Cécile Aubry

Biography: life and films

Born Anne-Marie Benard on 3 August 1928, Cécile Aubry had trained to become a dancer when she was offered her first screen role, the part of Manon Lescaut in Henri-Georges Clouzot's 1949 film Manon. Her performance in this film helped it to win Clouzot the Golden Lion award at the Venice Film Festival. This led 20th Century Fox to sign her up to play the female lead in Henry Hathaway's The Black Rose (1950), opposite Tyrone Power and Orson Welles.

Aubry gave up her promising acting career after just eight films to marry a Moroccan prince, Si Brahim El Glaoui. The marriage was only to last six years. She penned several children's books and scripted some popular series for French television. The latter included the serial Belle et Sébastien, which ran to three seasons and was aired in France between 1965 and 1968. This serial has been seen the world over and recounts the alpine adventures of an orphan boy (played by Aubry's six-year-old son Mehdi El Glaoui) and his faithful dog.

Cécile Aubry passed away at her home in Dourdan, near Paris, on 19th July 2010. She was 81 and had been suffering from lung cancer.

Filmography