interested in acting. His last teenage years were spent at a private drama school and he began performing comedy sketches in the provinces. He studied under Raymond Giraud then when to the Conservatoire of Dramatic Arts when he was twenty. He studied there for three years. He would likely have won the prize for best actor but participated in a sketch mocking the school, which offended the jury; this resulted in him only getting an honourable mention, "which nearly set off a riot among his incensed fellow students" in August 1956 according to one report. The incident did make front page news.
Belmondo's acting career properly began in 1953, with two performances at Theatre de'Atelier in Paris, Jean Anouilh's Medee and Georges Neveux's Zamore. Belmondo began touring the provinces with friends including Annie Girardot and Guy Bedos.
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