View source for Simone Simon

{{Short description|French actress (1910–2005)}}
{{distinguish|Simone Simons}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=December 2021}}
{{Infobox person
| name           = Simone Simon
| image          = Simone Simon.JPG
| image_size     = 
| caption        = Simon in ''Love and Hisses'' (1937)
| birth_name     = Simone Thérèse Fernande Simon
| birth_date     = {{birth date|1911|4|23|df=y}}
| birth_place    = [[Marseille]], France
| death_date     = {{death date and age|2005|2|22|1911|4|23|df=y}}
| death_place    = Paris, France
| occupation     = Actress
| years_active   = 1931–1973
}}

'''Simone Thérèse Fernande Simon''' (23 April 1910 or 1911<ref name="altfg">{{cite web |url=http://www.altfg.com/actors/simone-simon.htm |title=Simone Simon (Biography) |first=Andre |last=Soares |work=Alternative Film Guide |date=24 February 2005}}</ref> – 22 February 2005) was a French film actress who began her film career in 1931. She is perhaps best remembered for her role in the American horror film ''[[Cat People (1942 film)|Cat People]]'', and its sequel ''[[The Curse of the Cat People]]''.

==Early life==
Born in [[Marseille]],<ref name="altfg"/> France, she was the daughter of Henri Louis Firmin Clair Simon, a French Jewish engineer and airplane pilot in World War II who died in a concentration camp, and Erma Maria Domenica Giorcelli, an Italian housewife. Before settling and growing up in [[Marseille]], Simon lived in [[Madagascar]], [[Budapest]], [[Turin]], and [[Berlin]].<ref name="strange" /> She went to Paris in 1931 and worked briefly as a singer, model, and fashion designer. She also at one point wanted to become a sculptor.<ref name="pouting" />

Simon worked chiefly for the [[Théâtre des Bouffes Parisiens]] and then managed to get more serious work with [[Sacha Guitry]] in ''Ô mon bel inconnu''.<ref name="pouting"/>

==Career==
After being spotted in a restaurant in June 1931, Simon was offered a film contract by director [[Victor Tourjansky]], which ended her plans to become a fashion designer.<ref name="strange" /> She made her screen debut in ''Le chanteur inconnu'' (''The Unknown Singer'', 1931), and quickly established herself as one of the country's most successful film actresses. Simon later told a reporter that she had no acting experience when making her first screen test for ''The Unknown Singer''.<ref name="savage">"Tender Little Savage: France's Favorite Descends upon the Hollywood Scene" by Jacques Lory, ''[[Oakland Tribune]]'', 29 December 1935, p. 3</ref> In 1932, she was given more important roles and she rose to fame after starring in [[Marc Allégret]]'s ''Lac aux dames'' (''Ladies Lake'', 1934), which was in her own opinion her first serious role since ''The Unknown Singer''.<ref name="pouting" /><ref name="savage" /> In later interviews, Simon expressed her gratitude towards Allégret, feeling that he was responsible for her glory.<ref name="pouting" />

[[File:Simone Simon Argentinean Magazine AD.jpg|thumb|upright|left|Simon on the advertisement of an [[Argentina|Argentine]] magazine in the wedding dress from the 1937 remake of ''[[Seventh Heaven (1937 film)|Seventh Heaven]]'']]
After seeing her in ''Ladies Lake'', [[Darryl F. Zanuck]] brought her to Hollywood in August 1935 with a widespread publicity campaign. Before accepting an American contract, Simon completed two more films for Allégret, ''[[Les yeux noirs (film)|Les yeux noirs]]'' (''Black Eyes'', 1935) and ''Les beaux jours'' (1935).<ref name="pouting" /> It was usual for foreign actresses to receive months of preparation before working, but Simon was given only a few weeks of English lessons before she was told to report on set.<ref name="home">"Simone Simon Was Ready to Go Home" by Mayme Ober Peak, ''[[Milwaukee Journal Sentinel|The Milwaukee Journal]]'', 13 November 1936, p. 1</ref> Meanwhile, the studio had trouble finding her a suitable role. She was scheduled to make her American film debut in ''[[A Message to Garcia (1936 film)|A Message to Garcia]]'' (1936), playing a Spanish girl, but was replaced by [[Rita Hayworth]].<ref name="utf">{{cite web |url=https://www.tcm.com/tcmdb/title/94403/under-two-flags |title=Notes for Under Two Flags (1936) |access-date=6 June 2010|work=[[Turner Classic Movies]]}}</ref> In mid-1935, she was cast in the female lead in ''[[Under Two Flags (1936 film)|Under Two Flags]]'' (1936), but was discharged during production.

