Marie Christine Barrault

Life and career

Marie-Christine Barrault was born in Paris, France, the daughter of French-Catholic parents Martha (née Valmier) and Max-Henri Barrault. Her parents divorced and her father, who worked in the theatre, died while she was a teenager, and her mother was unable to care for her children. She has a brother, Alain, and she was raised by her grandmother, Felicite. Her mother later re-married and had more children. She was mentored in acting by her aunt and uncle, French performers Jean-Louis Barrault and Madeleine Renaud, although they initially did not support her dreams of becoming an actress. She performed in plays in secondary school and then enrolled in an acting conservatory. She is a breast cancer survivor.

Barrault got her start on television in L'oeuvre (1967). She made her feature film debut in Éric Rohmer's My Night at Maud's (1969). In 1970 Barrault was featured along with Pierre Richard in the comedy film Le Distrait. In 1975 Barrault starred in Cousin Cousine, for which she received an Academy Award nomination for Best Actress in a Leading Role. She worked with Rohmer once again in 1978, in role of Guinevere in Perceval le Gallois and she also has a cameo in his Chloe in the Afternoon.

Barrault is not fluent in English and therefore has generally turned down offers to appear in English-language films. However, in 1980 she accepted an offer from Woody Allen to appear in his film, Stardust Memories. In 1988 she was nominated for a Genie Award for her performance in No Blame. In 1991 she portrayed Marie Curie in a television mini-series. In her later career, she has preferred acting on the stage in France. In 2015, she came to Los Angeles on tour to perform in the play Les Yeux Ouverts, in which she portrays French author Marguerite Yourcenar.

Barrault's first husband was producer Daniel Toscan du Plantier, whom she married in 1965, with whom she had two children, David and Ariane. She was married to director Roger Vadim from 1990 until his death from cancer in 2000.