French actress Annie Girardot dies at 79

The strong-minded and impish Annie Girardot, who became one of France’s most beloved actresses, has died aged 79.

Reuters

Girardot performed in more than 100 films and is best known for starring in Luchino Visconti's Rocco and His Brothers alongside Alain Delon and Italian actor Renato Salvatori, also her future husband.

"She left peacefully," her granddaughter Lola Vogel said. "Mom and I were at her side." Girardot died following a long battle with Alzheimer’s.

She performed in dozens of classic French films, in roles including a policewoman, lawyer and teacher. Her touching portrayals of downtrodden women earned her a reputation as the antithesis of glamorous actresses such as Brigitte Bardot and Claudia Cardinale.

In 1969, Girardot played opposite Jean-Paul Belmondo in A Man Who Pleases Me, directed by Claude Lelouch.

With an optimism that never seemed to fail, Girardot overcame several dips in her career, recapturing the hearts of the French people, and winning over sceptical producers.

In 1995, Girardot commented on her return to the silver screen at a César award ceremony, drawing tears from the prestigious audience in Paris. “I don’t know if French cinema missed me, but I missed it madly, hopelessly, painfully,” she said after receiving a César for best supporting actress.

Girardot won France’s César award three times, for her performances in Jean-Louis Bertuccelli’s Doctor Françoise Gailland, in Les Misérables, and Michael Haneke’s La Pianiste.

Girardot performed well into her 60’s, acting in the play Madame Maguerite in Paris for two years in 2001 and 2002, despite the onset of Alzheimer’s.