01/08/2003

Actress Marie Trintignant, the daughter of celebrated French acting icon, Jean-Louis, died this morning in a private hospital in the outskirts of Paris. She was flown to Paris by private jet last night after being critically injured in suspicious circumstances during a violent altercation with her boyfriend, Bertrand Cantat, the frontman with Gallic rock group Noir Désir. Cantat is currently in detention in Vilnius, the capital of Lithuania and is scheduled to appear before local authorities on 14 August.

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Born on 27 January 1962 into a family whose entire existence revolved around cinema (her father is one of France’s most celebrated actors, her mother a director and her brother an assistant director), Marie Trintignant made her acting debut at the age of 4. It wasn’t until 1978, however, that she came to international prominence, when Alain Corneau cast her in Série noir. It was followed by a spate of titles, most notably Ettore Scola’s La terrazza and two great parts given her by Claude Chabrol, une affaire de femmes in 1988 and Betty in 1992.
Marie Trintignant made over 30 films, was nominated five times for a César and received two special mentions for her contribution to Comme elle respire and Le cousin.
Filmgoers will have an opportunity to salute this beautiful and tragic woman at the forthcoming Locarno Film Festival where her last film, Les marins perdus by Claire Devers and co-starring Sergi Lopez. Gallic filmgoers will see another recent film of hers, Janis & John by Samuel Benchetrit is scheduled for a domestic release on 12 November.

(Translated from French)