Martine Carol

Born Maryse Mourer[1][2] (or Marie-Louise Jeanne Nicolle Mourer) in Saint-Mandé, Val-de-Marne, (France), she studied acting under René Simon (1898–1966), making her stage début in 1940 and her first motion picture in 1943. She frequently was cast as an elegant blonde seductress. During the late 1940s and early 1950s, she was the leading sex symbol and a top box-office draw of French cinema, and she was considered a French version of America's Marilyn Monroe. One of her more famous roles was as the title character in Lola Montès (1955), directed by Max Ophüls, in a role that required dark hair. However, by the late 1950s, roles for Carol had become fewer, partly because of the introduction of Brigitte Bardot.

Despite her fame and fortune, Martine Carol's personal life was filled with turmoil that included a suicide attempt, drug abuse, and four marriages. She also was kidnapped by gangster Pierre Loutrel (also known as Pierrot le Fou or Crazy Pete), albeit briefly and received roses the next day as an apology.

She died unexpectedly of a heart attack in a hotel room in Monte Carlo at the age of 46 while shooting the film Hell Is Empty (1967).

Martine Carol was married four times, including:

• Stephen Crane,[3] American actor and restaurant manager, previously Lana Turner's husband, married in 1948, divorced in 1953.
• Christian-Jaque,[3] film director, married July 15, 1954, divorced in 1959.
• Dr. André Rouveix,[3] a young doctor she met in Martinique, Fort-de-France, married August 3, 1959, divorced in 1962.
• Mike Eland, English businessman, married in 1966 until her death.

She initially was buried in the Père Lachaise Cemetery, Paris, but her grave was violated (some media reported that she had been interred with her jewels). Martine Carol then was buried in the Grand Jas Cemetery of Cannes (square n°3).

Martine Carol's grave at the cimetière du Grand Jas in Cannes

• Chapuy, Arnaud (2001). Martine Carol filmée par Christian-Jaque : un phénomène du cinéma populaire. Paris: L'Harmattan.

• Debot, Georges (1979). Martine Carol ou la vie de Martine chérie. Préface de Mary Marquet. Paris: France-Empire.
• Cohen, André-Charles (1986). Martine chérie. Collection photographique de Jean-Charles Sabria. Préface de Cécil Saint-Laurent. Paris: Ramsay.

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Martine Carol.

• Martine Carol at IMDb
• Martine Carol at the TCM Movie Database
• Martine Carol at AllMovie
• Martine Carol at Find a Grave