Jacqueline Bisset (born 13 September 1944) is an English actress. She has been nominated for four Golden Globe Awards and an Emmy Award. She is known for her roles in the films Bullitt (1968), Airport (1970), The Deep (1977), Class (1983), and the TV series Nip/Tuck in 2006. She has also appeared in several French productions and was nominated for a César Award for La cérémonie (1995). She was awarded the Légion d'honneur in 2010.
Early life and family
Bisset was born Winifred Jacqueline Fraser Bisset in Weybridge, Surrey, England, the daughter of Arlette Alexander, a lawyer turned homemaker, and Max Fraser Bisset, a general practitioner. She was brought up in Tilehurst, Berkshire. Her father was Scottish and her mother was of French and English descent; Bisset's mother cycled from Paris and boarded a British troop transport to escape the Germans during World War II. Bisset has a brother, Max. Her mother taught her to speak French fluently, and she was educated at the Lycée Français Charles de Gaulle in London. She had taken ballet lessons as a child and began taking acting lessons and fashion modeling to pay for them. When Bisset was a teenager, her mother was diagnosed with disseminating sclerosis. In the following years while Bisset was working as an actress in Hollywood, she made frequent trips back home in order to care for her mother, which she says got in the way of her personal relationships.Bisset's parents divorced in 1968, after 28 years of marriage. Her father died aged 71 of a brain tumour in 1982. Her mother died in 1999.
Career
Bisset made her screen debut with a bit part in The Knack ...and How to Get It (1965). Her first speaking role was in the 1966 film Cul-de-sac, starring Donald Pleasence and directed by Roman Polanski. She was cast in the romance film Two for the Road (1967) starring Audrey Hepburn, and played her first lead role opposite James Brolin in The Cape Town Affair (1967). She participated in the 1966 James Bond satire, Casino Royale, as Miss Goodthighs. In 1968, she replaced Mia Farrow to star opposite Frank Sinatra in The Detective; Farrow and Sinatra had split shortly before production began and the role was given to Bisset, who received special billing in the film's credits.Bisset's breakout role was as Steve McQueen's girlfriend in the hit action film Bullitt, also released in 1968. The following year she received her first Golden Globe nomination as New Star of the Year for her performance in The Sweet Ride, and played her first sexy "older woman" (at 25) in The First Time (1969). She was one of the many stars in the blockbuster disaster film Airport (1970), a Best Picture nominee in which she acted opposite Dean Martin and Helen Hayes. She co-starred with Sean Connery in Murder on the Orient Express (1974).
Bisset made strides towards becoming a better-known entertainer in America with The Deep (1977), co-starring Robert Shaw and Nick Nolte and directed by Peter Yates, who had previously directed her in Bullitt. A scene of her swimming underwater wearing only a thin, white T-shirt and bikini bottom helped make the film a box office success, leading the producer Peter Guber to say, "That T-shirt made me a rich man".At the time, Newsweek declared her "the most beautiful film actress of all time." About that time, a small film Bisset had made six years earlier was re-released in the United States under the title Secrets. That movie featured the only extensive nude scenes of Bisset's career and the producers cashed in on her fame. She earned a Golden Globe nomination for the comedy Who Is Killing the Great Chefs of Europe? (1978).
Soon thereafter, she starred in the movies Rich and Famous (1981) with Candice Bergen, Class (1983) (playing a woman who seduces her son's best friend) co-starring Rob Lowe and Andrew McCarthy, and Under the Volcano (1984), for which she earned her a second Golden Globe nomination. Bisset often appeared with her leading men in more than one film. She was cast as Paul Newman's daughter in The Life and Times of Judge Roy Bean, then as his girlfriend in When Time Ran Out. Bisset has also worked with Albert Finney, Mickey Rourke, Anthony Perkins, and Michael York on multiple occasions. Bisset has worked with such directors as François Truffaut, John Huston, Stanley Donen, Sidney Lumet and George Cukor. Several of her older movies are French or Italian productions.