Although it was reported that she withdrew due to illness, it was later revealed that Zanuck fired her after twelve days of shooting because of her temperamental behavior, which displeased the film's director [[Frank Lloyd]].<ref name="utf" /> Simon herself claimed in a 1936 interview that she fell ill after weeks of tests and rehearsing for the film.<ref name="home" /> She admitted, though, that in the early stage of production she was temperamental, insisting that she was inspired to behave that way after a conversation with [[Marlene Dietrich]], who told her that "a star is only as important as she makes herself out to be."<ref name="heartsick">"Simone Simon Heartstick, Wanted to Go Home" by Mayme Ober Peak, ''[[Milwaukee Journal Sentinel|The Milwaukee Journal]]'', 13 November 1936, p. 3</ref> She dismissed any further claims of her being rude or difficult to work with, explaining to the press that she was initially not used to the American lifestyle, which was in her view more extroverted than the French way of living.<ref name="pouting">"Pouting Lady From France" by Wood Soanes, ''[[Oakland Tribune]]'', 29 November 1936</ref> Her poor health caused her to be hospitalized, during which she became convinced to give up her American contract.<ref name="heartsick" />

Shortly after she had decided to return to France,<ref name="heartsick" /> the studio assigned her to a third billing role in ''[[Girls' Dormitory]]'' (1936). Simon was attracted to the story and saw "great possibilities" in her character.<ref name="heartsick" /> Reportedly, she again showed a temperament, which led to difficulties with [[Ruth Chatterton]], the film's star, who felt that Simon was receiving more attention.<ref name="heartsick" /><ref name="gd">''[[Pittsburgh Press]]'', 31 August 1936, p. 21</ref> Simon confessed that she was nervous during production, because studio executives were closely watching her every step.<ref name="heartsick" /> Although thought to be one of the highlights of the year,<ref>''[[Oakland Tribune]]'', 30 April 1936, p. 13</ref> ''Girls' Dormitory'' was soon forgotten by the public, making Simon's American film debut less than impressive. Nonetheless, Simon was hailed a sensation and critics applauded her performance.<ref name="strange">"The Strange New Star in Hollywood's Heaven" by Eleanor Packer, ''[[The Salt Lake Tribune]]'', 20 September 1936, p. 7</ref> Furthermore, magazines reported that it brought the actress overnight fame.<ref name="pouting" /> Shortly after the film's release she was cast in ''White Hunter'', a [[B movie]] that would reunite her with producer [[Irving Cummings]]. During filming, she was again stricken by flu, and she ultimately had to be replaced by actress [[June Lang]].<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.tcm.com/tcmdb/title/95656/white-hunter |title=Notes for White Hunter (1936) |access-date=6 June 2010|work=[[Turner Classic Movies]]}}</ref>

[[File:Radio. Lux Theatre. Paul de Vassal - Simone Simon - Albert Cloutier BAnQ P48S1P22998.jpg|thumb|Simon performing in [[Montreal]] in 1942]]
Instead, the studio rushed her in the romantic comedy ''[[Ladies in Love]]'' (1936), which was filmed in mid-1936. She shared the female lead with [[Janet Gaynor]], [[Loretta Young]] and [[Constance Bennett]], some of whom objected to the large number of scenes that Simon was getting.<ref name="strange" /> It was a heavyweight lineup in which Simon's role left her little chance to compete effectively. Trying to avoid quarrels, she hired an assistant to prevent her from making headlines with her behavior.<ref>"Simone Simon Hires Expert to Avoid Quarrels", ''[[Chicago Tribune]]'', 24 July 1936</ref> Despite a big build-up, which included a weekly salary even though her first American film was released more than a year after her arrival in the country,<ref name="gd" /> Simon's films for [[20th Century Fox]] were only moderately successful. Among others, she was cast in the Janet Gaynor role in the [[Seventh Heaven (1937 film)|1937 remake]] of the silent classic ''[[Seventh Heaven (1927 film)|Seventh Heaven]]'' (1927), which co-starred [[James Stewart]] and flopped. Afterwards, she was cast in ''[[Danger – Love at Work]]'' (1937), but due to her heavy French accent she had to be replaced by [[Ann Sothern]].<ref>Fujiwara, Chris, ''The World and Its Double: The Life and Work of Otto Preminger''. New York: Macmillan Publishers 2009. {{ISBN|0-86547-995-X}}, pp. 18–19</ref> Failing in finding her appropriate roles, the studio allowed her to go on an eight-week vacation to France, and following her return in June 1937, she was assigned to ''[[Suez (film)|Suez]]'' (1938), but the project was shelved and she was eventually replaced.<ref>"Idle Simone At Last Is Given Role" by Paul Harrison, ''[[Pittsburgh Press]]'', 18 June 1937, p. 28</ref>

