Anna Karina | |
|---|---|
 Karina in 1977 | |
| Born | Hanne Karin Blarke Bayer (1940-09-22)22 September 1940 Frederiksberg, Denmark |
| Died | 14 December 2019(2019-12-14) (aged 79) Paris, France |
| Resting place | Père Lachaise Cemetery |
| Occupations |
|
| Years active | 1959–2019 |
| Spouses | |
Anna Karina (bornHanne Karin Blarke Bayer;[1][2][3][4] 22 September 1940 – 14 December 2019)[5] was a Danish and French film actress, director, writer, model, and singer. She was an early collaborator[6] ofFrench New Wave directorJean-Luc Godard, her first husband, performing in several of his films, includingThe Little Soldier (1960),A Woman Is a Woman (1961),My Life to Live (1962),Bande à part (Band of Outsiders; 1964),Pierrot le Fou (1965), andAlphaville (1965). For her performance inA Woman Is a Woman, Karina won theSilver Bear Award for Best Actress at theBerlin Film Festival.[7]
In 1972, Karina set up a production company forVivre ensemble (1973), herdirectorial debut, which screened in theCritics' Week lineup at the26th Cannes Film Festival.[8] She also directed theFrench-Canadian filmVictoria (2008). In addition to her work in cinema, she worked as a singer and wrote several novels.[9]
Karina was an icon of 1960s cinema, and referred to as the "effervescent free spirit of theFrench New Wave, with all of the scars that the position entails".[10][11][12]The New York Times described her as "one of the screen's great beauties and an enduring symbol of the French New Wave".[13]
Hanne Karin Blarke Bayer[1][2][3][4][9] was born on 22 September 1940 inFrederiksberg, Denmark,[14] during theGerman occupation of the Second World War. Her mother was a dress shop owner and her father was a ship captain who left the family a year after she was born.[15][16][9]
She lived with her maternal grandparents for four years, then spent the next four years in foster care before returning to live with her mother and her abusive step-father when she was eight.[9][17][18] As a child, her mother belittled her appearance, and told her that her eyes and forehead were too big.[11] She has described her childhood as "terribly wanting to be loved", as she felt unwanted and unloved. She made numerous attempts to run away from home, trying to find boats that would take her to Sweden or America.[19][9] She dreamt of becoming an actor from a young age and wanted to attend drama school but at the time the age requirement for Danish drama schools was 21.[9]
As a student, she rarely attended school and when she achieved good grades in her certificate exams, her school refused to believe she had done so without cheating. The injustice made her leave school at the age of 14.[9]
After leaving school, she went on to find work as a lift operator in a department store and as an assistant to an illustrator.[9]
She began her professional career in Denmark, where she sang incabarets and worked as a model playing in commercials.[3] Aged 14, she was spotted in the street by Ib Schmedes, who cast her as the lead in his forty-minute short filmPigen og skoene (The Girl and The Shoes, 1959), which won a prize atCannes.[20][9][4] However, as things did not seem to be going well at home, where one evening her step-father beat her very badly, she decided to leave.[20][9] With the equivalent of $15, which she'd received from her grandfather, she hitchhiked to Paris.[12][9] She has said that although she grew up in Denmark, she was "fascinated" by France and after traveling to Paris at age 14, she wanted to go back and live there.[21]
In the summer of 1958, aged 17, Karina arrived in Paris.[9][3][12][21] With only 10,000 francs and unable to speak French, she struggled to find a place to stay and had to ask neighborhood priests for somewhere to sleep. Finally, a young priest found her a small room on the rue Pavée, just behind the Bastille.[9][12] One day, while starving and wandering through Paris, she found herself inSaint-Germain-des-Prés. She sat down atLes Deux Magots café,[12][17][22][21] where a woman called Catherine Harlé approached her and asked her if she would be willing to do some photos. Suspicious at first, Karina finally agreed when she found out it was a professional shoot for the French newspaperJours de France.[9][21] After finishing the shoot, Harlé, although telling Karina that she wasn't very talented, gave her some contacts.[9]
She began to work as a model and eventually became successful, posing for several magazines, includingElle,[23] and meetingPierre Cardin andCoco Chanel.[24] Karina has said that when she met Chanel on the set of theElle photoshoot, Chanel told her: "I believe you want to be an actress… You need to learn French. What's your name little girl?" "Hanne Karin Bayer." Karina replied. And Chanel said: "No: Anna Karina – call yourself that."[21] It was deliberately coined to evokeLeo Tolstoy's novelAnna Karenina.[25][26] She also appeared in commercials for products such asCoca-Cola,Pepsodent, andPalmolive.[18] She was still underage but received enough money to find herself a place to stay. And as she still wanted to attend drama school, she sat in movie theaters and watched French movies to teach herself the language.[9][12]
Jean-Luc Godard, then a film critic forCahiers du cinéma, first saw Karina in the Palmolive adverts in which she posed in bathtubs.[27] He was casting his debut feature filmBreathless (À bout de souffle, 1960), and offered her a small part in it, but she refused when he mentioned that there would be a nude scene.[15] When Godard questioned her refusal, mentioning her apparent nudity in the Palmolive ads, she is said to have replied, "Are you mad? I was wearing a bathing suit in those ads—the soapsuds went up to my neck. It was in your mind that I was undressed."[28] In the end, the character Godard reserved for Karina did not appear in the film.[29] Godard offered her a role inThe Little Soldier (Le Petit Soldat, not released until 1963) which concerns contentious French actions during theAlgerian War. She played a pro-Algerian activist. Karina, then still under 21, had to persuade her estranged mother to sign the contract for her.[30][31] The film was immediately controversial, outlawed from French theaters for its content referencing the Algerian War.
