French Celebrities Bio | Alain Delon

The recent DVD release of the sun-soaked 1969 poolside thriller La Piscine, starring Alain Delon and Romy Schneider, got us thinking about the enduring appeal of its brooding lead man, the one with the chiseled cheekbones and piercing eyes. Alain Delon is one of those French movie stars that exudes cinematic cool, a man perfectly at home on the big screen that cemented his iconic status long ago and still retains some of that other-worldy mystery today. He is a giant of French cinema.


Born in November 1935 near Paris to parents Fabien and Edith, who divorced when he was just four, he was something of an unruly child, being expelled from school. At 14 he left the education system behind and began working in his uncle's butcher's shop. A subsequent spell in the French navy ended with a dishonourable discharge and so he turned his hand variously to jobs such as a porter and a waiter to make ends meet.

His first foray into acting came quite by chance after he had visited the Cannes Film Festival with his friend, the actress Brigitte Auber (she was in To Catch a Thief in 1955). After being spotted by American director David O.

Selznick's talent scout, he did a screen test and was offered an American movie deal so long as he learned English. He did so in Paris but once he was offered a part in the French director Yves Allégret's film Quand la Femme s'en Mêle he knew that France offered all the opportunity he needed. Ironically, his next film Faibles Femmes became a big hit in the US.

The defining role of his early career came in 1960 when Delon was chosen to play Tom Ripley in Plein Soleil, Réné Clément's gripping and sumptuous reworking of Patricia Highsmith's novel The Talented Mr Ripley. The film was adored by critics and it made Delon a star instantly. The writer herself even approved of the young lead's performance, saying he was 'very beautiful to the eye and interesting for the intellect'.

Some stage work followed, as well as roles in films made by Delon's newly formed production company. Massive commercial success came with Borsalino, a Marseille crime caper from 1970. But it was Delon's performance in three Jean-Pierre Melville movies that left the most impressive imprint on world cinema.

In Le Samuoraï (1967), Delon was Jef Costello, a perfectionist hitman. In this film Delon's wife Nathalie played his girlfriend. Then came 1970's Le Cercle Rouge, a splendid heist thriller with one of the most celebrated heist scenes ever made – Delon played the robber trying it one for one last big job, tracked all the way by Yves Montand's cunning cop. The third of Delon's crime crackers was Un Flic (1972), this time with the lead man on the other side of the law chasing crooks who robbed a bank in St Jean de Monts. All of these films stand up as classics in the genre.

Throughout the 1970s and 1980s Delon could pick and choose his roles and the success continued. Critical acclaim came with two 1984 films – Notre Histoire (directed by Bertrand Blier) and the arthouse working of Proust's Swann in Love. However, some critical and box office disasters followed, culminating in Patrice Leconte's Une chance sur deux. The film’s poor reception led to Delon giving up acting seriously in 1997, though he still takes some smaller roles.

This left him time off-screen to concentrate on various business ventures, including the creation of his very successful perfume and sunglasses brands as well as watches and clothing lines. He still makes public appearances – he presented Marion Cotillard with her César for Best Actress in 2008 but now lives in Switzerland. He acquired Swiss status in 1999 and lives by Lake Geneva with his two youngest children.

To best appreciate the talent of this cinematic icon, we recommend that you rent or buy some of his early films – start with La Piscine, Plein Soleil and Le Cercle Rouge.