French New Wave icon Jean-Paul Belmondo dies at 88

Jean-Paul Belmondo, the iconic French actor synonymous with the Nouvelle Vague, died on September 6, 2021 at age 88. Born in Neuilly-sur-Seine in 1933 to sculptor Paul Belmondo, he trained at the Conservatoire national supérieur d'art dramatique before abandoning theater for cinema. His breakthrough came in 1960 with Jean-Luc Godard's 'Breathless,' establishing his ironic, nonconformist persona. He collaborated with Godard on 'A Woman Is a Woman' (1961) and 'Pierrot le Fou' (1965), and worked with directors François Truffaut, Alain Resnais, Louis Malle, and others. In the 1970s, he shifted to commercial thrillers and crime films directed by Jacques Deray, Philippe de Broca, and Henri Verneuil. He also acted in Italy under Alberto Lattuada, Vittorio De Sica ('Two Women,' 1960), and Renato Castellani, alongside stars like Gina Lollobrigida, Claudia Cardinale, Sophia Loren, and Stefania Sandrelli. In 1963 he published his autobiography 'Trente ans et vingt-cinq films.' He returned to theater in 1987, notably performing 'Cyrano de Bergerac.' The Venice Biennale awarded him a Golden Lion for Lifetime Achievement in 2016. French President Emmanuel Macron tweeted, 'He will forever be Le Magnifique... a national treasure.'