After the filming ofThe Little Soldier, Godard wanted Karina to give up acting, but whenMichel Deville offered her the leading role in his next movie,Tonight or Never (Ce soir ou jamais), she accepted immediately, and despite his displeasure Godard drove her to the studio each morning; it was after seeing the rushes of Deville's movie, in which she played an ambitious actress and had to learn her lines before shooting, that he decided to cast her in his own next movie,A Woman Is a Woman (Une femme est une femme, 1961).[32]
As Angela inA Woman Is a Woman, Karina's role was as an unattached striptease dancer who nevertheless wishes to have a child and daydreams about appearing inMGM musicals. Her school-girl costume emulatedLeslie Caron inGigi (1958), worn even while performing her act.[15] Karina won theSilver Bear for Best Actress at the11th Berlin International Film Festival for her performance.[7] In all, Karina appeared in eight films directed by Godard, includingMy Life to Live (Vivre sa vie, 1962),Band of Outsiders (Bande à part, 1964)Pierrot le Fou andAlphaville (both 1965). InPierrot le Fou, Karina's character is on the run with her ex-boyfriend, while inAlphaville, a science-fiction film often equated toBladerunner, Karina's role requires her to have difficulty saying the phrase "I love you."[26] The last film in the sequence wasMade in USA (1966).Anne Billson, in an article querying the concept of the female muse, wrote that Godard in his films with Karina "seems to have trouble conceiving that the female experience revolves around anything other than prostitution, duplicity, or wanting babies."[33] Karina herself did not object to being described as Godard's muse: "Maybe it's too much, it sounds so pompous. But of course I'm always very touched to hear people say that. Because Jean-Luc gave me a gift to play all of those parts."[12]
Her career flourished,[27] with Karina appearing in dozens of films through the 1960s, including:The Nun (La Religieuse, 1966), directed byJacques Rivette;Luchino Visconti'sThe Stranger (Lo straniero, 1967); theGeorge Cukor/Joseph Strick collaborationJustine (1969); andTony Richardson'sLaughter in the Dark (1969). She continued to work steadily into the 1970s, with roles inChristian de Chalonge'sThe Wedding Ring (L'Alliance, 1970),Andre Delvaux'sRendezvous at Bray (Rendez-vous à Bray, also 1971),The Salzburg Connection (1972), andFranco Brusati'sBread and Chocolate (Pane e cioccolata, 1973).
In 1972, she set up the production company forLiving Together (Vivre ensemble, 1973), her directorial debut, in which she also acted. The film screened in theCritics' Week lineup at the26th Cannes Film Festival.[8]
She starred inRainer Werner Fassbinder'sChinese Roulette (Chinesisches Roulette, 1976); Fassbinder allegedly wrote the film for her andUlli Lommel, her partner at the time.[34] She later wrote and acted inLast Song (1987) and appeared inUp, Down, Fragile (Haut bas fragile, 1995), directed byJacques Rivette, and sang inThe Truth About Charlie (2002), a remake of the filmCharade (1963).[35]
Karina wrote, directed and starred inVictoria (2008), a musicalroad movie filmed in Montreal and Saguenay–Lac-Saint-Jean, Quebec. The lead character, played by Karina, has amnesia.[17] Richard Kuipers praised it inVariety as "a pleasant gambol through the backwoods of Quebec."[36]
Karina maintained a singing career.[30] At the end of the 1960s, she scored a major hit with "Sous le soleil exactement" and "Roller Girl" bySerge Gainsbourg. Both songs are from the TV musical comedyAnna (1967), by the film directorPierre Koralnik, in which she sings seven songs alongside Gainsbourg andJean-Claude Brialy. Karina recorded the albumUne histoire d'amour withPhilippe Katerine, followed by a concert tour. In 2005, she releasedChansons de films, a collection of songs sung in movies.
