Marie Dubois

Born in Paris in 1937, Marie Dubois was a fixture in French cinema for nearly 50 years. From the beginning, she worked with the country's top directors: Her first film was directed by Eric Rohmer, her second by Fancois Truffaut, and the third by Jean Luc Godard. After a brief appearance in Rohmer's "Le Signe du lion" ("The Sign of Leo") (1959), Truffaut's "Shoot the Piano Player" (1960) was her first starring role, as the love interest of Charles Aznavour. Off screen, she inadvertently became the fourth wheel in a love triangle between Truffaut and Godard. Truffaut thought that Godard had lured away his mistress by convincing her that Truffaut was now in love with his ingénue, Dubois. Dubois then made a brief appearance in Godard's "Une femme est une femme" (1961), before playing a more substantial role, as the ex-girlfriend of Jules, in Truffaut's "Jules et Jim" (1962). She continued to be active over the next four decades, making films with many of France's leading directors, including Roger Vadim in "La Ronde" (1965) and Louis Malle in "Le Voleur" (1966). Dubois won a Best Supporting Actress César Award for her performance as the wife shunned by Yves Montand, in the film "La Menace" (1977). She turned in one of her final performances in director Claude Chabrol's film "Rien ne va plus" ("The Swindle") (1997). He autobiography J'ai Pas Menti, J'ai Pas Tout Dit (I Didn't Lie, I Didn't Tell Everything) was published in 2002. Marie Dubois died on October 15, 2014, after a long battle with multiple sclerosis. She was 77.