Marie Laforêt

French singer and actress (1939–2019)

Marie Laforêt (born Maïtena Marie Brigitte Douménach; 5 October 1939 – 2 November 2019) was a French singer and actress, particularly well known for her work during the 1960s and 1970s. In 1978, she moved to Geneva, and acquired Swiss citizenship.

Her first name Maïtena, which is of Basque origin, means "beloved" and is sometimes used by the inhabitants of Languedoc, especially in the Pyrénées. Douménach, her last name, is Catalan in origin – Domènec in Catalan. Her birth name and her repertoire, which included pieces inspired from world folklore, have led to speculation of an Armenian origin of her parents. The singer herself used to define herself sometimes as "ariégeoise", i. e. from the region of Ariège in the south of France.

Marie Laforêt was born on 5 October 1939 at Soulac sur Mer, in the Médoc region of France, to Jean Doumenach and Marie Louise (née Saint Guily). Her father's family were originally from Olette, a village in the Pyrénées Orientales on the border of Têt. Her father was an industrialist and served in the military in World War II. Her paternal great grandfather, Louis Doumenach, headed a textile factory at Lavelanet in Ariège and her uncle, Charles Joseph Doumenach, was a colonel and municipal counsellor. During the Second World War, Laforêt's father was a prisoner of war in Germany until the end of the war. At the age of three Laforêt suffered a sexual trauma which affected her for a long time. During the war, the Doumenachs found shelter at Cahors and in Lavelanet. After the war, the family moved to Valenciennes where the father led a factory for railway utensils. Later they settled in Paris. After becoming more religious and having considered becoming a nun, Laforêt continued her secondary studies at the Lycee La Fontaine and Cours Raymond Rouleau in Paris. There she began to show interest for the dramatic arts and her first experiences in this domain proved to be therapeutically useful for her through their cathartic effect.

Laforêt married director Jean Gabriel Albicoco on 9 November 1961, and the couple divorced, childless, in 1963. She next was romantically linked with Judas Azuelos beginning in 1965, the same year their daughter Élise (Lisa) was born. Lisa Azuelos would later become a French director, writer, and producer who made a film about another famous French singer, Dalida, in 2016. Lisa's brother Jean Mehdi was born in 1967, the year their parents parted ways. LaForêt next married Alain Kahn Sriber in 1971 and her third child, Eve Marie Deborah, was born in 1974. The couple divorced two years later. After being disillusioned by the music industry at the time, Laforêt moved to Switzerland where she was married to Swiss doctor Pierre Meyer in 1981 for a year. On 7 September 1990, she married Eric de Lavandeyra, a stockbroker, for two years. This last marriage ended in a publicly contentious divorce.

Marie Laforêt died on 2 November 2019 in Genolier, Switzerland, a small town in the Nyon district near Geneva, from the consequences of a primary bone cancer. She was 80 years old. Her funeral took place in Paris, at the church on Saint Eustache, on 24 November; followed by the burial in the family crypt at the Père Lachaise Cemetery.

The quiet, bittersweet and minimally arranged ballad Je voudrais tant que tu comprennes (1966), composed by Francis Lai, is Laforêt's favorite. Homage was paid to the song in the 1980s, when French pop superstar Mylène Farmer added it to her own concert repertoire. The 1973 hit "Viens, viens" was a cover version of a German song "Rain, Rain, Rain" performed by Simon Butterfly. Laforêt's 1977 hit "Il a neigé sur Yesterday", perhaps her most well known recording, was penned by musician Jean Claude Petit, and lyricist Michel Jourdan, (famous for his work with Dalida, Nana Mouskouri, Michel Fugain and Mike Brant) and who had written the words for earlier Laforêt songs, such as "Les vendanges de l'amour" and "L'orage".

YearTitleAuthorDirectorVenueNote1969La HobereauteJacques AudibertiGeorges VitalyHôtel de Béthune SullyPerformed as part of the Festival du Marais1973Partage de midiPaul ClaudelG. H. RégnierBourges theaterRole: Isé1992L'Écorce bleueMarguerite YourcenarNoneOpen Air theaterA reading done as part of the Carpentras Festival1997VietnamMarguerite DurasNoneSaint Florent le Vieil festivalA reading accompanied by the Ca Tru Thai Ha ensemble from HanoiMaster ClassTerrence McNallyRoman PolanskiThéâtre de la Porte Saint MartinRole: Maria Callas1999Master ClassTerrence McNally Didier LongAntoine theaterRole: Maria Callas2000Master ClassTerrence McNallyOpéra Comiquecommand performances, 18 and 30 April 20002003La presse est unanimeLaurent RuquierAgnès BouryThéâtre des Variétés2004Jésus la CailleFrancis CarcoJacques DarcyEspace Cardin2008Master ClassTerrence McNally Didier LongThéâtre de ParisRole: Marie Callas2009L'Hirondelle inattendueSimon LaksThéâtre Toursky, Forbidden Music Festival, MarseilleRole: Reciter

