Jeanne Renée Deneuve (French pronunciation: [ʒan ʁəne dənœv]; 10 September 1911 – 11 July 2021), known professionally as Renée-Jeanne Simonot ([ʁəne ʒan simɔno]), was a French actress and voice artist. Partially italian, she was married to actor Maurice Dorléac, the mother of actresses Catherine Deneuve and Françoise Dorléac and the grandmother of actor Christian Vadim and actress Chiara Mastroianni.
Contents
Early life and career
Born in Le Havre, France to Joseph-Sévère Deneuve and Antoinette-Jeanne Deneuve (née Schenardi), she debuted at the Odéon Theatre in 1918 at the age of seven. Primarily a stage actress, she remained there for 28 years, holding the post of "leading lady". Her daughter Catherine chose to use her maiden name, Deneuve, as her stage name. Simonot is Renée's stage name, which she took from an opera singer and family friend.
Renée Simonot was one of the first French actresses to begin the dubbing of American films in France from the beginning of the talkies in 1929 through the 1930s. She was the voice of Olivia de Havilland (in most of her films), Sylvia Sidney, Judy Garland, Donna Reed and Esther Williams, among others.
Personal life
She had her first daughter, Danièle, out of wedlock on 27 October 1936 with actor Aimé Clariond. Simonot told Le Point magazine in 2013: "Mr. Clariond was not my husband. He was married, not divorced and separated from his wife for a long time. The only happiness he gave me is a child. For the rest, he was charming, but we could not count on him."