Jean-Paul Belmondo's Life in Photos
The French actor sadly passed away on Monday at the age of 88
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On 6 September 2021, French actor Jean-Paul Belmondo passed away at the age of 88. He will be remembered not only as a screen legend, but also as an icon of style, and one of the coolest men of all-time.
It was Jean-Luc Godard's bullet-riddled crime drama Breathless that shot the former amateur boxer to international stardom; an early and influential entry into French New Wave cinema, his character Michel remains a blueprint for insouciant sartorial elegance. It's widely thought that Belmondo chose the carefree, raffish wardrobe himself: the stubby ties, the slightly ill-fitting soft-shouldered suits and fedoras.
Nicknamed Bébel in France, he went on to star in a number of Godard's most celebrated films, including A Woman Is a Woman and Pierrot le Fou, and became one of the country's most bankable stars. Then came a return to the theatre and roles behind the camera. Here, we take a look back at the life of an icon.
Relaxing at Cannes film festival in 1964
On location filming The Brain in 1968 in Paris, France.
Shooting a scene from That Man From Rio
At the Cesar Film Awards Ceremony at Salle Pleyel in 2017
Choosing ties in 1960, the year that 'Breathless' became an international hit
Shooting Pierrot le Fou in 1965
On holiday at the Cote d'Azur in France, 14th August 1965, with his wife Élodie
With Anna Karina in 1965, shooting Jean-Luc Godard's Pierrot Le Fou
At the premiere of Weekend at Dunkirk in 1964
Playing pinball in France, 1964
Receiving the Golden Lion award for lifetime achievement at the 73rd Venice Film Festival, 2016
A scene with Françoise Dorléac in That Man from Rio, 1964
A slightly more adventurous scene from the same film
Attending the 35th annual Los Angeles Film Critics Association Awards in 2010
Looking dapper in 1960
On the set of Flic ou voyou by Georges Lautner In France On December 11, 1978
Having dinner at the Taverna Flavia, Rome, 1971
Hanging out in St Mark's Square, Venice, in 1960
Rolling the years back to his boxing days while filming Ace of Aces in 1982
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