2024-03-10 00:30:23
In 1981, Carole Bouquet went on a quest for revenge alongside Roger Moore. Three decades later, the Frenchwoman is still in front of the camera.
As the avenging orphan Melina Havelock in the summer of 1981, Carole Bouquet not only turned the heads of Bond actor Roger Moore. But also millions of fans. The now 66-year-old native Parisian had proven long before the 007 film “On a Deadly Mission” that her great cinema lay. Among other things, in “This Obscure Object of Desire” and “You Meet the Murderer at the Buffet”.
After her Bond Girl appearance, a big Hollywood career awaited her in the film world. But for Carole Bouquet, more doors opened in Europe than in America. When asked about her role as a Bond girl, she once said unequivocally in a TV interview: “It was all very boring for me back then. Action films are more for men. I made people believe that I could swim in the ocean and climb mountains But in reality it was all fake. I was crawling around on the floor in the studio and doing swimming movements in front of an aquarium.”
César award winner and Chanel face
The Frenchwoman was known everywhere in Europe in the eighties and nineties. Not just because of “Bingo Bongo”, Woody Allen’s “New York Stories” and the romantic comedy “Too Beautiful for You”, for which Bouquet received the French César film award for best actress. Their groundbreaking collaboration Chanel did the rest.
In addition to romantic dramas, Carole Bouquet shone in turbulent comedies. The French-Japanese co-production “Wasabi – A Bull in Japan”, in which she starred alongside Jean Reno, was one of the greatest successes.
Looking back, each film was an important piece of the puzzle of her career. But when asked about the most beautiful set moments, Bouquet remembered these productions in particular in an interview in 2014: “During the filming of ‘Day of the Idiots’, I began to see in the eyes of the technicians that they knew what I wanted to do. That was a sign that everything was working and I felt reassured. The filming I enjoyed the most was for the film ‘Too Beautiful for You’ by Bertrand Blier. Every day was pure joy! I had that feeling complete freedom.”
Depardieu, horses and the pain of loss
Bouquet, who had a guest role in the last “Sex and The City” episode in 2004, is still active as an actress today. In 2022 she appeared in front of the camera alongside Mélanie Laurent and Pio Marmai for the horse drama “Tempete”. She was last seen in the series “Escort Boys” in 2023.
In the summer of 2023, the mother of two, like many other colleagues, found herself in the spotlight unintentionally. At the funeral of her long-time friend Jane Birkin, Carole Bouquet mourned, as did France’s premier Dame Brigitte Macron and French Culture Minister Rima Abdul Malak.
However, her ex-boyfriend is currently in the headlines. The actress was in a relationship with Gérard Depardieu from 1997 to 2005. Several proceedings are already underway against the former film icon, and now the 75-year-old has been reported again for sexual assault. The actor denies the accusation.
Carole Bouquet “Gérard can be rude and sometimes have borderline humor,” but he would not be able to harm a woman, she told the Paris daily Le Parisien a few weeks ago.