Geneviève Bonjean (13 December 1927 – 14 February 2025), known professionally as Geneviève Page (), was a French actress with a film career spanning fifty years and also numerous English-speaking film productions. She was the daughter of French art collector Jacques Paul Bonjean (1899–1990).
Early life Page was born in Paris on 13 December 1927, to a family of aesthetes, like her father Jacques Bonjean, who collected art from 17th century France, and her mother Germaine (born Lipman) Bonjean. Her mother's family was Jewish, and had founded LIP. At the age of six, her godfather Christian Dior played the piano with Page's mother, and talked to Page about talking to adults. She recalls, "He had no money at the time, and drew hats for big houses. He had lunch every other day at home and played the piano, with my mother in my room, with four hands. I took refuge in the bathroom to learn my lessons." At the age of twelve, Page read some works by Voltaire, and to her mother's surprise, her father replied "If she can't read Voltaire, she can't read anyone." Despite this, she was a very talented young girl, playing Musset at Théâtre National Populaire and entering the Conservatory.
Career Her film début was in Pas de pitié pour les femmes (1951), followed by Fanfan la Tulipe (1952), in which she played Madame de Pompadour alongside Gérard Philipe and Gina Lollobrigida. Later, she appeared in Italian, French, British, and American films. She co-starred with Robert Mitchum and Ingrid Thulin in Foreign Intrigue (1956), Dirk Bogarde and Capucine in Song Without End (1960), Charlton Heston and Sophia Loren in El Cid (1961), and was seen in Grand Prix (1966) with James Garner, and Belle de Jour (1967), with Catherine Deneuve and directed by Luis Buñuel. She appeared with Deneuve again when she played Countess Larisch in Mayerling (1968), also co-starring with Ava Gardner and James Mason.
Billy Wilder cast her as the mysterious widow in The Private Life of Sherlock Holmes (1970) because the character she played used her sex appeal to manipulate Holmes. She appeared in Robert Altman's Beyond Therapy (1987) and continued to act until 2003.
Theatre She acted in 1943 in Le Soulier de Satin and in Oh! Les Beaux Jours, both of which were directed by Jean-Louis Barrault Madeleine Renaud Co. Her theatre career continued in the 1980s and 1990s, with Les larmes amères de Petra von Kant (The Bitter Tears of Petra von Kant) (1980), La nuit des rois (Twelfth Night, William Shakespeare), La femme sur le lit (The Woman on the Bed, Franco Brusati) 1994, and Delicate Balance (1998).
Personal life and death Page was educated at École du Louvre and Conservatoire national des arts et métiers. Page was married to Jean-Claude Bujard from 1959 until his death on 29 August 2011; the couple had two children. In an interview from 2013, she said she was having stewardship problems in her house and that she was "not used to talking anymore".
Page died in Paris on 14 February 2025, at the age of 97.
Selected filmography Year Title Role Director1952Fanfan la TulipeMadame de PompadourChristian-JaquePleasures of Paris Violet Ralph Baum1953 Open Letter Colette SimonetAlex Joffé1954L'Étrange Désir de monsieur BardDonataGéza von Radványi1956Foreign IntrigueDominique DanemoreSheldon ReynoldsThe Silken Affair Geneviève GérardRoy KellinoMichel StrogoffNadia FédorCarmine Gallone1957Amour de pocheÉdithPierre KastTrapped in Tangier Mary BolevascoRiccardo Freda1960Song Without EndCountess MarieGeorge Cukor and Charles Vidor1961El CidPrincess UrracaAnthony Mann1963The Day and the HourAgathe DutheilRené ClémentThe Reluctant SpyUrsula KellerJean-Charles Dudrumet1964Youngblood HawkeFrieda Winter Delmer Daves1965 The MajordomoAgnès des VallièresJean DelannoyThree Rooms in ManhattanYolande CombesMarcel Carné1966Tender Scoundrel Béatrice DumonceauxJean BeckerCorsaires et FlibustiersMary BrownClaude BarmaGrand Prix Monique Delvaux-SartiJohn Frankenheimer1967Belle de jourMadame AnaisLuis Buñuel1968MayerlingCountess Marie Larisch von MoennichTerence YoungDecline and Fall... of a BirdwatcherMargotJohn KrishA Talent for Loving DelphineRichard Quine1970The Private Life of Sherlock HolmesGabrielle ValadonBilly Wilder1979Buffet froidGeneviève Léonard (the widow)Bertrand Blier1982Mortelle randonnéeMadame Schmidt-BoulangerClaude Miller1987Beyond TherapyZiziRobert AltmanItalian PostcardsSilvanaMemè Perlini 1989Les Bois noirsNathalie DupinJacques Deray1992L'Inconnu dans la maisonBernadetteGeorges Lautner
Accolades Year Title Award1980Les larmes amères de Petra von KantCritics Prize for Best Actress1994La femme sur le litColombe Prix Plaisir du Théâtre Best Actress
References
External links
allmovie.com