Roger Vadim

Roger Vadim (26 January 1928 – 11 February 2000) was a French screenwriter, director, and producer as well as a journalist, author and sometime actor.

Spouse(s)

Brigitte Bardot (1952–57)
Annette Stroyberg (1958–60)
Jane Fonda (1965–73)
Catherine Schneider (1975–77)
Marie-Christine Barrault (1990–2000)

Partner(s)

Catherine Deneuve (1961–63)
Ann Biderman (1980–86)

Early life

Vadim was born as Roger Vladimir Plemiannikov in Paris. His Russian father, Igor Nikolaevich Plemiannikov (Russian: И́горь Никола́евич Племя́нников), had immigrated from Ukraine and became a naturalized French citizen, and was a vice consul of France to Egypt. His mother, Marie-Antoinette Ardilouze, was a French actress. Although Vadim lived in luxury in his early youth, the death of his father, in front of Vadim when he was nine, caused the family to return to France, where his mother found work running a hostel in the French Alps which served as a way-station for Jews and other fugitives fleeing Nazi Germany.

Vadim became a stage actor at the age of sixteen, after studying journalism and writing at the University of Paris, from which he did not graduate. In 1947, he became assistant to film director Marc Allégret, whom he met while working at the Theatre Sarah Bernhardt, and for whom he worked on several screenplays. Vadim then raised the funds to produce and direct his first film, And God Created Woman, starring Bardot, the profits from which made him wealthy. They went on to make two more films together, both of which featured Bardot as a sexpot.

Personal life

In 1950, Vadim began dating Brigitte Bardot when she was only 15 and he was 22. They married in 1952 and divorced in 1957.

In 1957, Vadim became romantically involved with Annette Strøyberg, a Danish actress who was 21 years old. In 1958 they had a daughter, Nathalie, and married that same year. They separated in 1960.

In 1961, Vadim began a relationship with actress Catherine Deneuve, who at 17 was nearly half his age. They broke up in July 1963, one month after she gave birth to their son Christian.

In late 1963, Vadim moved in with 26-year-old American film star Jane Fonda, whom he had first met in 1955. They married in 1965 and divorced in 1973. They had one child together, daughter Vanessa Vadim (born 1968).

In 1972 while separated from Fonda, Vadim became engaged to 26-year-old heiress Catherine Schneider. In 1973 they had a son, Vania. They eventually married in 1975, but divorced in 1977.

The late transsexual actress Candy Darling wrote of an affair with Vadim in her diary, My Face for the World to See.

In 1984, Vadim was engaged to screenwriter Ann Biderman.

In 1987, Vadim fell in love with 43-year-old actress Marie-Christine Barrault. They married in 1990 and remained together until his death in 2000.

After Vadim's death, his eldest daughter Nathalie stated "Jane [Fonda] was the love of my father's life."

Marriages

• Brigitte Bardot, 20 December 1952 – 6 December 1957 (divorced)
• Annette Strøyberg, 1958–1960 (divorced); 1 daughter (Nathalie)
• Jane Fonda, 14 August 1965 – 16 January 1973 (divorced); 1 daughter (Vanessa)
• Catherine Schneider, 1975–1977 (divorced); 1 son (Vania)
• Marie-Christine Barrault, 1990 - his death

Later career

In addition to Vadim's theater and film work, he also wrote several books, including his autobiography, D'une étoile à l'autre (From One Star to the Next).

Death

Vadim died at age 72 of lymphoma and is buried in the St. Tropez Cemetery, Saint Tropez, France. He was survived by his wife, French actress Marie-Christine Barrault and his four children (Nathalie, Vanessa, Christian and Vania).

Writing

• Vadim, Roger. Bardot, Deneuve, Fonda: My Life With The Three Most Beautiful Women In The World (1986), published by Simon & Schuster (ISBN 0671530070/ISBN 9780671530075)