Micheline Presle
Personal Info
Known for
Acting
Gender
Female
Birthday
1922-08-22
Day of Death
2024-02-21 (101 years old)
Place of Birth
Paris, France
Micheline Presle
Biography
Micheline Presle (born Micheline Nicole Julia Émilienne Chassagne on 22 August 1922) was a French actress. She was sometimes billed as Micheline Prelle. Starting in 1939, she starred in over 50 French and English language films that were made in Hollywood and in France.
Born in Paris, she wanted to be an actress from an early age. She took acting classes in her early teens and made her film debut at the age of fifteen in the 1937 production of La Fessée. In 1938, she was awarded the Prix Suzanne Bianchetti as the most promising young actress in French cinema. Her rise to European stardom, in films such as Devil in the Flesh, led to offers from Hollywood and in 1950, she was signed by 20th Century Fox.
20th Century Fox executives changed Presle's last name to Prell. It was later changed to Prelle after a soap company brought out Prell shampoo. Her first Hollywood production was a starring role opposite John Garfield in the film Under My Skin directed by Jean Negulesco. That same year director Fritz Lang cast her opposite Tyrone Power in the war drama American Guerrilla in the Philippines. In 1950, she became the second wife of American actor William Marshall with whom she had a daughter, Tonie. William Marshall had teamed up with actor Errol Flynn and his production company and in 1951 he directed Flynn and her in the film Adventures of Captain Fabian.
Presle's marriage did not last and she returned to France, divorcing Marshall in 1954. Her career flourished in French films and in 1957 she was a guest on the American Ed Sullivan Show. In 1959 she performed in the United Kingdom English-language production of Blind Date directed by Joseph Losey. She returned to Hollywood in 1962 for the role of Sandra Dee's mother in the Universal Studios film If a Man Answers which also featured Dee's husband, singer Bobby Darin. The following year, Presle acted again in English in The Prize starring Paul Newman. She did not make another English film, but after performing in more than 50 films in French, in 1989 she appeared in the French-made bilingual production I Want to Go Home, for which she was nominated for the César Award for Best Actress in a Supporting Role.
In 1971, Presle signed the Manifesto of the 343, publicly declaring she had an illegal abortion.
Presle died in Nogent-sur-Marne on 21 February 2024, at the age of 101, at the Maison des Artistes, a retirement home for artists, which receives partial government support. Her death was confirmed by Olivier Bomsel, her son-in-law, without specifying the cause.
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Known For
Acting
(2019)
Danielle Darrieux : Il est poli d'être gai !
as Self (archive footage)
(2018)
(2013)
Rue Mandar
as la tante
(2013)
I Will Show My Breasts
as Jeanne
(2012)
Just Like Brothers
as Grandmother
(2012)
Bankable
as Granny
(2011)
Hitler in Hollywood
as Micheline Presle
(2010)
Thelma, Louise et Chantal
as Huguette
(2009)
Going South
as La grand-mère
(2009)
A Man and His Dog
as Femme
(2008)
A Day at the Museum
as Liliane
(2007)
Vous êtes de la police ?
as Jane Latour-Jackson
(2005)
Grabuge!
as Gisèle Lenoir
(2004)
Les Anges 1943, histoire d'un film
as Self (voice)
(2004)
Le voyageur sans bagage
as Mme Renaud
(2003)
Chouchou
as La mère de Stanislas
(2003)
France Boutique
as Nicole
(2003)
Saltimbank
as Mrs. Saltim
(2003)
Anna in Corsica
as Marie
(2002)
La vie au grand air
as Claire Lacombe
(2001)
Transfixed
as Violette Ancelin
(2001)
Tender Souls
as Juliette
(2001)
Vertiges de l'amour
as La mère de Vincent
(2001)
Charming Fellow
as Bélise
(2000)
The Heart at Work
as Madeleine
(2000)
Un enfant, un secret
as Marthe
(1999)
Venus Beauty Institute
as Tante Maryse
(1999)
Bad Company
as Mamie
(1999)
(1999)
The Journey to Paris
as Madame Dubosc
(1998)
Grève party
as Madame Raymonde
(1996)
A Chef in Love
as Marcelle Ichak
(1996)
Should Not!...
as la "mère" de Bernard
(1996)
The Voyage of Penelope
as Hermine
(1996)
Diary of a Seducer
as Diane
(1995)
Les Miserables
as La mère supérieure / Mother Superior
(1994)
Casque bleu
as Gisèle
(1994)
Something Fishy
as Mrs. Loussine
(1993)
Fanfan
as Maude
(1993)
My Name is Victor
as Luce
(1993)
Point d'orgue
as Avril Espart
(1991)
Seul face au crime
as Maria
(1991)
Epiphany Sunday
as Germaine et Marie-Louise
(1991)
Les Disparus de Saint-Agil
as Mme Donnadieu
(1991)
The Other Eye
as Self
(1990)
Après après-demain
as La voisine
(1990)
Fathers' Day
as Mireille Miran
(1989)
I Want to Go Home
as Isabelle Gauthier
(1989)
In inniger Feindschaft
as Gloria Maieul
(1988)
Mignon Has Left
as Prof. Girelli
(1988)
Alouette, je te plumerai
as Lady with jewels
(1986)
Qui trop embrasse...
