Alain Fabien Maurice Marcel Delon was born in Sceaux, Hauts-de-Seine,France, to Édith (Arnold) and Fabien Delon. His father was of Frenchand Corsican Italian descent, and his mother was of French and Germanancestry. His parents divorced early on, and Delon had a stormychildhood, being frequently expelled from school.

In 1953/1954 he served with the French Marines inIndochina. In themid-'50s he worked at various odd jobs including waiter, salesman andporter in Les Halles market. He decided to try an acting career and in 1957 made his film debut inYves Allégret'sQuand la femme s'en mêle (1957).He declined an offer of a contract from producerDavid O. Selznick, and in 1960 hereceived international recognition for his role inLuchino Visconti'sWakamono no subete (1960).In 1961 he appeared on the stage in"'Tis a Pity She's a Whore", directed by Visconti, in Paris. In 1964 he formed his own production company, Delbeau Productions, and he produced a shortfilm directed byGuy Gilles.In 1968 he found himself involved in murder, drug and sex scandal thatindirectly implicated major politicians and show-businesspersonalities, but he was eventually cleared of all charges. In thelate 1960s he formed another company. Adel Film, and the next year hebegan producing features. In 1981 he directed his first film,Pour la peau d'un flic (1981).

Delon was a sensation early in his career; he came to embody the young,energetic, often morally corrupted man. With his breathtaking goodlooks he was also destined to play tender lovers and romantic heroes,and he was a French embodiment of the type created in America byJames Dean. His first outstandingsuccess came with the role of the parasite Tom Ripley in 'ReneClement''s sun-drenched thrillerTaiyô ga ippai (1960). Delon presenteda psychological portrait of a murderous young cynic who attempts totake on the identity of his victim. A totally different role wasoffered to him by Visconti inWakamono no subete (1960).In this film Delon plays the devoted Rocco, who accepts the greatestsacrifices to save his shiftless brother Simon.

After several other films in Italy, Delon returned to the criminalgenre withJean Gabin inMélodie en sous-sol (1963).This work, a classic example of the genre, was distinguished not onlyby a soundly worked-out screenplay, but also by the careful productionand the excellent performances of both Delon and Gabin. It was only inthe late 1960s that the sleek and lethal Delon came to epitomize thecalm, psychopathic hoodlum, staring into the camera like a catassessing a mouse. His tough, ruthless side was first used to realeffect byJean-Pierre Melville inSamurai (1967). In 1970 he had ahuge success in the bloodstainedBorsalino (1970)--which he alsoproduced--playing a small-time gangster in the 1930s who, withJean-Paul Belmondo, becomes king ofthe Marseilles underworld. Delon later won critical acclaim for hisroles, against type, inJoseph Losey'sMr. Klein (1976) in which he played(brilliantly) the icily sinister title role, and the art-movieUn amour de Swann (1984). Hehas an older sonAnthony Delon (who hasalso acted in a number of movies) from his first marriage toNathalie Delon, and has a young son anddaughter, Alain-Fabien and Anouchka with Rosalie.