Michèle Morgan

Michèle Morgan (French: [miʃɛl mɔʁɡan]; born Simone Renée Roussel; 29 February 1920 – 20 December 2016) was a French film actress, who was a leading lady for three decades in both French cinema and Hollywood features. She is considered one of the greatest French actresses of the 20th century. Morgan was the inaugural winner of the Best Actress Award at the Cannes Film Festival. In 1992, she was given an honorary César Award for her contributions to French cinema.

Early life

Morgan was born Simone Renée Roussel in Neuilly-sur-Seine, Hauts-de-Seine, a suburb of Paris. She grew up in Dieppe, Seine-Maritime, France.

Career

Morgan left home at the age of 15 for Paris determined to become an actress. She took acting lessons from René Simon while serving as an extra in several films to pay for her drama classes. It was then that she took the stage name "Michèle Morgan". She argued that she did not have the body type of a Simone, and "Morgan" sounded more Hollywood-friendly.

Morgan was first noticed by director Marc Allégret, who offered her a major role in the film Gribouille (1937), opposite Raimu. Then came Le Quai des brumes (1938) directed by Marcel Carné and Remorques (1941) directed by Jean Grémillon, both opposite Jean Gabin.