The French theater and film actor celebrated his breakthrough in 1959, within the so-called “Nouvelle Vague” (New Wave), with the film “Out of Breath”. In the years that followed, he advanced to become one of the most popular representatives of international cinema with titles such as “Borsalino” and “The Gripper”. He stood in front of the camera with the biggest stars and Jean-Paul Belmondo embodied a wide variety of characters with impressive acting, from comedy to thriller. With great daring and a brilliant constitution, he became one of the first stuntman actors who never allowed himself to be doubled in his films. This is how Belmondo always typified the sensitive, robust and solid type with assertiveness. Other notable films include Eleven at Night, The Thief in Paris, The Puppeteer, The Boss, The Professional and The Lion…
Jean-Paul Belmondo was born in Neuilly-sur-Seine on April 9, 1933, the son of the sculptor Paul Belmondo and the dancer Madeleine.
While at school, the strong Belmondo harbored a desire to become a boxer. However, he later found interest in acting. Belmondo played small roles in a traveling theater in France from 1948 onwards. From 1951 to 1956 he attended the Paris Conservatory for acting for further training and during this time already received the first offers from theaters in Paris. He was also discovered for the film at the theater, and from 1956 he also acted in smaller film productions. His cinema debut followed two years later with “They cheat themselves”. He celebrated his international breakthrough as an actor in 1959 with “Out of Breath”. At this time he was working with directors of the “Nouvelle Vague” who saw him as the perfect Frenchman and who continued to nurture his talent. He almost certainly played the role of the rebellious outsider in other Nouvelle Vague films.
In 1959 he married Renée Constant in Paris, who gave birth to three children: Patricia, Florence and Paul. In 1961 he was in front of the camera for the first time with Romy Schneider in “A woman is a woman”, and the following year another successful production with Belmondo, “Der Teufel mit der Weißen Vest” (“The Devil with the White Vest”), which was meanwhile an accepted figure in the film business, was released. In the 1960s, Belmondo made a name for himself as a versatile actor in many genres, shooting gangster strips and melodramas, for example. From 1963 to 1966 he was elected President of the French Actors’ Union, and he became an international star with the films “Eleven O’clock at Night” and “Adventure in Rio”. In 1966 his marriage to Renée Constant broke up. In 1969 he was in front of the camera with Cathérine Deneuve for “The Secret of the Wrong Woman”. In the same year, 1969, he also shone alongside Alain Delon in the film “Borsalino”, which, along with “The Gripper” from 1975, is one of his best works. From the early 1970s, Belmondo also increasingly shot thrillers and police films.
After numerous other productions with well-known actors, he only achieved such success again in 1981. In the film “The Professional”, the 48-year-old shows an action story that can hardly be surpassed in terms of tension and content. Despite numerous spectacular and dangerous scenes, he did without a double during all his shootings. At the same time, Jean-Paul Belmondo also returned to his acting roots, the classical theatre. In 1998 he was again in front of the camera alongside Alain Delon. Belmondo acted in over 70 films and became one of the most popular actors in France. In his fan community he earned the nickname “Bebel”. Great concern for his health arose in mid-2001 when Belmondo was rushed to a Paris hospital with a stroke. After a few days of recovery, however, he was able to leave the hospital and after a few weeks he was back on stage.
In 2002, the now 69-year-old world star married his longtime girlfriend Natty in Paris. Their daughter Stella was born in 2003. In 2008 the marriage was divorced. His last film to date, “A Man and His Dog,” followed in 2009. In 2010, Belmondo was honored for his lifetime achievement by the Los Angeles Film Critics Association. From 2010 to 2012 he was in a relationship with Barbara Gandolfi. In 2011 he received the “Golden Palm” in Cannes for his life’s work. In 2012 he was awarded the Order of Leopold. He also received the Golden Lion in Venice in 2016 and the César in Paris in 2017 for his life’s work.
Jean-Paul Belmondo died in Paris on September 6, 2021.
What happened to Jean Paul Belmondo?
He was 88. Belmondo died Monday in his Paris home, his lawyer Michel Godest told the AFP. In his role in Breathless, as a professional car thief, amoral killer and lover of an American expat played by Hollywood star Jean Seberg, Belmondo was hailed as the French Humphrey Bogart.
Did Jean Paul Belmondo do his own stunts?
Belmondo always performed his own stunts but ceased to do so after an accident during the filming of Hold-Up (1985).
Did Jean Paul Belmondo speak English?
Belmondo, who did not speak English, never made it to Hollywood, preferring to make American-type gangster movies such as Borsalino (1970), opposite Alain Delon, who shared top place in the box-office polls.
How old is Jean Paul Belmondo?
88 years
1933–2021
