Françoise Dorléac

Birth Name:

Françoise Paulette Louise Dorléac

Birth Date:

March 21, 1942

Birth Place:

Paris, France

Death Date:

June 26, 1967

Place of Death:

Villeneuve-Loubet exit of the autoroute La Provençale, Villeneuve-Loubet, France

Age:

Cause of Death:

Single car crash

Cemetery Name:

Cimetière communal de Seine-Port

Claim to Fame:

Show Business

Françoise Dorléac was a beloved French actress whose father was Maurice Dorleac, a stage and screen actor and her mother, Renee Deneuve, re-voiced Hollywood movies (including Judy Garland in The Wizard of Oz). However most American's would know her as the older sister of Catherine Deneuve. Francoise Dorleac made her first stage appearance at age 10 and debuted on film in a short, Mesonges, in 1957. Supporting herself as a model for Dior, she studied acting at the Conservatoire d’Art Dramatique. From 1960 – 1967 she appeared in 16 films including Philippe de Broca’s That Man from Rio (1964) co-starring Jean-Paul BelmondoIn Europe, Francois Truffaut’s The Soft Skin (1964) and Roger Vadim’s remake of La Ronde (1964) with Jane Fonda and Anna Karina. At the time Francoise was so popular she would be likened to Garbo and Dietrich. In the U.S. Look magazine would feature a June 1965 spread on "The Sister Stars of France," spotlighting 'sweet' Catherine and 'soignee' Francoise. In the final years of her very short life, Françoise Dorléac co-starred in the films "Billion Dollar Brain", "Genghis Khan" with Omar Sharif and James Mason, and "Where the Spies Are", a spy spoof with David Niven. Decades after her passing, a reporter would ask Catherine Deneuve what the low point of her life so far had been. She would pause and softly speak of the death of Françoise. She remembered her sister as a fine actress, a beautiful woman and "my closest friend."

That Tragic Evening

Françoise had just been to see her sister Catherine Deneuve in St Tropez and was driving to Nice airport when her car went off the road and burst into flames. Witnesses described a frantic Françoise struggling to open the door as she was helplessly pinned against the steering wheal. It took two hours to recover her body and she was identified only through her drivers license and the charred remains of her check book.

Cemetery Information:

Final Resting Place:

Cimetière communal de Seine-Port

68 Rue de Melun

Seine-Port, Seine-et-Marne, , 77240

France

Europe

Map:

Map of Cimetière communal de Seine-Port just south of Paris, France.

Grave Location:

Dorléac Family Plot

Grave Location Description

As you enter the cemetery from the entrance on Chemin de la Justice, walk straight ahead for about 100 feet. Turn left towards the round “watertower” style mausoleum and then another right. Walk straight ahead towards the wall for the final resting place of actress Françoise Dorléac.