Anne Wiazemsky

Anne Wiazemsky (May 14, 1947 - October 5, 2017), a French author and actress of Russian descent on her father's side, was born in Berlin in 1947. At the age of seventeen, she starred in Robert Bresson's film "Au hasard Balthazar." She went on to appear in films by directors such as Jean-Luc Godard (to whom she was married), Pier Paolo Pasolini, Marco Ferreri, Philippe Garrel, Alain Tanner, Michel Deville, among others, as well as in theatrical performances. In 1988, she left her acting career and entered the literary world with the short story collection "Des filles bien élevées" (Grand Prize for Short Stories from the Société des Gens de Lettres). This was followed by novels such as "Mon beau navire," "Marine," "Canines" (Goncourt Prize for High School Students, 1993), "Hymnes à l'amour" (in which her grandfather, the renowned writer François Mauriac, is featured), "Une poignée de gens" (Grand Prize for Novels from the French Academy, 1998), "Aux quatre coins du monde," and "Sept garçons." She also wrote screenplays and directed documentaries. Her last novel, "Je m'appelle Élisabeth," the first not based on autobiographical elements, was adapted into a film by director Jean-Pierre Améris. She passed away on October 5, 2017, from cancer, at the age of 70.