Geneviève Page Explained

Geneviève Page
Birth Date:13 December 1927
Birth Place:Paris, France
Birth Name:Geneviève Bonjean
Years Active:1951-2003 (film)
1943-1998 (theatre)
Known For:The Private Life of Sherlock Holmes (1970)
Occupation:Actress
Children:2
Signature:File:Genevieve page signature.svg

Geneviève Page (born Geneviève Bonjean; 13 December 1927)[1] [2] is a French actress with a film career spanning fifty years and also numerous English-speaking film productions. She is the daughter of French art collector Jacques Paul Bonjean (1899–1990).

Early life

She was born to a family of aesthetes, like Jacques Bonjean, who collected art from 17-century France, her mother Germaine (born Lipman) Bonjean, and her godfather Christian Dior. At the age of six, her godfather was poor and played the piano with Page's mother, and he even talked to Page about talking to adults. She recalls, "He had no money at the time, and drew hats for big houses. He had lunch every other day at home and played the piano, with my mother in my room, with four hands. I took refuge in the bathroom to learn my lessons." At the age of twelve, Page read some works by Voltaire, and to her mother's surprise, her father replied "If she can't read Voltaire, she can't read anyone." Despite this, she was a very talented young girl, playing Musset at Théâtre National Populaire and entering the Conservatory.

Career

Her film début was in Pas de pitié pour les femmes (1951), followed by Fanfan la Tulipe (1952), in which she played Madame de Pompadour alongside Gérard Philipe and Gina Lollobrigida. Since then, she has appeared in Italian, French, British and American films. She co-starred with Robert Mitchum and Ingrid Thulin in Foreign Intrigue (1956), Dirk Bogarde and Capucine in Song Without End (1960), Charlton Heston and Sophia Loren in El Cid (1961), and was seen in Grand Prix (1966) with James Garner and Belle de Jour (1967), with Catherine Deneuve and directed by Luis Buñuel. She appeared with Deneuve again when she played Countess Larisch in Mayerling (1968), also co-starring with Ava Gardner and James Mason.

Billy Wilder cast her as the mysterious villain in The Private Life of Sherlock Holmes (1970), her best known role because the character she played used her sex appeal to manipulate Holmes.[3] She appeared in Robert Altman's Beyond Therapy (1987) and continued to act until 2003.

Theatre

She acted in 1943 in Le Soulier de Satin and in Oh! Le Beaux Jours, both of which were directed by Jean-Louis Barrault Madeleine Renaud Co.[4] [5] Her theatre career continued in the 1980s and 1990s, with Les larmes amères de Petra von Kant (The Bitter Tears of Petra von Kant) (1980), Lan nuit de rois (Twelfth Night, William Shakespeare), La femme sur le lit (The Woman on the Bed, Franco Brusati) 1994, Delicate Balance (1998).

Selected filmography

YearTitleRoleDirector
1952Fanfan la TulipeMadame de PompadourChristian-Jaque
Pleasures of ParisVioletRalph Baum
1953Open Letter Colette SimonetAlex Joffé
1954L'Étrange Désir de monsieur BardDonataGéza von Radványi
1956Foreign IntrigueDominique DanemoreSheldon Reynolds
The Silken Affair Geneviève GérardRoy Kellino
Michel StrogoffNadia FédorCarmine Gallone
1957Amour de pocheÉdithPierre Kast
Trapped in Tangier Mary BolevascoRiccardo Freda
1960Song Without EndCountess MarieGeorge Cukor and Charles Vidor
1961El CidPrincess UrracaAnthony Mann
1963The Day and the HourAgathe DutheilRené Clément
The Reluctant SpyUrsula KellerJean-Charles Dudrumet
1964Youngblood HawkeFrieda Winter Delmer Daves
1965Le MajordomeAgnès des VallièresJean Delannoy
Three Rooms in ManhattanYolande CombesMarcel Carné
1966Tender Scoundrel Béatrice DumonceauxJean Becker
Corsaires et FlibustiersMary BrownClaude Barma
Grand Prix Monique Delvaux-SartiJohn Frankenheimer
1967Belle de jourMadame AnaisLuis Buñuel
1968MayerlingCountess Marie Larisch von MoennichTerence Young
Decline and Fall... of a BirdwatcherMargotJohn Krish
A Talent for Loving DelphineRichard Quine
1970The Private Life of Sherlock HolmesGabrielle ValadonBilly Wilder
1979Buffet froidGeneviève Léonard (the widow)Bertrand Blier
1982Mortelle randonnéeMadame Schmidt-BoulangerClaude Miller
1987Beyond TherapyZiziRobert Altman
Italian PostcardsSilvana
1989Les Bois noirsNathalie DupinJacques Deray
1992L'Inconnu dans la maisonBernadetteGeorges Lautner

Accolades

YearTitleAward
1980Les larmes amères de Petra von KantCritics Prize for Best Actress
1994La femme sur le litColombe Prix Plaisir du Théâtre Best Actress

Personal life

She was educated at École du Louvre and Conservatoire national des arts et métiers. Page has been married to Jean-Claude Bujard since 1959; the couple have two children.[6] In an interview from 2013, she said she was having stewardship problems in her house and that she was "not used to talking anymore".[7]

External links

Notes and References

  1. Book: Person record "Page, Geneviève" (1927-) - BnF General Catalog. 2020-04-25.
  2. Web site: 88068904. 2020-04-25. Virtual International Authority File.
  3. Book: A Foreign Affair: Billy Wilder's American Films. Gemünden. Gerd. Berghahn Books. 2008. 978-0-85745-066-1. 147–149. j.ctt9qcq5c.12.
  4. Book: French News. Ohio State University. 1963. 10. https://books.google.com/books?id=7AjwGdZDlYUC&dq=Genevi%C3%A8ve+Page&pg=RA3-PA10. Theatre in France .
  5. Book: French News. Ohio State University. 1963. https://books.google.com/books?id=7AjwGdZDlYUC&dq=Genevi%C3%A8ve+Page&pg=RA3-PA10. 9–10. Jean-Louis Barrault Madeleine Renaud Co..
  6. Book: The International Who's Who of Women 2002. Taylor and Francis Group. 2001. 429. 9781857431223 .
  7. News: VIDÉO. Geneviève Page, à la ville comme à la scène (in French). Mirande. Par. July 6, 2013. May 21, 2020. Le Point.