Zouzou (model)

Zouzou (born Danièle Ciarlet on November 29, 1943) is an actress, model, singer and icon of the 1960s and early 1970s. She is known largely for her lead role in Éric Rohmer's Love in the Afternoon. Her career, however, was constantly hampered by her addiction to heroin and other drugs. She went for detox for 2 years away in the Antilles.

Zouzou
Illustration from Christopher Dombres.
Born
Danièle Ciarlet

(1943-11-29) November 29, 1943
Blida, French Algeria
Occupationmodel, actress, singer
Years active1962–2003
Partner(s)Brian Jones[1]

The screen name "Zouzou" reportedly stems from her zézaiement (lisp)[2] of the consonants 's','j' and 'z'.[3]

Zouzou was friendly with many famous artists from the 60s, including George Harrison, whom she favored as a friend, and his wife, Pattie Boyd. She also was very friendly with Bob Dylan with whom she spent 5 days and 5 nights as a confidante. Bob Dylan was then very much in love with his wife and always confided to her how much he missed his spouse. Her boyfriends during her years of fame included Brian Jones (of the Rolling Stones), with whom she was enamored (he initially met Zouzou at the Bilboquet after a concert and wanted her Cashmere sweater in trade for his sweaty white turtleneck) Michel Taittinger, Dave Davies (of the Kinks), Jean-Paul Goude and Jack Nicholson. She is still friends with Jack Nicholson who also introduced her to Randy Newman.

Biography

Zouzou obtained her Baccalauréat at 14, then enrolled at the Artististic Training Centre of the Académie Charpentier.

The news magazine Paris Match baptised her "la twisteuse". She represented the liberated young woman, who was active during the protests of May 1968, as indeed Zouzou was.[4]

She moved to Swinging London with Brian Jones, but left him and returned to Paris. Her fame soon eroded. In 1978, she left Paris for the Antilles where she remained for seven years. She returned to France in 1985.

Drug addiction

From the early 1970s she was addicted to a number of drugs, in particular heroin. This resulted in two short periods in Fleury-Mérogis prison, in 1992 and 1994.

Return

In 2002, Zouzou co-starred in the short film Signe d' hiver ("Sign of winter"), directed by Jean-Claude Moireau and also starring Marie Rousseau and Cyrille Thouvenin.[5] In 2003, her autobiography, Jusqu' à l' aube ("Until dawn"),[6] co-written with Olivier Nicklaus, was published by Flammarion. At the beginning of 2004, a retrospective of Zouzou was organized by Centre Georges Pompidou.[7] In 2005, Zouzou appeared at the Sentier des Halles club in Paris.[8]

Selected filmography

References
  1. "Extract from Zouzou's autobiography, 'Jusqu'à L'aube' | Brian's Birds, Buddies and Betrayers". Pip-the-poodle.tumblr.com. 1964-10-20. Archived from the original on 2012-11-30. Retrieved 2014-06-12.
  2. Vulgaris-Médical Encyclopédie
  3. Star Portraits In French
  4. ParisFree70 In French
  5. Unifrance In French
  6. Flammarion In French
  7. Radio France
  8. Video of Zouzou singing "Cherchez l'erreur" ("Look for the mistake") in the club, 2005 on YouTube

Further reading
  • Jusqu'à l'aube, autobiography co-written with by Olivier Nicklaus, Éditions Flammarion, Paris.
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