In the late 1930s, Simon returned to France, dissatisfied with the development of her American film career and the backfiring of its related publicity.<ref>"Simone Simon A Star Again", ''[[The Gazette (Montreal)]]'', 31 May 1944, p. 3</ref> There, she appeared in the [[Jean Renoir]] film ''[[La Bête Humaine (film)|La Bête Humaine]]'' (''The Human Beast'') in 1938. With the outbreak of [[World War II]], she returned to Hollywood and worked for [[RKO Pictures|RKO Radio Pictures]] where she achieved her greatest successes in English language cinema with ''[[The Devil and Daniel Webster (1941 film)|The Devil and Daniel Webster]]'' (1941), ''[[Cat People (1942 film)|Cat People]]'' (1942) and ''[[The Curse of the Cat People]]'' (1944); the latter two formed part of the horror film series produced by [[Val Lewton]]. At the time, due to her relative obscurity in the United States, Simon generated a series of apocryphal rumors about her origins, such as that she was the love child of [[Marion Davies]] and [[William Randolph Hearst]], and that she had been a Paramount stock player from [[Salem, Oregon]].<ref>{{cite book|last1=Mank|first1=Gregory William|title=Women in Horror Films, 1940s|year=2005|publisher=McFarland|location=Jefferson, North Carolina|isbn=978-0-7864-2335-4|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=CyuSCgAAQBAJ&q=978-0-786-42335-4|page=116}}</ref> These films did not lead to greater success and she languished in mediocre films until the end of the war.

She returned to France to act, and appeared in ''[[La Ronde (1950 film)|La Ronde]]'' (''Roundabout'', 1950). Her film roles were few after this and she made her final film appearance in 1973.

==Personal life and death==
[[File:10 August 1942 face detail, Simone Simon Cat People promotional photo (cropped).jpg|left|thumb|upright|''Cat People'' promotional photo taken on 10 August 1942]]
Simon never married. It was alleged by her secretary that she gave a gold key to her boudoir to any man she was interested in, including [[George Gershwin]]. The film historian, Greg Mank, reports in his audio commentary for the DVD of ''Cat People'', the secretary was then on trial for extorting money from her employer, and her word on this matter cannot be taken at face value (the secretary was later convicted, and the terms of her probation required that she never speak of the "gold key" scandal again). In the 1950s, Simon was romantically involved with the French banker and racehorse owner–breeder [[Alec Weisweiller]] whose wife [[Francine Weisweiller|Francine]] was one of [[Jean Cocteau|Jean Cocteau's]] patrons.

She was at one time in a relationship with World War II [[double agent]] [[Dušan Popov|Duško Popov]], codenamed "Tricycle".<ref>{{cite web |url=http://archives.cnn.com/2002/WORLD/europe/05/08/britain.agent/ |title=UK exposes secret agent's sex life |work=CNN.com |date=8 May 2002}}</ref> Simon died in Paris, France, on 22 February 2005 from natural causes. A few days later, French Minister of Culture [[Renaud Donnedieu de Vabres]] issued a statement in which he extolled Simon's "charm, her irresistible smile&nbsp;... With Simone Simon's passing, we have lost one of the most seductive and most brilliant stars of the French cinema of the first half of the 20th century."<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.culture.gouv.fr/culture/actualites/communiq/donnedieu/ssimon.htm |title=Renaud Donnedieu de Vabres rend hommage à Simone Simon |work=French Ministry of Culture |date=23 February 2005 |first=Renaud |last=Donnedieu}}</ref> In 2011, British actor and writer Stephen Mosley paid tribute to her in his acclaimed book of strange tales ''The Boy Who Loved Simone Simon''.
{{clear}}

