Marie-France Pisier (10 May 1944 – 24 April 2011) was a French actress, screenwriter, and director. She appeared in numerous films of the French New Wave and twice earned the national César Award for Best Supporting Actress.
Five years later, Pisier made her screen acting debut for director François Truffaut in his 1962 film Antoine and Colette. She had a brief but incendiary romance with the older, married Truffaut. Despite its end, she later appeared in Truffaut's Stolen Kisses (Baisers volés, 1968) and Love on the Run (L'Amour en fuite, 1979), the fifth and final film in Truffaut's series about the character Antoine Doinel. Pisier was credited as a co-writer of the screenplay.[1] In a review in The New York Times, film critic Vincent Canby praised her "ravishing performance".[2]
Pisier gained widespread public recognition in 1975 when she appeared in Jean-Charles Tacchella's popular comedy Cousin Cousine. Her role as the volatile Karine earned her a César Award for Best Supporting Actress.[3] Her subsequent feature films included three with director André Téchiné: French Provincial (Souvenirs en France, 1975); The Bronte Sisters (Les sœurs Brontë, 1979), in which she portrayed Charlotte; and Barocco (1976), for which she won a second César for her performance alongside Isabelle Adjani and Gérard Depardieu.[3]
Returning to France, Pisier made her directorial debut with The Governor's Party (Le bal du gouverneur, 1990), which she adapted from her own novel. She also played Madame Verdurin in Raúl Ruiz's adaptation of Marcel Proust, Time Regained (Le temps retrouvé, 1999). Her final film as director was with Bérénice Bejo (winner of the César Award for Best Actress in The Artist) in Like An Airplane (Comme un avion, 2002).
Personal life
Pisier's first marriage to Georges Kiejman ended in divorce.[1][4] She resided in Saint-Cyr-sur-Mer, Var, and was married to Thierry Funck-Brentano. The couple had a son, Mathieu, and a daughter, Iris.[1]
In 1971, Pisier signed the Manifesto of the 343, publicly declaring she had an illegal abortion.[5]
Death
Pisier died on 24 April 2011, aged 66. She was found dead in her swimming pool by Funck-Brentano and is believed to have drowned.[1][3] She was survived by her sister Évelyne, brother Gilles, and both children.[1] The local mayor announced her death to the news media and PresidentNicolas Sarkozy made a public statement honouring "her supreme elegance born of the most perfect simplicity".[6][1]
^"Mort de l'actrice Marie-France Pisier" (in French). Télévision Française 1. 2011. Archived from the original on 26 April 2011. Retrieved 26 April 2011. L'actrice Marie-France Pisier, âgée de 66 ans, est décédée dans la nuit de samedi à dimanche à Saint-Cyr-sur-Mer (Var) où elle résidait, a-t-on appris auprès de la mairie de la commune.