Capucine

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Capucine

Birth name	Germaine Lefebvre
Born	January 6, 1931 Saint-Raphaël, France
Died	March 17, 1990 at age 59 Lausanne, Switzerland
Notable roles	Simone Clouseau The Pink Panther - (1963)

Capucine (6 January 1931 – 17 March 1990) was a French actress. She made several forays into American cinema in addition to her lengthy European film career.

Born Germaine Lefebvre in Saint-Raphaël (Var), at the age of 17 she became a fashion model, adopting the name Capucine (French for nasturtium), eventually working for Givenchy.

Publicity photo for The Pink Panther.

She made her film debut at age 18 in Rendez-vous de Juillet. In 1950 she was married for a short period to the French actor Pierre Trabaud. After making several movies for Hollywood, of declining quality, and after ending a two-year romance with the married William Holden, she moved to Europe where she made films in several languages, including French and Italian. However, she is probably best remembered for her role in the first Pink Panther film as Inspector Clouseau's wife.

Capucine had a close friendship with Dirk Bogarde who seriously considered marrying her. The actress also spoke in interviews, late in life, about her interest in women and once remarked "I used to think I needed a man to define myself. Not any more." She remained good friends with Audrey Hepburn all her life and indeed, shared an apartment with Hepburn whilst they were both pursuing a career in modelling.

Capucine suffered throughout her life from bipolar disorder and committed suicide at the age of 59 in Lausanne, Switzerland, by jumping from her 8th-floor apartment window.