Mireille Darc
Born on a 15th of May in the town of Toulon, Mireille Darc is the youngest in a family of three children. She passed her baccalaureate and received the excellence prize of the Academy of Dramatic Arts in Toulon. In 1959, she went to Paris to become a drama and cinema actress. She did a few odd jobs before starting as a model. In 1960, she also played the main female part in the TV films La grande Brétèche by Claude Barma, Hauteclaire by Jean Prat and L’été en Hiver by François Chalais.
In 1960, she also made her cinema debut in Les distractions by Jacques Dupont. In 1964, she performed on stage in a play directed by Peter Ustinov, Photo Finish, alongside Philippe Noiret and Bernard Blier. In 1965, her career really took off when she acted in the film Galia directed by Georges Lautner, before playing in some further thirty films. She also performed at the Theatre de la Madeleine in Neil Simon’s play Pieds nus dans le parc produced by Pierre Mondy, also starring Jean-Pierre Cassel and Rosy Varte. Her nickname, La grande sauterelle (The Tall Grasshopper) she got in 1966 when acting in a film directed by Georges Lautner bearing that title.
Two years later, whilst acting in the film Jeff by Jean Herman, she met Alain Delon, with whom she was to spend the next fifteen years of her life. In the 1980s, she was more rarely seen on the big screen since she devoted much time to photography, television and drama. In 1985, she performed on stage with Jean Piat in Chapitre ?II by Neil Simon, adapted by Barillet and Grédy and directed by Pierre Mondy.
Mireille Darc started directing TV films in 1988 with La barbare. She also acted in a number of popular summer TV series : Terre indigo, Le bleu de l’océan, Les cœurs brûlés, Les yeux d’Hélène and Franck Riva.
In 2001, she made a few reportages for some well-known news programmes ; for “Envoyé Spécial” she made one on organ transplant and prostitution, and for France 3 channel “Doubt and Hope” and cancer victims.
In 2005 she was made Chevalier de l’Ordre National de la Légion d’Honneur (Knight of the Legion of Honour). That year she published her memoirs, “Tant que battra mon cœur” (As long as my heart beats). The next year she was awarded the prestigious Insignes of the Légion d’Honneur.
In 2007, she acted for the first time ever with Alain Delon on stage in the play The Bridges of Madison County adapted from Robert James Waller’s novel and from the film by Clint Eastwood.
PARTIAL FILMOGRAPHY
ACTRESS
1960
LES DISTRACTIONS de Jacques Dupont
LA REVENANTE de Jacques Poitrenaud
MOURIR D’AMOUR de Dany Fog
1961
LES NOUVEAUX ARISTOCRATES de Francis Rigaud
LA BRIDE SUR LE COU de Roger Vadim & Jean Aurel
PENA DE MUERTE de José Maria Form
1962
VIRGINIE de Jean Boyer
LES VEINARDS de Jean Girault, Philippe de Broca & Jacques Pinoteau
1963
POUIC-POUIC de Jean Girault
1964
LES BARBOUZES de Georges Lautner
DES PISSENLITS PAR LA RACINE de Georges Lautner
LES TONTONS FLINGUEURS de Georges Lautner
LES DURS À CUIRE de Jacques Pinoteau
MONSIEUR de Jean-Paul Le Chanois
LA CHASSE À L’HOMME de Edouard Molinaro
1965
LES BONS VIVANTS de Georges Lautner
UN GRAND SEIGNEUR de Georges Lautner
BARBOUZE CHÉRIE de Christian Forgue
GALIA de Georges Lautner
1966
À BELLES DENTS de Pierre Gaspard-Huit
NE NOUS FÂCHONS PAS de Georges Lautner
DU RIFIFI À PANAME de Denys de la Patellière
ZARABANDA BING BANG de José-Maria Forque
1967
LA GRANDE SAUTERELLE de Georges Lautner
LA BLONDE DE PÉKIN de Nicolas Gessner
WEEK-END de Jean-Luc Godard
1968
FLEUR D’OSEILLE de Georges Lautner
1969
MADLY de Roger Kahane
SUMMIT (Un corps une nuit) de Giorgio Bontempi
ELLE BOIT PAS, ELLE FUME PAS, ELLE DRAGUE PAS, MAIS…ELLE CAUSE ! de Michel Audiard
MONTE CARLO OR BUST ! (Gonflés à bloc) de Ken Annakin
JEFF de Jean Herman
1970
BORSALINO de Jacques Deray
1971
FANTASIA CHEZ LES PLOUCS de Gérard Pirès
IL ÉTAIT UNE FOIS UN FLIC de Georges Lautner
LAISSE ALLER C’EST UNE VALSE de Georges Lautner
1972
LE GRAND BLOND AVEC UNE CHAUSSURE NOIRE de Yves Robert
1973
LA VALISE de Georges Lautner
IL N’Y A PAS DE FUMÉE SANS FEU de André Cayatte
1974
OK PATRON de Claude Vital
LES SEINS DE GLACE de Georges Lautner
DIS-MOI QUE TU M’AIMES de Michel Boisiond
LE RETOUR DU GRAND BLOND de Yves Robert
BORSALINO & CO de Jacques Deray
1975
LE TÉLÉPHONE ROSE de Edouard Molinaro
1976
L’ORDINATEUR DES POMPES FUNÈBRES de Gérard Pirès
1977
L’HOMME PRESSÉ de Edouard Molinaro
MORT D’UN POURRI de Georges Lautner
LES PASSAGERS de Serge Leroy
1978
LES RINGARDS de Robert Pouret
1981
POUR LA PEAU D’UN FLIC de Alain Delon
REPORTERS de Raymond Depardon
1982
JAMAIS AVANT LE MARIAGE de Daniel Ceccaldi
1983
SI ELLE DIT OUI JE NE DIS PAS NON de Claude Vital
1984
RÉVEILLON CHEZ BOB de Denys Granier-Deferre
1986
LA VIE DISSOLUE DE GÉRARD FLOQUE de Georges Lautner
1992-1994
LES COEURS BRÛLÉS de Jean Sagols - série télévisée
1994
LES YEUX D’HÉLÈNE de Jean Sagols - série télévisée
1996
TERRE INDIGO de Jean Sagols - série télévisée
1999
LE PORTRAIT de Pierre Lary - téléfilm
2003
LE BLEU DE L’OCEAN de Didier Albert - série télévisée
2003-2004
FRANK RIVA de Patrick Jamain - série télévisée
DIRECTOR AND SCREENWRITER
1989 LA BARBARE
2008 VOYAGE VERS L’INCONNUE - documentaire
2011 PAS SUR LA BOUCHE - documentaire
SCREENWRITER
1969 MADLY de Roger Kahane
1983 SI ELLE DIT OUI JE NE DIS PAS NON de Claude Vital
