Jean Seberg

Jean Seberg Born November 13, 1938 in Marshalltown, Iowa, USA Died August 30, 1979 in Paris, France (barbiturate overdose) Birth Name Jean Dorothy Seberg Height 5' 3" (1.6 m) Mini Bio (1) Jean Dorothy Seberg was born in Marshalltown, Iowa, to Dorothy Arline (Benson), a substitute teacher, and Edward Waldemar Seberg, a pharmacist. Her father was of Swedish descent and her mother was of English and German ancestry. One month before her eighteenth birthday, Jean landed the title role in Otto Preminger's Saint Joan (1957) after a much-publicized contest involving some 18,000 hopefuls. The failure of that film and the only moderate success of her next, Bonjour Tristesse (1958), combined to stall Seberg's career, until her role in Jean-Luc Godard's landmark feature, Breathless (1960), brought her renewed international attention. Seberg gave a memorable performance as a schizophrenic in the title role of Robert Rossen's Lilith (1964) opposite Warren Beatty and went on to appear in over 30 films in Hollywood and Europe. In the late 1960s, Seberg became involved in anti-war politics and was the target of an undercover campaign by the FBI to discredit her because of her association with several members of the Black Panther party. She was found dead under mysterious circumstances in Paris in 1979. - IMDb Mini Biography By: v) Spouse (3) Dennis Berry (12 March 1972 - 30 August 1979) ( her death) Romain Gary (16 October 1962 - 1 July 1970) ( divorced) ( 1 child) François Moreuil (5 September 1958 - 21 September 1960) ( divorced) Trivia (27) Buried in the exclusive Montparnasse cemetery, Paris, France. Her involvement with the Black Panther Party attracted the attention of the FBI, which spread the rumor about her pregnancy in 1970 being a child by Raymond 'Masai' Hewitt, a Black Panther movement leader. Although Seberg initially claimed Romain Gary was the father, after the baby's death she confessed that the father was actually a student revolutionary named Carlos Navarra. The incident may have contributed to her persistent depression over the years, and her decision to take her own life in 1979. Son, Alexandre Diego Gary, AKA: Diego Gary was born out of wedlock on July 17, 1962 in Barcelona, Spain. To avoid public scrutiny, Jean lied about her son's year of birth, claiming he was born in 1963 after her marriage to Romain Gary. Met the father of daughter Nina, Carlos Navarra, while filming Macho Callahan (1970) in Durango, Mexico. Gave birth to her daughter by Carlos Navarra, Nina Hart, two months prematurely on August 23, 1970. Nina died, as a result of complications sustained from Jean overdosing on sleeping pills during her pregnancy, on 25 August 1970, two days after her birth. She was a close friend of Nico, and David Keller. On every subsequent anniversary of her daughter Nina's death, Jean attempted suicide. In 1978, she somehow survived an attempt, throwing herself under a train on the Paris Metro. Committed suicide in the back seat of an automobile in Paris. Her body wasn't found until 11 days later. Otto Preminger chose her to play Joan of Arc out of nearly 18,000 hopefuls. Her marriage to 24-years-older Russian novelist Romain Gary was tempestuous and profoundly unhappy due to his obsessive, Svengali-like influence on her. Separated in 1968 and divorced in 1970 after she bore Carlos Navarra's daughter, she committed suicide in 1979. Gary took his own life by gunshot the very next year; however, he stated in his suicide note that Jean's suicide had nothing to do with his. A musical, simply titled "Jean Seberg," based on her life, premiered at the Royal National Theatre, London in 1983. It was written by Julian Barry, with music by Marvin Hamlisch and lyrics by Christopher Adler. Julie Andrews, Faye Dunaway, Mia Farrow, Diana Rigg and Tuesday Weld each turned down the role that went to Seberg in Paint Your Wagon (1969). (Kim Novak actually wanted to play it but was rejected.) Actresses considered for Seberg's role in Lilith (1964) included Yvette Mimieux, Natalie Wood, Samantha Eggar, Sarah Miles and Diane Cilento. Of her own movies, she considered Lilith (1964) to be her favorite. On May 31, 1979, she went through a form of marriage to 19-year-old Algerian playboy Ahmed Hasni. Reverend Thomas Duggan had officiated a "blessing" of the couple at the American Church in Paris, but the ceremony had no legal force because Seberg was still legally married to Dennis Berry. Considered one of the Nouvelle Vague's icons. Survived by both parents, Edward Seberg and Dorothy Benson. Her father died in 1984 and her mother died in 1997. She had an affair with Clint Eastwood during the filming of Paint Your Wagon (1969) in Baker, Oregon. Unbeknownst to Seberg, Eastwood was simultaneously involved in a two-year affair with one of the extras. He ghosted Jean once production moved to Paramount, leaving her traumatized. Was a huge fan of Marlon Brando, since seeing his screen debut in the movie The Men (1950). As a teenager, Seberg wrote to Brando and invited him to stay with her parents in Iowa. She met him years later and Brando asked her to renew the invitation. Ex-daughter-in-law of John Berry. Wrote and published an open letter to drug addicts in the daily paper Libération: 27th February 1978. François Truffaut wanted her to play in Day for Night (1973), but she never returned his calls. Was considered for one of the two female leads in Fahrenheit 451 (1966) before François Truffaut decided Julie Christie would play both parts as a dual role. Another role Seberg was considered for that ultimately went to Christie was that of Lara Antipova in Doctor Zhivago (1965). Had an older sister, Mary Ann (b. 1936) and two younger brothers, Kurt (b. 1942) and David (1950-1968). Because they never divorced, Dennis Berry is technically Seberg's widower, not Ahmed Hasni. On August 29, 1979, Seberg and Ahmed Hasni went to see Womanlight (1979). The owner of their apartment, Marie-Odile Bouilhet, reported having three telephone conversations with Seberg that evening, but the following morning Hasni told her that Seberg and he had argued, and that she had left the flat in the early hours. It was only ten days later, on September 8, that police finally located the missing actress. Her decomposing body was discovered in the back seat of her car, parked in the nearby rue du Général-Appert. The autopsy, confirming the initial findings of the police pathologist, revealed that she had absorbed an overdose of barbiturates. More puzzlingly, it also showed a level of alcohol in her system which would rapidly have resulted in coma, making driving impossible. Police suspected that her body had been moved after her death, but were unable to prove the involvement of any other individual. Final cause of death was left as "probable suicide," and the re-examination of the case in June 1980 was no more conclusive. The circumstances surrounding her death remain a mystery never satisfactorily clarified. Of all her leading men, only Jean-Paul Belmondo went to her funeral. One of the last of her lovers was French filmmaker Jean-Claude Messager, who spoke to CBS's Mike Wallace for a 1981 profile of the actress. Personal Quotes (6) My first marriage was not happy. I married him because I was impressed that he knew which wines to order and how to leave his visiting card. Ridiculous reasons. Money doesn't buy happiness. But happiness isn't everything. I know that the greatest of actresses has about 20 good years of acting in her and that she will go on living for 30 or 40 years as a human being. So, the conclusion I have come to is that I can't make acting my whole life. I never knew until I came here [Hollywood] that somebody could be really nice to you for years and really hate your guts. Happens all the time here. In my long and difficult and mature life, I have come to learn that the less I know about acting and the more I know about everything else, the better I'll be at both acting and living. [on Clint Eastwood] I misjudged him. It's disheartening to find out people aren't sincere. Salary (1) Macho Callahan (1970) $100,000