Michèle Morgan
| Michèle Morgan | |
|---|---|
A publicity photo for The Chase
|
|
| Born |
Simone Renée Roussel 29 February 1920 Neuilly-sur-Seine, Hauts-de-Seine, Île-de-France, France |
| Died | 20 December 2016 (aged 96) Meudon, Hauts-de-Seine, Île-de-France, France |
| Resting place | Montparnasse Cemetery, Paris, France |
| Occupation | Actress |
| Years active | 1935–1999 |
| Spouse(s) |
William Marshall (m. 1942; div. 1948) Henri Vidal (m. 1950; his death 1959) Gérard Oury (m. 1960; his death 2006) |
| Children | Mike Marshall |
Michèle Morgan (French: [miʃɛl mɔʁɡan]; 29 February 1920 – 20 December 2016) was a French film actress, who was a leading lady for three decades in both French cinema and Hollywood features. She is considered to have been one of the great French actresses of the twentieth century. Morgan was the inaugural winner of the Best Actress Award at the Cannes Film Festival. In 1992, she was given an honorary César Award for her contributions to French cinema.
Morgan was born Simone Renée Roussel in Neuilly-sur-Seine, Hauts-de-Seine, a wealthy suburb of Paris. She grew up in Dieppe, Seine-Maritime, France.
Morgan left home at the age of 15 for Paris determined to become an actress. She took acting lessons from René Simon while serving as an extra in several films to pay for her drama classes. It was then that she took the stage name "Michèle Morgan". She argued that she did not have the body type of a Simone, and "Morgan" sounded more Hollywood-friendly.
Morgan was first noticed by director Marc Allégret, who offered her a major role in the film Gribouille (1937), opposite Raimu. Then came Le Quai des brumes (1938) directed by Marcel Carné (1938), opposite Jean Gabin, and Remorques (1941) directed by Jean Grémillon.
Upon the invasion of France in 1940 by the Germans, Morgan left for the United States and Hollywood where she was contracted to RKO Pictures in 1941. Her career there proved rather disappointing, apart from Joan of Paris (1942) opposite Paul Henreid, and Higher and Higher (1943) opposite Frank Sinatra. She was tested and strongly considered for the female lead in Casablanca but RKO would not release her for the amount of money that Warner Bros. offered. Morgan did work for Warners however in Passage to Marseille (1944) with Humphrey Bogart.
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