Bisset has appeared in many made-for-TV and independent films, especially in recent years. In 1996, she was nominated for a César Award, for her role in La Cérémonie. She received Golden Globe and Emmy Award nominations for the 1999 miniseries Joan of Arc. Other notable projects include the acclaimed Biblical epics Jesus (1999) and In the Beginning (2000) with Martin Landau. She made guest appearances on Ally McBeal during 2001–2002, and Law and Order: Special Victims Unit in 2003. One of her later TV movies, in 2003, was America's Prince: The John F. Kennedy Jr. Story, in which she portrayed Jacqueline Bouvier Kennedy Onassis. In 2005, she appeared in the action movie Domino with Keira Knightley. Bisset's most recent television work was a recurring role as the mysterious James, during the fourth season of the FX series Nip/Tuck in 2006. Later she starred in an An Old Fashioned Thanksgiving, which premiered on the Hallmark Channel on November 22, 2008. In the same year she also garnered acclaim for her role in the Holocaust drama, Death in Love. She recently finished filming The Last Film Festival, which will be the final screen appearance of Dennis Hopper.
Personal life
Bisset is godmother to actress Angelina Jolie. She appeared with Jolie in the film Mr. and Mrs. Smith (2005); however, their scenes together were deleted during postproduction.Unlike many actresses of her generation who have difficulty finding work after 40, Bisset has made a seamless transition from leading lady to character actor. She remains in demand in Hollywood and Europe. She told a Bermuda newspaper in 2004:
This film business, perhaps more so in America than in Europe, has always been about young sexuality. It's not true of theatre, but in America, film audiences are young and they go to the cinema to see the sort of romance or adventure that appeals to them. It's not an intellectual cinema in America. But one mustn't be too greedy. One wants to be stimulated by the work as long as there is something to give. I think you have to be as flexible as possible. Perhaps you don't get handed the big American productions, but, quite honestly, who would want to be in a lot of them? Many of them are just puerile teenage filler, and they're not fascinating to be in. To be used in a part without depth is a frustrating feeling, when you know you have something to give, and the camera just sort of brushes past you, and doesn't get what you have to give. Most actresses I know are frustrated, but you have to adapt to the reality. I go and find a small part in something I find interesting, or find an independent film"Bisset has never married though she has had several lengthy romances. These include a relationship with the actor Michael Sarrazin that lasted over 10 years and with the Russian-American dancer and actor Alexander Godunov. “I feel like I was married to them because I was very dedicated to them,” she said in a 2008 interview. “But I also used to feel claustrophobic. Like many people who don’t easily commit, I think I had a fear of being known; I was not sure there was anybody inside there.”
She divides her time between homes in England and Beverly Hills, California.
Filmography
Year | Title | Role | Notes |
---|---|---|---|
1965 | The Knack ...and How to Get It | Extra | Uncredited |
1966 | Cul-de-sac | Jacqueline | |
1966 | Drop Dead Darling | Dancer | |
1966 | Casino Royale | Miss Goodthighs | |
1967 | The Cape Town Affair | Candy | |
1967 | Two for the Road | Jackie | |
1968 | The Detective | Norma Maclver | |
1968 | The Sweet Ride | Vickie Cartwright | Nominated—Golden Globe Award for Most Promising Newcomer – Female |
1968 | Bullitt | Cathy | |
1968 | The First Time | Anna | |
1969 | The Grasshopper | Christine Adams | Nominated—Laurel Award for Best Female Dramatic Performance |
1969 | Secret World | Wendy Sinclair | Original title: L'échelle blanche |
1970 | Airport | Gwen Meighen | |
1971 | The Mephisto Waltz | Paula Clarkson | |
1971 | Believe in Me | Pamela | |
1971 | Secrets | Jenny | |
1972 | Stand Up and Be Counted | Sheila Hammond | |
1972 | The Life and Times of Judge Roy Bean | Rose Bean | |
1973 | The Thief Who Came to Dinner | Laura | |
