Who were Jean-Paul Belmondo's wives? French actor and 'Breathless' star dies at 88
One of postwar French cinema's biggest stars, Jean-Paul Belmondo, has died. He was 88 years old. The actor's lawyer broke the news of his demise on Monday, September 6. Jean-Paul Belmondo shot to international fame with Jean-Luc Godard’s 'Breathless'.
"He had been very tired for some time. He died peacefully," the statement from Belmondo's lawyer Michel Godest said. We have witnessed the demise of many great actors in 2021. Jay Pickett, Rick Aiello and Markie Post are to name a few.
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Born in Neuilly-sur-Seine, a suburb of Paris on 9 Apr 1933, to Paul Belmondo, a sculptor whose statues grace lots of Parisian parks, Belmondo failed at school and went on to become an amateur boxer. He won 15 of his 23 bouts in his short-lived career before giving up the sport to concentrate on acting. Belmondo began his career in theatre, before moving on to films. After several notable stints in theatres, he got his big movie break with the role of Laszlo in Claude Chabrol's 1958 film 'Les Tricheurs'. He is known for stints in international productions like 'Is Paris Burning?' (1966), the James Bond spoof 'Casino Royale' (1967) and with Alain Delon in the gangster movie 'Borsalino' (1970).
Jean-Paul Belmondo was one of the country’s biggest box-office stars in the '60s and '70s with international hits like 'Breathless', 'Trapped by Fear' (1960), 'Letters By a Novice' (1960), 'Seven Days... Seven Nights' (1961) and 'Love and the Frenchwoman' (1960) to his name. Belmondo's film career spanned half a century, with a total of 130 million cinema tickets to his films sold. Belmondo took a sabbatical for a year in 1967-68, and returned to show business at a 'slow but steady' pace, making films for Truffaut ('Mississippi Mermaid'), Claude Lelouch ('Love Is a Funny Thing') and Jacques Deray ('Borsalino'). He was chosen by Empire magazine as one of the 100 Sexiest Stars in film history. Belmondo was hospitalized with a stroke in 2001 and did not make any films until 2009’s 'A Man and His Dog'. He was seen attending the funeral of the comedian and screenwriter Guy Bedos in Paris in June last year.
Who was Jean-Paul Belmondo married to?
Jean-Paul married Belmondo Élodie Constantin in 1952. The couple shared three children, Patricia (born 1953), Florence (born 1958) and Paul (born 1963). Patricia was killed in a fire in 1993. Belmondo and Elodie separated in 1965 and their divorce was finalized in 1968. Belmondo dated various actresses after his divorce namely Ursula Andress, Laura Antonelli, Carlos Sotto Mayor and Barbara Gandolfi. When Belmondo was in his mid-50s, he met 24-year-old dancer Natty Tardivel in 1989. The couple lived together for over a decade before marrying in 2002. Tardivel gave birth to then 70-year-old Belmondo's fourth child, Stella Eva Angelina on 13 August 2003. The couple divorced in 2008.