Martine Carol


Martine Carol was a French film actress.

Biography

Born Maryse Mourer in Saint-Mandé, Val-de-Marne,, she studied acting under René Simon, making her stage début in 1940 and her first motion picture in 1943. One of the more beautiful women in film, she frequently was cast as an elegant blonde seductress. During the late 1940s and early 1950s, she was the leading sex symbol and a top box-office draw of French cinema, and she was considered a French version of America's Marilyn Monroe. One of her more famous roles was as the title character in Lola Montès, directed by Max Ophüls, in a role that required dark hair. However, by the late 1950s, roles for Carol had become fewer, partly because of the introduction of Brigitte Bardot.
Despite her fame and fortune, Martine Carol's personal life was filled with turmoil that included a suicide attempt, drug abuse, and four marriages. She also was kidnapped by gangster Pierre Loutrel, albeit briefly and received roses the next day as an apology.
She died unexpectedly of a heart attack in a hotel room in Monte Carlo at the age of 46 while shooting the film Hell Is Empty.

Marriages and interment

Martine Carol was married four times, including:
She initially was buried in the Père Lachaise Cemetery, Paris, but her grave was violated. Martine Carol then was buried in the Grand Jas Cemetery of Cannes.

Selected filmography