as La mère de Christian
(1986)
Beau temps mais orageux en fin de journée
as Jacqueline
(1984)
The Blood of Others
as Denise
(1984)
Thieves After Dark
as Genevieve
(1984)
Les Fausses Confidences
as Mme Argente
(1984)
(1983)
Archipelago of Love
as The mother (segment "Remue-ménage")
(1983)
At the Top of the Stairs
as Mathilde
(1980)
Certaines nouvelles
as Hélène
(1980)
It All Depends on Girls
as Betty
(1979)
I've Got You, You've Got Me by the Chin Hairs
as Mlle Chagrin
(1979)
Out of Whack
as Carmen
(1979)
We Forget Everything!
as Madame Courdevey
(1979)
Démons de midi
as Rose
(1979)
(1978)
Your Turn, My Turn
as Valentine Vatrin
(1977)
The Devil in the Box
as Madame Aubert
(1976)
Nea
as Helen Ashby
(1976)
(1975)
The Broken Mirror
as Mother
(1975)
The Butcher, the Star and the Orphan
as Star Belladonna
(1974)
La Gueule de l’emploi
as Micheline Presle
(1974)
Two Big Girls in Pyjamas
as Laurence
(1973)
A Slightly Pregnant Man
as Dr Delavigne
(1972)
Devil in the Brain
as Countess Claudia Osio De Blanc
(1971)
The Legend of Frenchie King
as Aunt Amelie
(1970)
Donkey Skin
as The Red Queen
(1970)
Earth Light
as L'Antiquaire
(1970)
Le Bal du comte d'Orgel
as Madame de Séryeuse
(1969)
(1966)
The Nun
as Mme de Moni
(1966)
King of Hearts
as Madame Eva aka Madame Eglantine
(1965)
Hail! Mafia
as Daisy
(1964)
Male Hunt
as Isabelle Lartois
(1964)
Les pieds nickelés
as Paméla Van Der Mèche
(1964)
Dark Purpose
as Monique Bouvier
(1963)
The Prize
as Denise Marceau
(1963)
(1963)
The Bamboo Stroke
as Angèle Brissac
(1962)
The Seven Deadly Sins
as Madame Duparc - la Mère de Bernard (segment "La luxure")
(1962)
Imperial Venus
as Josephine
(1962)
The Devil and the Ten Commandments
as Micheline Allan
(1962)
If a Man Answers
as Germaine Stacy
(1962)
Lust
as Madame Duparc - la Mère de Bernard
(1962)
Law of Men
as Sophie Givier
(1961)
The Assassin
as Adalgisa De Matteis
(1961)
Five Day Lover
as Madeleine
(1961)
Seduction Of The South
as La marchesa
(1961)
Time Out for Love
as Michele
(1961)
The Red and the Black
as Madame de Rénal
(1960)
The Baron of the Locks
as Perle Germain-Joubert
(1960)
Mistress of the World - Part I
as Madame Latour
(1960)
A Mistress for the Summer
as Paule
(1960)
Mistress of the World - Part II
as Mrs. Latour
(1959)
Blind Date
as Jacqueline Cousteau
(1959)
Bobosse
as Régine / Simone
(1958)
Christine
as Baroness Lena Eggersdorf
(1958)
Women Are Talkative
as Nicole
(1957)
Demoniac
as Hélène Vanaux
(1956)
Her Bridal Night
as Judith Aurigault
(1956)
Castle of the Banned Lovers
as Lucrezia Cenci
(1955)
Napoleon
as Queen Hortense de Beauharnais
(1955)
Thirteen at the Table
as Madeleine Villardier
(1954)
Royal Affairs in Versailles
as Mrs. de Pompadour
(1954)
House of Ricordi
as Virginia Marchi
(1954)
Les impures
as Michèle
(1953)
It Happened in the Park
as Valeria Valenzano (segment: Gli amanti)
(1953)
La Dame aux camélias
as Marguerite Gauthier
(1953)
The Love of a Woman
as Marie Prieur
(1951)
Adventures of Captain Fabian
as Lea Mariotte
(1950)
American Guerrilla in the Philippines
as Jeanne Martinez
(1950)
Under My Skin
as Paule Manet
(1950)
The Last Days of Pompeii
as Hélène
(1949)
All Roads Lead to Rome
as Laura Lee
(1947)
Devil in the Flesh
as Marthe Grangier
(1947)
The Chips Are Down
as Eve Charlier
(1945)
Paris Frills
as Micheline Lafaurie
(1945)
Angel and Sinner
as Élisabeth Rousset, aka "Boule de suif"
(1944)
Twilight
as Félicie Nanteuil
(1943)
Secrets of a Ballerina
as Clara Biondi
(1943)
Le soleil a toujours raison
as Micheline
(1942)
The Beautiful Adventure
as Françoise Pimbrache
(1942)
Fantastic Night
as Irène
(1941)
Foolish Husbands
as Adélaïde Barbier
(1941)
Parade in 7 Nights
as Irène Morillon
(1940)
The French Way
as Claire Ancelot
(1940)
They Were Twelve Women
as Lucie
(1940)
Comedy of Happiness
as Lydia
(1939)
Four Flights to Love
as Janine Mercier / Jeannette Leblan
(1939)
Girls in Distress
as Jacqueline Presle
(1939)
(1939)
(1938)
I Sing
as (uncredited)
(1937)
The Spanking
as (uncredited)