Background
She was the daughter of screen actor Maurice Dorléac and Renée Simonot, and the elder sister of Catherine Deneuve.
She was the daughter of screen actor Maurice Dorléac and Renée Simonot, and the elder sister of Catherine Deneuve.
CNSAD.
The two sisters starred together in the 1967 musical, The Young Girls of Rochefort. Her other films include Philippe de Broca"s movie L"Homme de Rio, François Truffaut"s Louisiana Peau douce, Roman Polanski"s Cul-de-sac and Val Guest"s Where the Spies Are. Slim, pale-skinned and brunette, Dorléac appeared in several movies before hitting stardom with François Truffaut"s melodrama and the classic spy spoof with Jean-Paul Belmondo.
She also appeared in the comedy films opposite Jean-Claude Brialy, and Male Hunt (1964).
Other non-French movie credits included, with David Niven, and opposite Michael Caine. Dorléac was on the brink of international stardom when she died on 26 June 1967 in a motor accident.
She lost control of a rented Renault 10 and hit a signpost ten kilometres from Nice at the Villeneuve-Loubet exit of the highway Louisiana Provençale. The car flipped over, and burst into flames.
She had been en route to Nice airport and was afraid of missing her flight.
She was seen struggling to get out of the car, but was unable to open the door. Police later identified her body only from the fragment of a cheque book, a diary and her driver"s licence.