1973 | Day for Night | Julie | Original title: La nuit américaine |
1973 | Le Magnifique | Tatiana/Christine | AKA How to Destroy the Reputation of the Greatest Secret Agent... |
1974 | Murder on the Orient Express | Countess Andreyni | |
1975 | The Spiral Staircase | Helen Mallory | |
1975 | End of the Game | Anna Crawley | Original title: Der Richter und sein Henker |
1975 | The Sunday Woman | Anna Carlo Dosio | Original title: La donna della domenica |
1976 | St. Ives | Janet Whistler | |
1977 | The Deep | Gail Berke | |
1978 | The Greek Tycoon | Liz Cassidy | |
1978 | Who Is Killing the Great Chefs of Europe? | Natasha O'Brien | Nominated—Golden Globe Award for Best Actress – Motion Picture Musical or Comedy |
1979 | Amo non amo | Louise | AKA Together ? |
1980 | When Time Ran Out | Kay Kirby | |
1981 | Inchon | Barbara Hallsworth | |
1981 | Rich and Famous | Liz Hamilton | |
1983 | Class | Ellen Burroughs | |
1984 | Under the Volcano | Yvonne Firmin | Nominated—Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actress – Motion Picture |
1984 | Forbidden | Nina von Halder | Nominated—CableACE Award for Actress in a Movie or Miniseries |
1985 | Anna Karenina | Anna Karenina | TV movie |
1986 | Choices | Marisa Granger | TV movie |
1987 | High Season | Katherine Shaw | |
1987 | Napoleon and Josephine: A Love Story | Josephine de Beauharnais | TV mini-series |
1988 | La maison de Jade | Jane Lambert | |
1989 | Scenes from the Class Struggle in Beverly Hills | Clare Lipkin | |
1989 | Wild Orchid | Jackie | |
1991 | The Maid | Nicole Chantrelle | TV film, original title: Un amour de banquier |
1991 | Rossini! Rossini! | Isabella Colbran | |
1993 | Hoffman's Hunger | Marian Hoffman | Original title: Hoffman's Honger |
1993 | Corrupt Justice | Holly McPhee | AKA CrimeBroker |
1993 | Les marmottes | Frédérique | |
1994 | Leave of Absence | Nell | TV movie |
1995 | La Cérémonie | Catherine Lelievre | Nominated—César Award for Best Supporting Actress |
1996 | September | Pandora | TV movie |
1996 | Once You Meet a Stranger | Sheila Gaines | TV movie |
1997 | End of Summer | Christine Van Buren | |
1998 | Dangerous Beauty | Paola Franco | |
1999 | Let the Devil Wear Black | Helen Lyne | |
1999 | Witch Hunt | Barbara Thomas | |
1999 | Joan of Arc | Isabelle d'Arc | TV mini-series Nominated—Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actress – Miniseries or a Movie Nominated—Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actress – Series, Miniseries or Television Film |
1999 | Hey Arnold! | Madame Parvenu | Episode: "Grudge Match/Polishing Rhonda" |
1999 | Jesus | Mary | TV movie |
2000 | Britannic | Lady Lewis | TV movie |
2000 | Les gens qui s'aiment | Angie | |
2000 | Sex & Mrs. X | Madame Simone | TV movie |
2000 | In the Beginning | Sarah | TV movie |
2001 | The Sleepy Time Gal | Frances | Nominated—Chlotrudis Award for Best Actress |
2001 | New Years Day | Geraldine | |
2001– 2002 | Ally McBeal | Frances Shaw | 2 episodes |
2002 | Dancing at the Harvest Moon | Maggie Webber | TV movie |
2003 | America's Prince: The John F. Kennedy Jr. Story | Jacqueline Bouvier Kennedy Onassis | TV movie |
2003 | Latter Days | Lila | |
2003 | Swing | Christine / Mrs. DeLuca | |
2003 | Law & Order: SVU | Juliet Barclay | Episode: "Control" |
2004 | The Survivors Club | Carol Rosen | TV movie |
2004 | Fascination | Maureen Doherty | Co-star James Naughton |
2005 | The Fine Art of Love: Mine Ha-Ha' | Headmistress | |
2005 | Domino | Sophie Wynn | |
2005 | Summer Solstice | Alexia | TV movie |
2006 | Save the Last Dance 2 | Monique | |
2006 | Nip/Tuck | James LeBeau | 7 episodes |
2007 | Carolina Moon | Margaret Lavelle | TV movie |
2008 | Death in Love | Mother | Boston Film Festival Best Actress Ibiza International Film Festival – Best Actress |
2008 | An Old Fashioned Thanksgiving | Isabella | Nominated—Satellite Award for Best Actress in a Miniseries or a Motion Picture Made for Television |
2009 | The Eastmans | Emma Eastman | CBS pilot |
2010 | The Last Film Festival | Claudia Benvenuti | |
2010 | An Old Fashioned Christmas | Isabella | To air on 11 December 2010 |
2011 | Vivaldi | The Countess | Pre-production |
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