Pierre Bénichou

Pierre Bénichou was born on 1 March 1938 in Oran, French Algeria.[4] His father, André Bénichou, a philosophy professor, opened a private school after he was dismissed from his job for being Jewish in 1941, in the midst of World War II.[5] One of his father's pupils was author Albert Camus.[5] His paternal uncle, Paul Bénichou, was a historian.[5] His paternal grandparents were practising Jews.[5] He moved to Paris, France, in 1949.[5]

Bénichou was a journalist.[6] He started his career as an intern for France Soir.[4] He joined France Dimanche in 1956.[5] He became a reporter for Jours de France in 1961.[4] He became the editor-in-chief of Le Nouvel Observateur, another magazine, in 1966, at a time when it was the most sold weekly newspaper in Europe[4] He subsequently joined Les Grosses Têtes, a cult radio programme on RTL that made him a staple name in France for decades.[4] He was also a contributor to Vivement Dimanche, a television programme hosted by Michel Drucker. A much loved figure, he was widely considered as a "monument historique" of French Media. [4][3][7][8]

Bénichou became a Commander of the Legion of Honour on 25 March 2016.[9]

Bénichou was married to Alix Dufaure; she died in 2012. They had one son together, Antoine. [4] Actor Vincent Lindon is his stepson by his widow's first marriage.[4] Bénichou died on 31 March 2020.[8][10]