Cult actress from the Cote d'Azur who never takes off her sunglasses: Emmanuelle Bear

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

Her main trump cards are beauty and sensuality. And they would have been enough to build a film career - after all, tens and hundreds of actresses manage to hold out on this for a decade or two in the glory. But this Frenchwoman is not striving at all for the ovation of the audience - or, at least, not only for them. Therefore, perhaps, Emmanuelle Bear and became a cult figure in France.

Girl from the Cote d'Azur

If the world of cinema seemed exotic to one of the French girls of the seventies, then Emmanuelle Bear was not one of them: both her parents knew firsthand about working in front of the camera. Father - Guy Bear - was a singer, poet and composer who won quite a lot of popularity in France. In the seventies, he, along with other French artists, visited the USSR on a concert tour.

Emmanuelle's mother, Genevieve Galea, was a fashion model and actress - a beautiful and effective woman. She did not live long with Guy Bear, after which she started a family with a new man, and Emmanuelle grew up with four half-brothers. She spent her childhood in the south of France, not far from Saint-Tropez; she spent her holidays with her father in Paris. But to live in a quiet town where nothing happens, Emmanuelle seemed too boring, and at the age of fourteen she moved to the capital, to her father.

There, in Paris, she plunged into the life of artists and musicians, and it is possible that it was during such meetings that the desire to devote her life to the art of cinema arose. True, Bear herself said that the defining moment in her future career was the day she watched the film Mado with Romy Schneider.

With the school, Emmanuelle did not work out, her search for herself led to conflicts with the administration, and Guy Bear decided to send his daughter for some time to Canada, to relatives, where, moreover, she had the opportunity to improve her English. There, on the American continent, the first steps in the profession took place, including thanks to successful acquaintances; among those who appreciated the capabilities of the aspiring actress was director Robert Altman. Bear also took part in filming for fashion magazines. While working on the film "Love Sneak" she met Daniel Otem, who will become her companion for the next ten years.

Nevertheless, Bear got her first serious role in the film only at the age of 23, starring with Claude Berry in the film Manon from the Source. This work brought Emmanuelle the Cesar Award for Best Supporting Actress, as well as resounding fame - not least due to the fact that Bear appeared completely naked in the film.

Vocation: cinema

The talent and beauty of the actress made her a promising candidate for the main roles - like the image that Emmanuelle created for herself: sensual and provocative. She now and then appears in the paintings in the nude - at least, it does not interfere with receiving critical acclaim.

The main meeting that defined Bear's career took place in 1992. She starred with director Claude Saute in Heart in Winter as Camille. It was Sautet, according to Emmanuelle, who revealed her as an actress, ensured a real take-off of her career; later Saute will call Bear in his other film - "Nelly and Monsieur Arnault."

Another famous film in Bear's career was the film "The French Woman", where she once again starred with her husband, Daniel Oteyem. In 1995, this brainchild of director Regis Wargnier, among other awards, was awarded the main prize of the Moscow International Film Festival, and Bear herself - the prize for the best actress.

Any beautiful and successful French actress sooner or later gets a chance to try her luck in Hollywood; Emmanuelle Bear was very beautiful, and in France she was already very popular. Therefore, the American film business provided her with a role immediately in the blockbuster. In 1996, the film Mission Impossible was released, after which Emmanuelle conquered the Americans. In addition to recognizing her as one of the sexiest actresses on the planet, Bear received new proposals for cooperation. But she reacted coolly to the idea of becoming a French actress in Hollywood - and returned back to France, to make auteur films, improve her acting skills, and enjoy Paris.

In addition, the homeland easily provided Bear with the opportunity to appear in films of a world scale. In 2002, François Ozon directed the musical comedy Eight Women, which received incredible acclaim far beyond the borders of France. And yes, Emmanuelle Bear contributed a lot to this success.

What is she, Emmanuelle Bear?

She could build her life around this feature of her - a spectacular attractive appearance, and still achieve success and fame. But Bear's life is much more multifaceted. She is interested not only in cinematography - in which she loves experiments, rebels - such as Ozone. In addition to her profession, she has long been devoting time to public projects - primarily the protection of the rights of refugees and emigrants, Bear is an activist of the movement aimed at combating global warming. Emmanuelle is a UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador.

She also plays one of the most important roles in her life - the role of a mother. In addition to her daughter Nelly from her marriage to Otey, she has a son, Johann, who was born in 1996. His father is director David Moreau. In 2008, the actress married actor and director Mikael Cohen, and the couple adopted a boy from Ethiopia named Sourifel. This marriage lasted three years and ended in divorce.

Emmanuelle Bear is currently married to Frederic Chaudier. There have been few films with her participation over the past decade - the actress is very demanding in her choice of roles. Among the projects taking up her time is a film about the life and work of her father, Guy Bear, who passed away in 2015.

No less important in the life of Emmanuelle was her grandmother, who was directly involved in the upbringing of the girl and whose views and judgments shaped Bear as a person. Grandmother taught her granddaughter the science of "femininity": constantly playing with her brothers, Emmanuelle herself became like a boy. She hated "feminine things." Generally speaking, if you read or listen to the interviews that Bear gives, a strange feeling arises: after all, in her ordinary life, this actress is not at all the person that a movie star should be.

Emmanuel is more of an introvert - at least to the extent that it befits the French; meeting for a cup of coffee with two or three friends, sitting at home dinner with family or friends - no more. She does not feel too confident in her own body - if the viewer sees liberation and audacity on the screen, it is thanks to the talent of the actress and her ability to transform into her character.

Even in her youth, Bear underwent an unsuccessful plastic surgery on the lips, the consequences of which were never fully corrected. But not only lips remind her of her own imperfection. Since childhood, the actress had complexes because of freckles and a "strange" nose shape, and considered attractive only her eyebrows. Surprisingly, one of the most beautiful women on the planet does not at all recognize herself as such.

Dark glasses are a constant accessory of Emmanuelle Bear on the streets of Paris, they do not help to keep incognito - the actress will be recognized anyway - but they “hide” her eyes, protect her own eyes from the attention of strangers.

Another great French film actress: Isabelle Adjani.