With more than 120 films, the late actor Jean-Louis Trintignant remains a legend of French cinema. In a new biography, signed by the journalist Laurent Del Bono, we paint the intimate portrait of an artist of immense talent, shy, modest and discreet, who keeps the secret. A great seducer, he loved several women, including Brigitte Bardot. With a life crowned with success, we especially preserve the image of a man hurt by the death of his beloved daughter, Marie Trintignant, murdered by her spouse.
Considered one of the most renowned French actors of his time, Jean-Louis Trintignant died of cancer last year at the age of 91. He had a phenomenal career, particularly in cinema and theatre.
Born in Piolenc, France in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d’Azur region, Jean-Louis Trintignant did not have an easy childhood. He grows up feeling like he’s not much. He is shy, introverted and had trouble understanding three words in a row.
These parents, Raoul and Claire, were the subject of an “arranged” marriage and never loved each other. Claire comes from a wealthy family while Raoul runs a food factory. Together they give the impression of a decent family with good values who go to church on Sundays with their two children. But behind this facade we learn that Raoul Trintignant, a leader of the Résistance during World War II, is arrested and then imprisoned by the German army, while Claire is humiliated after an affair with a German soldier.
She loves poker so much that she turns her mansion into a games room and also plays in casinos, particularly the one in Monte Carlo. Her health is poor, yet she engages in all kinds of abuse. Because she suffers from severe diabetes, she will end up blind and with her legs amputated in the hospital room. These events will mark the sensitive heart of Jean-Louis Trintignant.
At the age of 19, then a student at the law school in Aix-en-Provence, his destiny took shape when he attended the play L’Avare by Molière. It will be a revelation for him: he will want to be an actor at all costs. He will abandon the law and turn to the dramatic arts. After several training sessions, he overcame his pathological shyness.
He then got small roles in the committees. In particular, he had the opportunity to act in Shakespeare’s play Macbeth.
He became an internationally renowned actor when, at the age of 26, he starred opposite Brigitte Bardot in the legendary film And God… Created Woman. At this time, he also maintains an affair with BB. Numerous films followed, which confirmed his talent as an actor. He achieved international fame in particular with the films “A Man and a Woman”, “The Man Who Lies”, “The Woman of My Life” and “Love”. His career is interrupted by military service, which puts a psychological strain on him.
A few years later he became a director, but both of his films were commercial failures.
A fan
From reading his biography, we understand that behind the discreet man is a passionate man. In addition to theater and cinema, there is also motorsport. Three of his uncles are motorsport enthusiasts, a passion he quickly passes on to himself. But nothing was easy, his uncle Louis Trintignant committed suicide at the age of 30 while training for the 1933 Grand Prix de Picardie. His uncle Henri took part in the 1936 Grand Prix automobile de France. His uncle Maurice had the best career: he was the first Frenchman to win the Grand Prix in the history of Formula 1 with a Ferrari in Monaco in 1955.
Jean-Louis, in turn, went to the race track, but without much success.
Nevertheless, he took part in the Monte Carlo Rally a few times. This is an opportunity for him to meet Marianne Hoepfner, racing driver who became his third wife after his divorce from Nadine Trintignant in 2000.
Then he embarked on a new adventure and bought a five hectare vineyard on the Côtes-du-Rhône. In just a decade, his property has grown into one of the best-rated in the Rhone Valley.
The death of his daughter
He will say it himself, the death of his daughter: “It’s the great drama that has shaken my life.”
In fact, Jean-Louis Trintignant never recovered from the murder of his daughter Marie, who was beaten to death in 2003 by her husband, singer Bertrand Cantat from the group Noir Désir.
The actor was already devastated by the death of his daughter Pauline, who died in 1969 at the age of 10 months. He was with his second wife, Nadine Marquand Trintignant, director and screenwriter, with whom he had three children, Pauline, Mary and Vincent. His first wife was actress Stéphane Audran, who filed for divorce after his affair with Brigitte Bardot.
Jean-Louis also had an important love affair with his playing partner Romy Schneider. But no lovesickness made him suffer as much as the death of his daughter Marie, who was brutally murdered by her husband and beaten in the head and body for a little story of jealousy.
Jean-Louis Trintignant initially reacted with silence, followed by feelings of guilt. He felt that the tragedy would not have happened if he had been there. He even said he had the idea of killing his daughter’s killer, Bertrand Cantat, who was released from prison after just four years. That’s because his relationship with his daughter Marie was special, almost Oedipal, with a fascination for one another. They even played a lot together in the cinema and in the theater. “She’s the woman I loved most in the world,” the actor admitted.
Jean-Louis Trintignant announced in 2017 that he had prostate cancer. He systematically refuses any medical treatment. Since he also suffers from diabetes, he gradually goes blind. He died in June 2022 at home in France surrounded by his relatives and his wife Marianne Hoepfner Trintignant.
_____________________________________________________________________________
Jean-Louis Trintignant has been nominated several times and received several awards:
In 1968 he received the Silver Bear for Best Actor for “The Lying Man”.
In 1969 he received the Male Interpretation Prize at the Cannes Film Festival for Z
In 2012 he received the Palme d’Or at the Cannes Film Festival for Amour
In 2012 he received the award for best European actor for Amour
In 2013 he received the César for best actor for Amour
_______________________________________________________________________________
Jean-Louis Trintignant: a family history
Laurent Del Bono
Prisma Editions
280 pages
_____________________________________________________________________
– Laurent Del Bono is a freelance journalist based in France and works for Gala magazine.
– He has already signed the biography Véronique Sanson, the ultra-sensitive.