Marie Trintignant

Marie Trintignant (21 January 1962 – 1 August 2003) was a French actress.

Early life

She was born in Boulogne-Billancourt, the daughter of actor Jean-Louis Trintignant and his second wife Nadine Marquand. She first appeared on screen aged four in her mother's film My Love, My Love. When Marie's baby sister Pauline died when Marie was eight, she became withdrawn and virtually stopped speaking. Her parents divorced in 1976. Throughout her early life she was afflicted by severe shyness, but despite this, by her mid-teens she decided to become an actress. She had such a strong affection for animals that she had first dreamt of becoming a veterinarian, but the acting heritage proved too strong. "Cats don't raise dogs," she said succinctly.

Family

Trintignant was the mother of four sons: Roman with drummer Richard Kolinka, Paul with actor François Cluzet, Léon withMathias Othnin-Girard and Jules with director Samuel Benchetrit.

Death

Marie Trintignant died aged 41 of a cerebral edema on 1 August 2003 in Neuilly-sur-Seine, France, as a result of being repeatedly punched by her boyfriend Bertrand Cantat, lead singer with the French rock group Noir Désir.

Awards

Marie Trintignant was nominated five times for France's most prestigious acting honor, the César Award for her roles in:

• Comme elle respire - 1999 (best actress)
• Le Cousin - 1998 (best supporting actress)
• Le cri de la soie - 1997 (best actress)
• Les Marmottes - 1994 (best supporting actress)
• Une affaire de femmes - 1989 (best supporting actress)

Selected filmography

• Wings of Fame (1990)
• Alberto Express (1990)
• Betty (1992)
• Cible émouvante (fr) (1993)
• Ponette (1996)
• Janis et John (2003)

Other information

She also appeared in the film noir Série noire of 1979. Not long before her death she sang a duet in the song "Pièce montée des grands jours" on an album with the same title by French folksinger Thomas Fersen in 2003.