France's greatest living icon has reached the Biblical three score and ten. :-)
Catherine Deneuve started her film career with a small role at the age of thirteen at the encouragement of her sister, the late actress Françoise Dorléac. It was her role as the innocent Genevieve in the 1964 Jacques Demy musical The Umbrellas of Cherbourg (one of those films that requires a box of tissues at your side) that made her a star. Movies like Belle de Jour and Mississippi Mermaid made her a superstar. By the time she was working regularly with French director André Téchiné in the 1980s, she was a legend.
Several younger French actresses have tried to emulate Catherine Deneuve. Some of them have even been called "the next Deneuve." Not surprisingly, none of those women, talented though they may be, have lived up to the role.
In fact, Catherine Deneuve herself may be her own biggest role.
And, even at seventy, she remains active as an actress. Many American actresses should be so lucky.
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