Anouk Aimée ([anuk ɛme]; born 27 April 1932) is a French film actress, who has appeared in 70 films since 1947, having begun her film career at age 14. In her early years she studied acting and dance besides her regular education. Although most of her films were French, she also made a number of films in Spain, Great Britain, Italy and Germany, along with some American productions.

Among her films are Federico Fellini’s La Dolce Vita (1960), after which she was considered a "rising star who exploded" onto the film world. She subsequently acted in Fellini's 8½ (1963), Jacques Demy’s Lola (1961), George Cukor’s Justine (1969), Bernardo Bertolucci’s Tragedy of a Ridiculous Man (1981) and Robert Altman’s Prêt à Porter (1994). She won the Golden Globe Award for Best Actress - Motion Picture Drama and the BAFTA Award for Best Actress and was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Actress for her acting in A Man and a Woman in (1966). The film "virtually reignited the lush on-screen romance in an era of skeptical modernism," and brought her international fame.

She won the Award for Best Actress at the 1980 Cannes Film Festival. In 2002 she received an honorary César Award, France's national film award.

She was noted for her "striking features" and beauty, and considered "one of the hundred sexiest stars in film history," according to a 1995 poll conducted by Empire Magazine. Her acting style often portrays a femme fatale, with a melancholy aura. In the 1960s, Life magazine wrote that "after each picture her enigmatic beauty lingered" in the memories of her audience, and called her "the Left Bank's most beautiful resident."

Biography

Aimée has been married and divorced four times. First to Eduard Zimmermann (married February 1949, divorced October 1950), secondly to film director Nico Papatakis (married August 1951, divorced October 1955), thirdly to actor and musical producer Pierre Barouh (married April 1966, divorced March 1969) and lastly to actor Albert Finney (married August 1970, divorced June 1978). She had one child, Manuela Papatakis (born 1951), from her second marriage.

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