Anouk Aimée dead at 92: The legendary actress starred in La Dolce Vita and Un Homme et Une Femme

Legendary actress’s Anouk Aimée’s death was announced by her daughter Manuela Papatakis on Instagram and she wrote that “With my daughter, Galaad, and my granddaughter, Mila, we are immensely saddened to announce the departure of my mother, Anouk Aimée.

I was at her bedside when she passed away this morning at her home in Paris; With infinite love.💞♾️”

Since Anouk’s daughter posted about her mother’s death, she has been inundated with tributes. One fan said: “So sorry to hear this sad news. One of the most beautiful and talented actresses of our times. Sending you love and condolences,” whilst another wrote “She will remain unforgettable.”

One of Anouk Aimée’s best known roles was in the Oscar-winning movie Un Homme et Une Femme (A Man and a Woman), she starred opposite Jean-Louis Trintignant. Anouk won a best actress Oscar nomination for the film which won Oscars for  best foreign language film and best original screenplay.

For those of you who are unfamiliar with the 1960s movie directed by Claude Lelouch, I would urge you to watch it. It tells the story of a man and a woman who meet one another at the boarding school where their children study. The couple fall in love but Anouk’s character struggles with the affection she feels for her late husband. 

Not only is the movie memorable, but so is the song Un Homme et Une Femme from the film, which was by Francis Lais, lyrics by Pierre Barouh and performed by Pierre Barouh and Nicole Croisille. The iconic lyrics were ‘Da ba da ba da, ba da ba da ba’ and it won a Golden Globe for best original song. 

Anouk was born in Paris on 27 April 1932, and was the daughter of actor Henri Dreyfus and actress Genevieve Sorya (nee Durand). To avoid Nazi persecution during World War 2, she took her mother’s maiden name and when she attended boarding school in the Alps, she encountered Roger Vadim who went on to direct And God Created Women. 

According to The Hollywood Reporter, “When she was 14, Aimée was spotted by film director Henri Calef, who cast her for the part of Anouk in his 1947 romantic drama La maison sous la mer. The actress decided to keep that as her professional name, adding “Aimee” (which means “loved” in French) at the suggestion of author Jacques Prevert, whom she met while shooting Marcel Carne’s unfinished teen saga La fleur de l’age.”

Anouk Aimée starred as Maddalena in Fellini’s La Dolce Vitta in 1960, but it was thanks to the movie Un Homme et Une Femme that Anouk gained international fame and recognition. Unfortunately despite receiving an Oscar nomination for her role in the movie, it was Elizabeth Taylor who picked up the award for Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf? 

The movie grossed more than $50 million worldwide and at Cannes in 1986, the cast of Un Homme et Une Femme reunited to make Une Homme et ne Femme, A Man and a Woman: 20 Years Later. Later in her career, Anouk starred in Robert Altman’s fashion comedy Prêt-à-Porter, she was married four times, including between 1970 and 1978 to actor Albert Finney. Her last marriage was to Greek film director Nikos Papatakis, the couple shared a daughter together, Manuela. 

Anouk Aimée was not only an actress but a style icon, and I remember as a child being transfixed on her chic look when I watched Un Homme et Une Femme for the first time. Vogue described Anouk as someone who in the 1960s “preferred sultry yet simple pieces like cropped sweaters, fitted dresses, and flats. She was never one for accessories, choosing to complement her looks with a flick of winged eyeliner and expertly arched brow.”