At 87 years old, Claude Lelouch, emblematic director of French cinema, continues to celebrate life and human relationships through his works. With a career spanning more than sixty years, the filmmaker knew how to captivate the audience by exploring the nuances of love without restraint. The one who marked the history of cinema with cult films like A man and a woman also led a passionate love life. Married several times and father of seven children, the icon of the 7th art has always lived his love stories with intensity, including those which did not fit into the boxes of fidelity.
Moreover, in Cinema is better than lifeavailable since October 31, the filmmaker speaks passionately about six decades of career, exploring his career in depth film by film and sharing an intimate reflection on his popular auteur cinema, which successfully combines singularity and universality. In an interview given to La Tribune Sunday this November 10, the director, now married to Valérie Perrin, evokes his memories and confides frankly about a significant relationship, the one he shared with the late actress Annie Girardot. Although discreet, this connection remains for him an intense memorywhich he had not revealed publicly until now.
Claude Lelouch and Annie Girardot: a hidden relationship to protect their family life
Claude Lelouch and Annie Girardot loved each other in complex circumstances, each being involved in a relationship. The director of the new film Eventuallywith Kad Merad in the cast, reveals that the secrecy around this romance was necessary to avoid upsetting their respective families. “Because she was married and so was I! It was very complicated, but our story remains a sublime memory.“he explains to our colleagues.
Beyond this affair, Claude Lelouch confides that he has often had relationships outside of marriage. In his remarks collected by La Tribune Sundaythe latter approaches his conception of love with a certain casualness, explaining that it is common for him to let himself be carried away by his feelings. The man of cinema admits to having experienced passionate and furtive relationships, despite the commitments made in his personal life. “We are faithful until we find something better“he confides.
A precious memory of Annie Girardot
If this romance has never been exposed before, Claude Lelouch nevertheless keeps a vivid memory of this period of his life. Annie Girardot, iconic actress of the 70s and 80s, embodies for him the image of the mature and fascinating woman. In his book Those yearsthe director had already described this relationship as being a significant episode in his personal journey, evoking “a forbidden and intense love“. He remembers moments spent between two shoots, in urgency and escape, thus creating a romantic framework for their romance.
For the French screenwriter, Annie Girardot represents not only an exceptional woman but also a figure who had a profound impact on him. This hidden love, although difficult to live with, remained engraved in his heart as a testimony to the complexity and beauty of love life.
