Adriana Karembeu recounts her traumatic interview with a famous French director who “tried to rape” her

Who could have imagined that a little girl born in Czechoslovakia before the fall of the Berlin Wall would become an internationally renowned model, then a personality much appreciated by the French? However, it is the astonishing and formidable trajectory of Adriana Karembeu, who precisely recounts her journey in Freehis autobiography published on Thursday May 2, 2024 by Leduc editions Tele-Leisure was able to read before release. If she obviously devotes a good part of the book to her personal life, in particular to her violent and difficult childhood with an abusive father, her marriage to the footballer Christian Karembeu and her happiness as a mother, she also looks back at length on her successful career.

Adriana Karembeu victim of inappropriate behavior of a man when she was a model

In Free, Adriana Karembeu recounts her difficult beginnings in modeling when, spotted in the streets of Prague at the age of 19, she arrived in Paris without speaking a word of French, without knowing anyone and without a penny. A lean period which could have discouraged more than one, but not her! The young woman hangs on, goes to castings and her tenacity pays off. She first did photo shoots before showing for the biggest names, from Lanvin to the late Thierry Mugler, including Yves Saint-Laurent, Hubert de Givenchy, Courrèges, Paco Rabanne and the late Karl Lagerfeld. If she also talks about the pressures she suffered when she was a model, Adriana Karembeu does not mention the inappropriate behavior of a man of whom she was the victim at the time, which she has already described. On the other hand, she recounts an event of the same kind, which occurred a few years later, when she was launching a career as an actress.

“He puts his hand on my knee, then throws himself violently at me.” : Adriana Karembeu recounts her traumatic meeting with a French director

After playing a very small role in the film Ready to wear by Robert Altman, then made his television debut in A boy a girlAdriana Karembeu plays in Three little girls alongside Gérard Jugnot. A first major role followed by an appearance in Asterix at the Olympic Gamesthen in the series Missing And RIS, scientific police. But as she ventures “shyly in the world of cinema“, she will undergo one of the most traumatic experiences of her life… She writes: “One day, my agent asked me to meet a director for a project. I go to his house alone for the meeting, I am naive enough not to be suspicious because it is the afternoon. I ring his doorbell. The director, who already has several films to his credit, welcomes me with a smile, invites me to come in and sit down. After a brief discussion about the script, he gets up and moves closer to me on the couch. He places his hand on his knee, then suddenly throws himself on me, kissing me violently. I feel his saliva on my face and chest.”

“I should have warned you, he is sometimes borderline, his reputation precedes him“: the astonishing reaction of Adriana Karembeu’s agent

Although very surprised, Adriana Karembeu does not give in. “I forcefully push him away, shocked that he dared to attack me. I am thirty-five years old, and I found the strength necessary to repel this infamous predator and escape. If I had been twenty, I think I would have been more deeply affected.” she writes. Taking refuge at home, Adriana Karembeu remained prostrate for several hours. She confides that she never dared to reveal it to anyone, not out of shame, but to forget this terrible episode as quickly as possible. When, many years later, she finally finds the courage to confide in her agent, his reaction astounds her as much as it disgusts her. “I should have warned you, he is sometimes borderline, his reputation precedes him“, he told her. The story could have ended there, if Adriana Karembeu had not crossed paths with this man one evening, in the company of her husband Christian Karembeu…”A few days later, while I still remain silent about this attack, we have a romantic dinner at a restaurant. And there, like a punch in the stomach, I see this French director cross the threshold, walk towards our table, act absolutely as if nothing had happened. As if nothing had happened. He dares to greet me in front of my husband, with his lecherous look, when he tried to rape me so recently“, she writes. And Adriana Karembeu concludes: “I remain unmoved, even if deep inside I scream with all my might“. A chilling story which is reminiscent of the multiple testimonies of actresses who, like Judith Godrèche or Vahina Giocante, decided to denounce the actions they suffered when they were younger…