Why Jean-Paul Belmondo was left alone at the age of 88: Loud victories and annoying defeats of the "ageless heartthrob"

2024 Author: Richard Flannagan | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-15 23:55

On April 9, one of the most successful French actors Jean-Paul Belmondo, who is called "the ageless heartthrob", celebrated his 88th birthday. His teachers said that with such an appearance he could only play villains, because such a hero would only terrify girls, but later on both screens and behind the scenes he produced the opposite effect on women: Jean-Paul Belmondo easily won the hearts of the first beauties and broke them just as easily. At 70 he became a father, and at 75 he divorced his wife and started an affair with a young beauty, who seemed to avenge him for all the abandoned women …

Custom hero lover

Nobody believed that the champion of Paris in boxing with his unpresentable appearance and broken nose would one day become an actor. One day his sculptor father asked his friend, artistic director of the Comedie Francaise, to arrange an audition for him, and he said that Jean-Paul was absolutely unsuitable for performing arts.

When at the age of 20 he decided to enter the Conservatory of Dramatic Arts in Paris, at the entrance exams the teacher gave him a disappointing verdict: "". He was nevertheless accepted, but many teachers considered him hopeless - not only was he a hard-core truant and a rowdy, he also claimed the role of romantic heroes. One of the teachers told him at the exam: "". But women did not think so …

Despite the fact that Jean-Paul was never handsome, he knew how to impress women of the opposite sex. His friends and colleagues could only be amazed at how easily Belmondo conquered the first beauties of Paris. Once meeting with him on the set, the actor Jean Gabin said: "".

First marriage

Even in his youth, he said: "" Officially, he was married twice, and about the number of novels, without false modesty, said: "". The actor admitted that he first showed interest in female beauty at the age of 5, when, under any pretexts, he broke into his father's workshop, where their charming young maid Jeanette posed for him.

He himself believed that he had six serious novels. When he was 20 years old, he met the dancer Rene Constantin. He called her Elodie, after the heroine of the play in which he then played. They got married and lived together for 13 years. Elodie gave him three children - Patricia, Florence and Paul. Their family happiness could hardly be called cloudless. When a loud fame fell on the actor after the release of Godard's film "In His Last Breath", crowds of fans began to overcome him, and one cannot say that he remained indifferent to their attention.

Later Belmondo said that Elodie was the only woman who did not try to command him and supported him in everything. She tried to ignore the rumors about her husband's relationship with partners on the set, but her patience snapped when he openly began to play with actress Ursula Andress. Elodie herself filed for divorce and later confessed to her husband: "".

Belmondo and Bond Girl

Swiss actress Ursula Andress became famous as a Bond girl and by that time was considered one of the most beautiful and attractive European actresses. Their romance with Belmondo was stormy and destroyed 2 families, because for the sake of the actor, Ursula divorced her husband. They spent 7 years together. She gladly appeared with him at social receptions and parties, reveled in the attention of the press to their couple and willingly posed arm in arm with him for photographers, but creating a family was not included in her plans. And Belmondo, despite all his frivolity, was still looking for a reliable rear.

Later, Ursula said: "".

Seven-year guest marriage

From Ursula Andress Belmondo went to another beautiful actress - Italian Laura Antonelli, Playboy Girl of the Year and star of explicit films. She, too, divorced her husband for the sake of the actor, and together with Belmondo they also spent 7 years. Their marriage was a guest marriage: she lived in Rome, he lived in Paris, and they went to each other on weekends and on holidays.

Laura valued her freedom too much and did not dare to start a family with the famous heartthrob, which was the reason for their separation. When the actor left her, Laura fell into depression, began to abuse alcohol and even tried to commit suicide. Fearing for her health, Belmondo continued to communicate with her and supported her for several years, but there was already another woman in his heart.

This is my motor

He was already 48 years old when a 20-year-old model from Brazil Maria Carlos Sotomayor appeared in his life. The actor said about her: "". And again the relationship lasted 7 years, and again the girl did not want to hear about marriage - she devoted all her time to shopping, parties and … other men. At parting, she gave him a terrier puppy, maliciously wishing to find happiness "at least with this s … th".

Second marriage, which extended his life

The second legal wife of the actor was the fashion model and dancer Natalie Tardivel. Sotomayor would be very surprised if she found out that they met thanks to the very dog named Maya, which she gave him. Since then, Belmondo did not part with her and once saw in the arms of a woman the same terrier. He approached her to talk about their pets and suddenly discovered that they were united not only by their love for dogs.

The girl was 30 years younger than him, and no one expected that this union would be durable. However, Natty behaved in a completely different way from his previous chosen ones: she came to him at the theater for rehearsals, and then took him home and fed him her favorite dishes. She was by his side when disaster struck - his eldest daughter died during a fire, and soon Belmondo fell ill with a stroke. For more than six months, Natty nursed him, it was thanks to her that he again learned to walk and speak. And after 2 years, when the actor turned 70, they had a daughter, Stella. But after another 5 years, Natty met another man, her age, and Belmondo let her go.

Payback for sins

He was already 75 years old, but he was not going to put an end to his personal life. The last darling of Belmondo was the Belgian model Barbara Gandolfi, 43 years younger than him. During the 4 years that they spent together, friends more than once tried to reason with him, assuring the actor that she was deceiving him. He did not believe, even after his mansion was robbed twice, and said that the girl returned him the joy of life. As it turned out, Barbara was indeed a fraud and once transferred 200 thousand euros from his account to her account. Belmondo refused legal claims against her, but after that he parted ways with her. Since then, the actor has remained alone. Fate more than once gave him chances to build a strong family, but he stepped on the same rake again and again. Although, if he were offered to live his life anew, he probably would not fix anything.

Children and grandchildren became his joy today: How did the children of Belmondo become famous?.