Catherine Deneuve

Catherine Fabienne Dorléac (born 22 October 1943), known professionally as Catherine Deneuve, is a French actress as well as an occasional singer, model and producer.

1990s

 * I try not to think that I am acting, but that I am the person. And instead of giving the audience your fantasies completely, I think it is more interesting to give them a place where they can imagine things instead of knowing everything; but maybe that is very French.
 * There is no such thing as a Hollywood career for a French actress today. You can come here and do films like Juliette Binoche, but you can't come here and have a career. It's because you don’t sign with studios anymore. I remember when I did Umbrellas of Cherbourg, I signed a contract with Fox. At the time, actresses would be proposed different scripts because they had to use you. Sure it had some inconvenience, but actors made films they might not ever make if they weren't under contract. Now, only individual producers choose and actors are left on their own.
 * I think that women who have to deal with a big amount of people have to compartmentalize themselves. You have to have an attitude of strength in a way because you are supposed to direct and organize the life of people in that way, aloof. It doesn't mean much, it's just an attitude.
 * As quoted in Hilary de Vries "MOVIES: Hello, I'm Catherine Deneuve", Los Angeles Times (27 December 1993)

2000s

 * When you're not working and you're just living, you forget and all of a sudden something happens to remind you that you're an actor. I'm not always the nicest person to meet, because I forget very easily that I'm an actress when I'm not working. I live very normally, I go out with my friends, we go to the movies, I queue, we go to restaurants. Then if something happens to remind me that I'm an actress then I become a little different and things become a little heavy. I like the advantages; I know it's not right but I like being famous when it's convenient for me and completely anonymous when it's not.
 * I can be very critical on myself and on other people; when I work, I can be very demanding. But to direct... I admire directors so much, I find them incredible: they manage such a huge number of people of different characters, think of the money involved. And they have to make decisions all the time, they have to answer all the time. I think it's incredible. No, no, I wouldn't be able to do that. I imagine that you have to forget about what the project represents sometimes because otherwise you become a monster. It's incredible the amount of responsibility and power you have. I wouldn't want that.
 * As quoted in Geoff Andrew "Guardian interviews at the BFI: Catherine Deneuve", The Guardian (21 September 2005)

2010s

 * It's the social networks that prevent people from dreaming any more about stars. Their private life is displayed constantly on social networks; and some even post private pictures of themselves. I find it a pity. Being a star entails glamour and secrecy; it's hard to keep any degree of mystery nowadays.
 * As quoted in Andrew Pulver "Catherine Deneuve: 'Social media has stopped people dreaming about stars'", The Guardian (13 May 2015)


 * [On wearing clothes made by the Yves Saint Laurent brand] You are more aware of what you wear. You feel totally different. When you live in public, it gives you an attitude that helps you be confident with people you don’t know.
 * As quoted in Nicholas Foulkes "Catherine Deneuve: I was a symbol, I suppose", Financial Times (10 January 2019)


 * There's a very big challenge in the United States when it comes to ageing, especially for actors and actresses. I'm not saying it's easy in Europe, but in Europe we accept more readily to make movies with women in leading roles who are 40, 45, 50 years old. That is still very rarely seen in the US.
 * As quoted in "Catherine Deneuve on Hillary Clinton, ageing gracefully and Oscars", South China Morning Post/Agence France Presse (3 November 2016)

Quotes about Deneuve

 * In alphabetical order by author or publication.


 * I think it's very tiring to be Catherine Deneuve each day
 * It was a film about character but also about actresses too, and she is the most important French actress for 50 years. When she accepted, it was very easy to build a cast around her.
 * She's not an icon in life. She knows things, and she's very clever. I think she's very shy. She tries to protect herself a lot.
 * François Ozon, as quoted in John Clark "At 58, Deneuve Is Savoring the Role of Working Actress", Los Angeles Times (24 September 2002)
 * Ozon had directed Deneuve in 8 Women which had recently had its North America premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival.


 * Catherine Deneuve seems to have been made for cinema, and cinema for her. She IS French cinema. She seems to be getting more adventurous every year.
 * Martin Scorsese, as quoted by Jocelyn Noveck in "French cinema icon honored", The Advocate/Associated Press (19 April 2012)


 * I'd like to be an American Catherine Deneuve. She plays beautiful, sensitive, deep parts with a little bit of intelligence behind them.
 * Sharon Tate, as quoted in an interview with Johnny Columbus "Sharon Tate - Venus on a Treadmill", Photo Screen (June 1968)