Yvonne Clech

French actress Yvonne Clech got a late start in the movie business -- her first role was in the 1950 film "The Strange Madame X" at the age of 30 -- but she more than made up for it after studying under and working with famed French actor/director Charles Dullin. Over her 50-year career, she appeared in a huge number of films, TV shows, and theatrical productions. While she worked in a variety of genres, exemplified by her appearance in everything from the 1979 romance TV series "Les amours de la belle époque" to the 1967 drama "The Big Softie," her career was mainly about laughter. Her comedic works include the 1964 film "Faites Sauter la Banque," about an unorthodox bank robbery, and the 1960 French satire "Zazie dans le métro," which was Clech's first really popular film. Despite Clech's talent for making people laugh, her most famous film ever was a drama that hit theaters in 1963; "Le feu follet," otherwise known as "The Fire Within," was about a man desperate to find something or someone to live for. Clech continued splitting her time between TV, film, and theater until 2000, when she retired after appearing on the TV thriller "Une femme d'honneur."