Year Title Role Director Notes1960Plein SoleilMarge DuvalRené Clément1961Saint Tropez Blues [fr]Anne MarieMarcel MoussyThe Girl with the Golden Eyesthe girlJean Gabriel Albicocco(segment "Les comédiennes")Les Amours célèbresMadame GeorgesMichel Boisrond1962Leviathan (1962 film) [fr]AngèleLéonard Keigel [fr]1963À cause, à cause d'une femmeAgatheMichel DevilleLe Rat d'AmériqueMariaJean Gabriel Albicocco1964Cherchez l'idoleMichel BoisrondUncreditedMale HuntGisèleÉdouard Molinaro1965Cent briques et des tuilesIdaPierre Grimblat [fr]The Camp FollowersEftikiaValerio ZurliniMarie Chantal contre le docteur KhaMarie ChantalClaude Chabrol1967Le Treizième Caprice [fr]FannyRoger Boussinot [fr]Jack of DiamondsOlga VodkineDon Taylor1972Le Petit Poucet (1972 film) [fr] (Tom Thumb)the queenMichel Boisrond1979Flic ou voyouEdmonde Puget RostandGeorges Lautner1982Les Diplômés du dernier rang [fr]DominiqueChristian Gion:fr:Que les gros salaires lèvent le doigt !Rose, Joeuf's wifeDenys Granier DeferreUncredited1984Les MorfalousHélène Laroche FréonHenri VerneuilJoyeuses PâquesSophie MargelleGeorges Lautner1985Le Pactole [fr]Greta RousseletJean Pierre MockyTangos, the Exile of GardelMarianaFernando Solanas1987Sale destinMarthe MarboniSylvain MadiganFucking Fernand [fr]LotteGérard Mordillat [fr]Il est génial papy ! [fr]LouiseMichel Drach1989La folle journée ou Le mariage de FigaroLa comtesseRoger Coggio1990The MiserContessa Isabella SpinosiTonino CerviPrésumé dangereuxTheaGeorges LautnerUna fredda mattina di maggioVittorio Sindoni1992Who Wants to Kill Sara?Sara's motherGianpaolo Tescari [it]1995Ainsi soient ellesMère de MariePatrick Alessandrin and Lisa AzuelosDis moi oui Mme VilliersAlexandre Arcady1996Tykho MoonÉvaEnki Bilal1997Desert of FireRamaEnzo G. Castellari3 episodesHéroïnesSylvieGérard KrawczykLove, Math and SexPétra la vérité / Theatre Actress in red dressCharlotte Silvera2000Jeux pour mourirBruno Romy2008Les Bureaux de Dieu [fr]MartineClaire Simon

YearTitleRoleDirectorGenre1961Le Rouge et le NoirMathile De La MolePierre CardinalTelevision movie1965La redevance du fantômeMiss DiamondRobert EnricoTelevision movie1972Kean: Un roi de théâtreComtesse Elena de KloefeldMarcel MoussyTelevision movie1984Emmenez moi au théâtrePaulineAndré FlédérickTelevision series1987La Mafia 3 (La Piovra 3)Anna AntinariLuigi PerelliTelevision series1988Le loufiatla starMichel BoisrondTelevision miniseries1989Isabella la ladra (original title: La Bugiarda)ElviraFranco GiraldiTelevision miniseries1990L'affaire Rodani (Quattro piccole donne)la mère des quatre fillesGianfranco AlbanoTelevision series1992Un cane sciolto 3HélèneGiorgio CapitaniTelevision movie1994A che punto è la notte?Chantal GuidiNanni LoyTelevision movie1995Adrien Le Sage: Ma fille est impossibleComtesse de PontignyJacques MonnetTelevision movie1996L'histoire du SamediFrançoiseBernard UzanTelevision series1997Le Désert de feu (Desierte di fuoco)RahmaEnzo G. CastellariTelevision movie1998Jeudi 12Françoise GamelinPatrick VidalTelevision series1998Villa VanilleProniaJean SagolsTelevision movie