Danièle Delorme, who has died aged 89, began acting professionally in 1942 and continued until the end of the century in films, television and theatre. But the earliest part of her long and prestigious career is most remembered internationally.
Delorme started in films as a fragile and elegant, slightly coquettish ingenue, notably in three pictures directed by Jacqueline Audry, based on novels by Colette: Gigi (1949), Minne, l’Ingénue Libertine (1950) and Mitsou (1956). She was described by her first husband, the actor Daniel Gélin, as having “the face of a little girl, an upturned nose with passionate nostrils, the lips of a child, the body of a woman and a certain way about her that turns heads”.
She was born Gabrielle Girard in Paris, one of four children of André Girard, a well-known illustrator and theatre designer, and Andrée (nee Jouan). It was through her father’s contacts that the 16-year-old Gabrielle landed a bit part in La Belle Aventure (1942), directed by Marc Allégret. Allégret gave her a larger role in Les Petites du Quai aux Fleurs (1944) with Gérard Philipe, making his film debut. One of the cast, Bernard Blier, suggested she change her surname to that of the title character in a Victor Hugo play, Marion Delorme (she had already adopted her second name, Danièle). Also in the film, uncredited, was Gélin, whom Delorme married the following year.
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