Karina wrote four novels:Vivre ensemble (1973),Golden City (1983),On n'achète pas le soleil (1988), andJusqu'au bout du hasard (1998).[9]
While working together onLe Petit Soldat, as the crew were having a dinner party inLausanne, Godard wrote a note and gave it to Karina, saying: "I love you, come and meet me at midnight in a café called Café de la Prez." At the time Karina was in a relationship but she had already fallen in love with Godard so she ended her relationship with her then-boyfriend and went to meet Godard. They began a relationship and married in 1961.[27] Eventually, Karina served as a cinematicmuse to Godard, appearing in eight of his films, includingAlphaville, Bande à part, andPierrot le Fou, during their five-year marriage and after. Karina liked being the muse, stating in 2016: "How could I not be honoured? Maybe it's too much, it sounds so pompous. But of course I'm always very touched to hear people say that. Because Jean-Luc gave me a gift to play all of those parts. It was likePygmalion, you know? I wasEliza Doolittle and he was the teacher."[12] The couple became, according toThe Independent, "one of the most celebrated pairings of the 1960s."[30] A writer forFilmmaker magazine called their work "arguably the most influential body of work in the history of cinema."[37] Despite the critical success, their relationship behind the scenes was described as tumultuous; they fought on film sets, she fell ill several times, attempted suicide and was subsequently hospitalized in a mental health institution. Godard was often absent without explanation. He was also very jealous, questioned Karina's acting ability and told her: "How are you going to say these lines? They're so terrible! It's a comedy, you are never going to be able to do that."[12][27][38]
One Godard film from this period which does not feature Karina,Contempt (1963) starringBrigitte Bardot wearing a black wig which resembles Karina's dark hair, is said to be based on their difficult relationship.[18] The couple divorced in 1965.[12]
Karina said in spring 2016 that she and Godard no longer spoke to each other.[39] She described the relationship in an interview withW magazine:
It was all very exciting from the beginning. Of course we have a great love story and all that, but we were so different. He was 10 years older than me. He was very strange. He would go away and come back three weeks later... It was difficult, and I was a young girl, not even 21—at the time Godard was 30. I know he didn't mean to hurt me, but he did. He was never there, he was never coming back, and I never knew where he was. He drove me a bit crazy.[39]
After divorcing Godard, Karina remarried three times; she was married to French actors Pierre Fabre from 1968 to 1974 andDaniel Duval from 1978 to 1981, and to American film directorDennis Berry from 1982 until her death.[12][40]
Karina died at the age of 79 on Saturday, 14 December 2019, at a hospital in Paris. According to her agent, Laurent Balandras, the cause of death was cancer.[17] However, her husband Dennis Berry said that the cause was not cancer, but a complication following a muscular rupture.[41]
Karina is regularly considered an icon of 1960s cinema,[10] a staple in French New Wave cinema, as well as a style icon.[11][16]The Guardian described her as an "effervescent free spirit of the French new wave."[12]The New York Times described her style as looking like a schoolgirl in her acting roles, regardless of whether she was playing a streetwalker or a terrorist. Her signature look was her dark hair, wispy bangs, heavy eyeliner and school uniform of primary-coloured sailor-uniform tops, knee socks, plaid headwear such as berets and boaters.[17]Refinery29 wrote that "her 60s French girl style – think sailor dresses, tartan, long socks, and hats – and mesmerizing doe-eyed beauty mean she continues to be referenced today by the super-stylish."[11]
