Bernadette Lafont

Bernadette Lafont (French pronunciation: [bɛʁnadɛt lafɔ̃]; 28 October 1938 – 25 July 2013) was a French actress who appeared in more than 120 feature films. She has been considered "the face of French New Wave". In 1999 she told The New York Times her work was "the motor of my existence".

Bernadette Lafont had her debut in Les Mistons ("The Mischief Makers") in 1958 and became part of the Nouvelle Vague in the 1960s because of her films with François Truffaut and Claude Chabrol. In 1986 Lafont was awarded a César Award for Best Actress in a Supporting Role for An Impudent Girl (L'Effrontée). In the following year, she was again nominated, this time for Masques. For her long service to the French motion picture industry, she was awarded an Honorary César in 2003 . In May 2007, she chaired the jury for the fifth edition of the Award for Education presented at the 60th Cannes Film Festival. She was made an Officer of the Legion of Honor on 14 July 2009.

Her complete filmography includes TV shows, and she also worked successfully as a stage actress.

Her last film Paulette, released in 2013, was a success in and outside France.

Lafont had three children with her husband Diourka Medveczky: David, Elisabeth and Pauline (1963–1988).

In 1971, Lafont signed the Manifesto of the 343, which publicly announced she had an illegal abortion.

• Officier of the Order of Legion of Honour
• Officier of the Ordre National du Mérite
• Commandeur of the Ordre des Arts et des Lettres

Lafont died from complications of heart failure following heart attack on 25 July 2013 in Nîmes, France at the age of 74. Her body was cremated and her ashes were given to her family.