Biography
In film from 1958, French actress Stephane Audran has most often been seen in the films directed by her second husband,
Claude Chabrol. Conveying an icy sensuality in her screen appearances, Audran won France's Cesar Award for her against-type portrayal of a drab, unhappy woman in Chabrol's
Violette Noziere (1978); three years earlier, she was honored with the British Film Academy award for
Just Before Nightfall (1975). She has also appeared in the works of
Eric Rohmer (
Signe du Lion),
Jean Delannoy (
La Peau de Torpedo),
Gabriel Axel (
Babette's Feast), and
Bertrand Tavernier (Coup de Touchon). The most celebrated of her non-Chabrol films was Luis Bunuel's Oscar-winning
The Discreet Charm of the Bourgeoisie (1972). Also active in English-language productions, Audran seemed a bit lost in such American misfires as
The Black Bird (1975), but was poise personified in the made-for-TV projects
Brideshead Revisited (1982),
Mistral's Daughter (1984) and
The Sun Also Rises (1984). Prior to her 1964 marriage to Chabrol, Stephane Audran had been the wife of actor
Jean-Louis Trintignant. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide