Jean-Paul Belmondo

Jean-Paul Belmondo (born 9 April 1933) is a French actor initially associated with the New Wave of the 1960s.

Career

Born in Neuilly-sur-Seine, west of Paris, Belmondo did not perform well in school, but developed a passion for boxing and football.

His breakthrough role was in Jean-Luc Godard's Breathless (1960), which made him a major figure in the French New Wave. Later he acted in Jean-Pierre Melville's philosophical movie Leon Morin, Priest (1960), then in the Film Noir crime film The Fingerman (1963). With That Man From Rio (1965) he switched to commercial, mainstream productions, mainly comedies and action films. Until the mid-1980s, Belmondo's typical characters have been either dashing adventurers or more cynical heroes. He was one of France's biggest box-office stars until the mid-1980s. As he grew older, Belmondo preferred concentrating on his stage work, where he encountered success. He suffered a stroke in 2001 and has since been absent from the stage and the screen.

Personal life

Belmondo's father, Paul Belmondo, was a sculptor of Sicilian descent.

In 1953, Belmondo married Élodie Constantin, with whom he had three children: Patricia (1958), Florence (1960) and Paul (1963). Paul became a Formula One driver; his eldest daughter Patricia was killed in a fire in 1994.

In 1966, due to a well-publicized affair between Belmondo and actress Ursula Andress, Belmondo and his wife divorced.

In 1989, Belmondo met Nathalie Tardivel who was 24 years old at the time. Belmondo married her in 2002. On 13 August 2003, at the age of 70, his fourth child Stella was born.

In 2008, Belmondo and Tardivel divorced.

Cultural references

Belmondo is saluted in a 1967 episode of the U.S. television sitcom Get Smart. In the episode, entitled The Spirit is Willing, a top agent of the sinister spy agency KAOS is named Paul John Mondebello, an obvious alteration of Belmondo's name. He is also mentioned in a song about "Masculinity" in the play "La Cage Aux Folles", and is mentioned in the Donovan song "Sunny South Kensington" on the Mellow Yellow album.

The main character Nick Twisp in the Youth In Revolt series by C.D. Payne is said to resemble Belmondo numerous times.

Filmography as actor includes

• Molihre (1956)
• On Foot, on Horse, and on Wheels (1957)
• Les Copains du dimanche (1958)
• Sois belle et tais-toi (1958)
• Sunday Encounter (1958)
• Les Tricheurs (1958)
• Ein Engel auf Erden (1959)
• Les trois mousquetaire (1959)
• À double tour (1959)
• Breathless (1960)
• The Big Risk (1960)
• Moderato cantabile (1960)
• Love and the Frenchwoman (1960) (segment "L'Adultère")
• Trapped by Fear (1960)
• Charlotte et son Jules (1960)
• Rita (1960)
• Two Women (1960)
• The Lovemakers (1961)
• A Woman Is a Woman (1961)
• Leon Morin, Priest (1961)
• Famous Love Affairs (1961) (segment "Lauzun")
• Un nommi La Rocca (1961)
• Cartouche (1962)
• Un singe en hiver (1962)
• Le Doulos (1962)
• Beach Casanova (1962) (uncredited)
• The Shortest Day (1962)
• Banana Peel (1963)
• L'Ainé des Ferchaux (1963)
• Dragées au poivre (1963)
• Mare matto (1963)
• That Man from Rio (1964)
• Cent mille dollars au soleil (1964)
• Backfire (1964)
• La Chasse à l'homme (1964)
• Weekend at Dunkirk (1964)
• Crime on a Summer Morning (1965)
• Pierrot le fou (1965)
• Chinese Adventures in China (1965)

• Is Paris Burning? (1966)
• Tender Scoundrel (1966)
• The Thief of Paris (1967)
• Casino Royale (1967)
• Ho! (1968)
• The Brain (1969)
• Mississippi Mermaid (1969)
• Un homme qui me plaît (1969)
• Dieu a choisi Paris (1969)
• Borsalino (film) (1970)
• The Burglars (1971)
• Les Mariés de l'an II (1971)
• Docteur Popaul (1972)
• La Scoumoune (1972)
• L'Héritier (1973)
• Le Magnifique (1973)
• Stavisky (1974)
• Peur sur la ville (1975)
• L'Incorrigible (1975)
• Hunter Will Get You (1976)
• Body of My Enemy (1976)
• L'Animal (1977)
• Cop or Hood (1979)
• Le Guignolo (1980)
• The Professional (1981)
• L'As des as (1982)
• Danton (1983)
• The Outsider (1983)
• Les Morfalous (1984)
• Happy Easter (1984)
• Rufianes Y Tramposos (1984)
• Hold-Up (1985)
• The Loner (1987)
• Itinéraire d'un enfant gâté (1988)
• Stranger in the House (1992)
• Les Cent et une nuits de Simon Cinima (1995)
• Les Misérables (1995)
• Désiré (1996)
• Half a Chance (1998)
• Peut-être (1999)
• Actors (2000)
• Amazon (2000)

See also

• Cinema of France

References

External links

• Jean-Paul Belmondo’s fans forum (eng)