DeLauné Michel

DeLauné Michel is an American author and actress. She was raised in southern Louisiana in a literary family which includes her uncle, Andre Dubus; her mother, Elizabeth Nell Dubus; and her cousins, mystery writer James Lee Burke, Andre Dubus III (House of Sand and Fog), and Alafair Burke.

The Baton Rouge, Louisiana-born Michel was named for Helene DeLauné, according to family history the first woman over from France on her mother's side of the family. Helene DeLauné was in the court of Marie Antoinette and her husband, Jules André Dubus, fought in the French Revolution. Antoinette gave Helene jewels to help her and her husband escape to Louisiana. Michel's father's family was the eleventh family in New Orleans.[1]

Upon leaving high school (St. Joseph's Academy in Baton Rouge), Michel moved to New York City. She did some modeling there and in Europe, then spent several years studying acting in NYC with teachers from the Neighborhood Playhouse, The Actor's Studio, Juilliard, and the Yale Drama School.

After moving to Los Angeles, Michel had guest starring roles on TV shows such as NYPD Blue, The Gilmore Girls, and Judging Amy, among others. She did a number of independent films that never saw the light of day and Equity-waiver theatre, including her own one-woman show.

In 1996, Michel created "Spoken Interludes", a critically acclaimed reading series where award winning, bestselling, and up-coming writers read their own work.[2] This literary institution has been covered extensively by publications ranging from the Los Angeles Times, The New York Times, GQ Magazine, LA Magazine, LA Weekly, and has been heard on NPR.

Works

The first two short stories that Michel wrote won recognition in the Thomas Wolfe Prize Short Fiction Competition sponsored by Duke University. Later work won the Pacificus Foundation Literary Award. One of her short stories caught the eye of an agent, who then sent it to Joyce Carol Oates, who referred to Michel's writing as "a wonderful, idiosyncratic voice and an extremely promising talent." But Ms. Oates felt that the story was actually a chapter of a novel. Michel agreed and her first novel, Aftermath of Dreaming, was born.

In Aftermath of Dreaming (William Morrow/HarperCollins, April 2006), Michel explores the universal themes of abandonment, forgiveness, and letting go. The novel is loosely based on an intimate six-year relationship she shared with Warren Beatty.[3] Her second novel The Safety of Secrets[4] was published by Avon A/HarperCollins in May 2008. She lives in Westchester County, New York with her husband and two sons.

References
  1. Harper Collins Author interview "My mother's family—my namesake, in fact, Hélene DeLauné and her husband Jules André — arrived in South Louisiana during the French Revolution. Marie Antoinette gave my namesake jewels help her leave to escape the guillotine."
  2. Spoken Interludes "DeLauné Michel created Spoken Interludes in 1996, when the choices for literary events were pretty much limited to poetry readings or signings in bookstores."
  3. "Oh, what a story to tell DeLaune Michel loosely channeled her experiences -- Warren Beatty included -- into the novel `Aftermath of Dreaming", latimes.com, May 7, 2007.
  4. "The Safety of Secrets". Archived from the original on 2008-07-09. Retrieved 2008-08-06.
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