Belmondo, Jean-Paul

Jean-Paul Belmondo (zhäN-pōl bĕlmôNdō´), 1933–, French film actor, b. Neuilly-sur-Seine, studied Paris Conservatory. Belmondo made his film debut in 1957, but first gained fame in Breathless (1960), playing a restless, flippant young hoodlum. His particularly disengaged style appealed to young audiences of the day, making him France's most popular male film star throughout the 1960s. This antiheroic demeanor also made him one of the most important actors in the nouvelle vague (new wave) films of such filmmakers as Jean-Luc Godard, François Truffaut, and Louis Malle. In later years, Belmondo starred in an immensely popular series of action movies. His other films include Moderato Cantabile (1960), That Man from Rio (1964), Pierrot le Fou (1965), The Mississippi Mermaid (1968), Borsolino (1970), Stavisky (1974), and L'Animal (1977). Among his later films are Joyeuses Pâques (1984), L'Inconnu dans la maison (1992), Désiré (1996), Peut-être (1999), and Amazon (2000). In the 1960s, Belmondo founded his own film company, and in 1990 he established another, Annabel Productions.

Questia, a part of Gale, Cengage Learning. www.questia.com
Publication information: Article title: Belmondo, Jean-Paul. Encyclopedia title: The Columbia Encyclopedia, 6th ed.. © 2012 The Columbia Electronic Encyclopedia © 2012, Columbia University Press. Licensed from Columbia University Press. Used with the permission of Columbia University Press. All Rights Reserved. Publisher: The Columbia University Press. Place of publication: Not available. Publication year: 2013.

This material is protected by copyright and, with the exception of fair use, may not be further copied, distributed or transmitted in any form or by any means.