Oscar-nominated French actress Anouk Aimée, celebrated for her roles in iconic films such as “La Dolce Vita” and “A Man and a Woman,” has passed away at the age of 92. The news was confirmed by her daughter, Manuela Papatakis, who shared the heartbreaking announcement on Instagram. “With my daughter, Galaad, and my granddaughter, Mila, we are immensely saddened to announce the decease of my mother, Anouk Aimée,” Papatakis wrote. “I was at her bedside when she passed away this morning at her home in Paris. With infinite love.”
French Culture Minister Rachida Dati also paid tribute to the legendary actress. “We bid farewell to a world-famous icon, to a great actress of French cinema who took on roles for some of the biggest names, such as Demy, Lelouch, and Fellini,” she wrote on X. “I send my warmest thoughts to her family and loved ones.”
Born Nicole Françoise Florence Dreyfus, Aimée appeared in over 70 films throughout her illustrious career. She made her debut at the tender age of 14 in the movie “The House Under the Sea,” after being discovered by director Henri Calef. “He said, ‘Would you like to make a film?'” she recalled in a 2002 interview with the Los Angeles Times. Her character in the 1947 film was named Anouk, a name she adopted as her mononym. In 1949, she took on the last name Aimée, which means “beloved” in French, at the suggestion of “The Lovers of Verona” screenwriter Jacques Prévert.
Aimée’s career was marked by her roles in some of the most influential films of the 20th century. She earned an Oscar nomination and a Golden Globe win for Best Actress for her role in Claude Lelouch’s 1967 film “A Man and a Woman.” The film, which also won Oscars for Best Original Screenplay and Best Foreign Language Film, was a commercial success despite its small budget. Aimée played a production assistant in the movie business who meets a race-car driver, played by Jean-Louis Trintignant, at a school where each has a child boarding.
Her performance in Federico Fellini’s “La Dolce Vita” (1960) and “8½” (1963) further cemented her status as a cinematic icon. In “La Dolce Vita,” she played Maddalena, a rich but bored heiress, while in “8½,” she portrayed the estranged wife of a fictional director, a role that required her to trim her long eyelashes to look less alluring. The film won the Oscar for Best Foreign Language Film.
Aimée’s versatility as an actress was evident in her role in Jacques Demy’s “Lola” (1961), where she played the title character, a cabaret dancer. The film was Demy’s feature debut and was written specifically for her. “When Jacques gave me Lola, it was a marvelous gift,” Aimée told legendary director Agnés Varda in a 1995 interview. “Lola is such a part of me that I can’t tell which part is her and which is me. We’ve grown so close that we mimic each other.”
In 1986, Aimée reprised her role in the sequel “A Man and a Woman: 20 Years Later.” She expressed her excitement about returning to the character and working with Lelouch again. “First I wanted very much to work with Claude again, to re-enact our love story, the three of us,” she told The New York Times at the time. “Also the theme of rediscovering a man with whom I had been in love 20 years ago and of being wise and secure enough to make it work was an irresistible fantasy to me.”
Aimée’s later roles included performances in “One Night… A Train” (1968), “Justine” (1969), “The Appointment” (1969), “Tragedy of a Ridiculous Man” (1981), and “Success Is the Best Revenge” (1984). She won Best Actress at the 1980 Cannes Film Festival for her role in “A Leap in the Dark.” She continued to act into her later years, with roles in “Prêt à Porter” (1994), “Hotel Harabati” (2006), and “Paris Connections” (2010).
Aimée received numerous accolades throughout her career, including an honorary César Award in 2003. She was married four times, with her marriages to Edouard Zimmermann, Nico Papatakis, Pierre Barouh, and British actor Albert Finney all ending in divorce. She is survived by her daughter, Manuela Papatakis.
Despite her many achievements, Aimée remained humble about her career. In a 2007 interview with The Guardian, she addressed criticism that her career wasn’t as big as it could have been. “Oh come on — it hasn’t been an unimpressive career,” she said. “If you look at the number of projects I’ve been involved in, the people I’ve worked with… But it’s perhaps true that I haven’t always made the right choices. I’ve taken parts I didn’t particularly like because I wanted to work with the director — Altman, for example. But there’s very little that I actually regret doing; I had to do most of it, I needed the money. There are one or two things I could have said yes to, though. That’s probably true.”
Anouk Aimée’s legacy will continue to inspire generations of actors and filmmakers. Her contributions to cinema have left an indelible mark, and she will be remembered as one of the most iconic actresses of her time.
