Popular in 1950-1960s French actress Marie-Jose Nat
Born Marie-José Benhalassa 22 April 1940, Marie-Jose Nat is a French actress, whose popularity fell on the late 1950-1960s.

The creative fate of the actress is not like the noisy rise of many modern movie stars, accompanied by scandalous press attention. This is rather a persistent and long climb to the top of the skill. The girl, who lived in Corsica and was the fifth child in the family, was creative and artistic since childhood. As a school girl, she performed in school plays. Aged fifteen, Marie won a writer’s contest for young movie lovers. In particular, contest organized by the illustrated magazine Femmes d’Aujourd’hui (Woman Today).

Besides, the same year, 1955, Marie-José Nat won the competition organized by the journal “Lectures d’Aujourd’hui” (Today’s Readings). And the award to the winner – trip to Paris as a model for Jean-Claude Pascal’s photo-novel “Love is a dream”. Noteworthy, during the filming, she got her pseudonym “Nat”. The reason was a long braid that tied her head.

Meanwhile, after such a “success”, the whole family, believing in the talent of their daughter, moved to Paris.
Difficult years began: they lived in a hotel, and her father worked as a night watchman. And Marie herself to pay for study at the drama courses had to work as a photo model for fashion magazines. Gradually, she began to receive small roles in the cinema and television.

The debut in the movie took place in the film adaptation of Fyodor Dostoevsky’s novel Crime and Punishment (1956, directed by Georges Lampin), Marie-José Nat played the episodic role of the girl at the ball. Noteworthy, the 16 year-old girl played with such stars of French cinema as Jean Gabin and Marina Vlady.

In 1959, director Denis de La Patayer entrusted the actress to play a major role in the film “Street Prairie” with Jean Gaben. Since then, the career of the actress has developed quite successfully and sedately.

Marie-José created convincing images of Frenchwomen, accurately conveying the everyday and psychological details of the characters. In particular, Odette in the Rue des prairies (1959, directed by Denys de La Patelliere), Claude Savage in “The Diary of a Woman in White” (1965, dir Claude Autant-Lara), Eliza in the film of her husband Michel Drach “Elise, or Real Life” (1970) and many others. Marie-José Nat performed perhaps, her best role in the film by Andre Cayatte “Married Life”. According to critics, Marie-José Nat showed herself as a very emotional actress with strong inner content.

On the set of the film “Amelie or The Time to Love” (1961), she met the director Michel Drach, who becomes her second husband. The first marriage with Roger Dumas ended in divorce in a year (12 July 1960-61). Together with Michel Drach they created a film “Elise, or Real Life” dedicated to the fate of the Algerians in France during the colonial struggle. With Michael Drach they lived for 17 years (1964-1981) and brought up three children, but divorced.

In 1974 at the festival in Cannes, she received the golden palm branch for the best performance of the female role in the film “Violins at the Ball” (1974).

From 1956 to 2015, Marie-José Nat played more than 60 roles, and the last film in the list of actresses dates back to 2015.

Popular in 1950-1960s French actress Marie-Jose Nat