| Year | Title | Role | Director | Notes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1961 | Tonight or Never | Valérie | Michel Deville | ||
| A Woman Is a Woman | Angela Récamier | Jean-Luc Godard | |||
| 1962 | Cléo from 5 to 7 | The Fiancée | Agnès Varda | episode: "Les fiancés du pont Macdonald" | |
| She'll Have to Go | Toni | Robert Asher | |||
| Sun in Your Eyes | Dagmar | Jacques Bourdon | |||
| My Life to Live | Nana Kleinfrankenheim | Jean-Luc Godard | |||
| Three Fables of Love | Colombe | Hervé Bromberger | segment: "Le corbeau et le renard" | ||
| 1963 | The Little Soldier | Veronica Dreyer | Jean-Luc Godard | ||
| Shéhérazade | Shéhérazade | Pierre Gaspard-Huit | |||
| Sweet and Sour | La pauvre Ginette | Jacques Baratier | |||
| 1964 | Band of Outsiders | Odile | Jean-Luc Godard | ||
| Circle of Love | Rose / The Chambermaid | Roger Vadim | |||
| All About Loving | Hélène | Jean Aurel | |||
| 1965 | The Thief of Tibidabo | Maria | Maurice Ronet | ||
| Alphaville | Natascha von Braun | Jean-Luc Godard | |||
| The Camp Followers | Elenitza Karaboris | Valerio Zurlini | |||
| Un mari à un prix fixe | Béatrice Reinhoff | Claude de Givray | |||
| Pierrot le Fou | Marianne Renoir | Jean-Luc Godard | |||
| 1966 | The Nun | Suzanne Simonin | Jacques Rivette | ||
| Made in USA | Paula Nelson | Jean-Luc Godard | |||
| 1967 | Anna | Anna | Pierre Koralnik | TV movie | |
| Zärtliche Haie | Elena / Costa | Michel Deville | |||
| The Oldest Profession | Natasha / Eleanor Romeovich, Hostess 703 | Jean-Luc Godard | segment: "Anticipation" | ||
| Lamiel | Lamiel | Jean Aurel | |||
| The Stranger | Marie Cardona | Luchino Visconti | |||
| 1968 | The Magus | Anne | Guy Green | ||
| Before Winter Comes | Maria | J. Lee Thompson | |||
| 1969 | Man on Horseback | Elisabeth Kohlhaas | Volker Schlöndorff | ||
| Laughter in the Dark | Margot | Tony Richardson | |||
| Justine | Melissa | George Cukor andJoseph Strick | |||
| Dämonische Leinwand | Klaus Wyborny | ||||
| 1970 | The Time to Die | The Unnamed Woman | André Farwagi | ||
| The Wedding Ring | Jeanne | Christian de Chalonge | |||
| 1971 | Rendezvous at Bray | She (The Waitress) | André Delvaux | ||
| Carlos | Clara | Hans W. Geißendörfer | TV movie | ||
| 1972 | The Salzburg Connection | Anna Bryant | Lee H. Katzin | ||
| 1973 | Vivre ensemble | Julie Anderson | Anna Karina | ||
| 1974 | Bread and Chocolate | Elena | Franco Brusati | ||
| Morel's Invention | Faustine | Emidio Greco | |||
| 1976 | The Musician Killer | Louise | Benoît Jacquot | ||
| Scrambled Eggs | Clara Dutilleul | Joël Santoni | |||
| Chinese Roulette | Irene Cartis | Rainer Werner Fassbinder | |||
| 1978 | Surprise Sock | Nathalie | Jean-François Davy | ||
| Just like Home | Anna | Márta Mészáros | |||
| Ausgerechnet Bananen | Natascha | Ulli Lommel | |||
| 1979 | The Story of a Mother | Christine Olsen | Claus Weeke | ||
| 1980 | Charlotte, Tell Your Mother that I Love Her | Stéphane | Aly Borgini | ||
| 1983 | Vincent's Friend | Eleonore | Pierre Granier-Deferre | ||
| 1984 | Ave Maria | Berthe Granjeux | Jacques Richard | ||
| 1985 | Treasure Island | The Mother | Raoul Ruiz | ||
| 1987 | Last Song | Susan | Dennis Berry | ||
| Last Summer in Tangiers | Myrrha, a cabaret singer | Alexandre Arcady | |||
| Cayenne Palace | Lola | Alain Maline | |||
| 1988 | The Abyss | Catherine | André Delvaux | ||
| 1990 | The Man Who Wanted to Be Guilty | Edith | Ole Roos | ||
| 1995 | Up, Down, Fragile | Sarah | Jacques Rivette | ||
| 1996 | Chloé | Katia | Dennis Berry | TV movie | |
| 2002 | The Truth About Charlie | Karina | Jonathan Demme | ||
| 2003 | I, Cesar | Gloria | Richard Berry | ||
| 2008 | Victoria | Victoria | Anna Karina | ||
| 2022 | Quantum Cowboys | Geoff Marslett | Final film role | ||
| 2025 | Soredemo Ore wa, Tsuma to Shitai | Shin Adachi | 3 episodes |
Naissance […] Commune: Fredriksberg Solbjerg (99101)