==Filmography==
{| class="wikitable"
|+ Film
|-
! Year
! Title
! Role
! Notes
|-
| rowspan=4 | 1931
| ''[[Durand Versus Durand]]''
| Eliane
|
|-
| ''Mam'zelle Nitouche''
|
| Uncredited
|-
| ''[[The Unknown Singer (1931 film)|The Unknown Singer]]'' 
| Pierette
| Original title: ''Le chanteur inconnu''
|-
| ''On opère sans douleur''
|
|
|-
| rowspan=4 | 1932
| ''[[The Chocolate Girl (1932 film)|The Chocolate Girl]]''
| Julie
| Original title: ''La petite chocolatière''
|-
| ''[[A Son from America (1932 film)|A Son from America]]''
| Maryse
| Original title: ''Un fils d'Amérique''
|-
| ''[[King of the Hotel]]''
| Victoire
| Original title: ''Le roi des palaces''
|-
| ''[[To Live Happily]]'' 
| Jacqueline
| Original title: ''Pour vivre heureux''
|-
| rowspan=4 | 1933
| ''The Sad Sack''
| Lily
| Original title: ''Tire au flanc''
|-
| ''Mind the Paint''
| Amélie Gadarin
| Original title: ''Prenez garde à la peinture''
|-
| ''[[The Star of Valencia (French-language film)|The Star of Valencia]]''
| Rita
|
|-
| ''{{Interlanguage link multi|Le Voleur (film)|fr|3=Le Voleur (film, 1933)|lt=Le Voleur}}''
|
|
|-
| 1934
| ''[[Lake of Ladies]]''
| Puck
|
|-
| rowspan=2 | 1935
| ''[[Dark Eyes (1935 film)|Dark Eyes]]''
| Tania
| Original title: ''Les yeux noirs''
|-
| ''[[Beautiful Days (1935 film)|Beautiful Days]]''
| Sylvie
|
|-
| rowspan=2 | 1936
| ''[[Girls' Dormitory]]''
| Marie Claudel
|
|-
| ''[[Ladies in Love]]''
| Marie Armand
|
|-
| rowspan=2 | 1937
| ''[[Seventh Heaven (1937 film)|Seventh Heaven]]''
| Diane
|
|-
| ''[[Love and Hisses]]''
| Yvett Guerin
|
|-
| rowspan=2 | 1938
| ''[[Josette (1938 film)|Josette]]'' 
| Renee LeBlanc
|
|-
| ''[[La Bête Humaine (film)|La Bête Humaine]]''
| Séverine Roubaud
| Alternative title: ''The Human Beast''<br />Alternative title: ''Judas Was a Woman''
|-
| 1940
| ''[[Love Cavalcade]]''
| Juliette
| Original title: ''Cavalcade d'amour''
|-
| 1941
| ''[[The Devil and Daniel Webster (film)|The Devil and Daniel Webster]]''
| Belle
| Alternative title: ''All That Money Can Buy''
|-
| 1942
| ''[[Cat People (1942 film)|Cat People]]''
| [[Irena Dubrovna|Irena Dubrovna Reed]] 
|
|-
| 1943
| ''[[Tahiti Honey]]''
| Suzette 'Susie" Durand
|
|-
| rowspan=3 | 1944
| ''[[The Curse of the Cat People]]''
| [[Irena Dubrovna|Irena Reed]]
|
|-
| ''[[Johnny Doesn't Live Here Any More]]''
| Kathie Aumont
| Alternative title: ''And So They Were Married''
|-
| ''[[Mademoiselle Fifi (film)|Mademoiselle Fifi]]''
| Elizabeth Bousset – A Little Laundress
| Alternative title: ''Guy de Maupassant's Mademoiselle Fifi''
|-
| 1946
| ''[[Pétrus (film)|Pétrus]]''
| Migo
|
|-
| 1947
| ''[[Temptation Harbour]]''
| Camelia
| Alternative title: ''Temptation Harbor''
|-
| 1950
| ''[[Women Without Names (1950 film)|Women Without Names]]'' 
| Yvonne Dubois
| Original title: ''Donne senza nome''
|-
| 1950
| ''[[La Ronde (1950 film)|La Ronde]]''
| Marie, the housemaid
|
|-
| 1951
| ''[[Olivia (1951 film)|Olivia]]''
| Mlle. Cara
| Alternative title: ''The Pit of Loneliness''
|-
| 1952
| ''[[Le Plaisir]]''
| Joséphine – le modèle
| Alternative title: ''House of Pleasure''<br>(segment "Le Modèle")
|-
| rowspan=2 | 1954
| ''[[The Three Thieves]]''
| Doris Ornano
|
|-
| ''[[A Double Life (1954 film)|A Double Life]]''
| Françoise Dunoyer
| Original title: ''Das zweite Leben''
|-
| 1956
| ''[[The Extra Day]]''
| Michele Blanchard
|
|-
| 1973
| ''[[The Woman in Blue]]''
| La dame de Meudon
| Original title: ''La femme en bleu''<br>(final film role)
|}

==Radio appearances==
{| class="wikitable"
|-
! Year !! Program !! Episode/source
|-
| 1945|| ''[[The Adventures of the Thin Man]]'' || ''The Case of the Homicidal Husband''<ref>{{cite news|title=Simone Simon Stars in 'Thin Man' Mystery|newspaper=Harrisburg Telegraph |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/4043167/harrisburg_telegraph/|agency=Harrisburg Telegraph|date=2 June 1945|location=Pennsylvania, Harrisburg|page=15|via = [[Newspapers.com]]|accessdate = 14 January 2016}} {{Open access}}</ref>
|-
|1945
|Inner Sanctum
|The Black Art
|}

==References==
{{reflist|30em}}

===Bibliography===
* {{cite web |url=http://www.altfg.com/actors/simone-simon.htm |title=Simone Simon (Biography) |first=Andre |last=Soares |work=Alternative Film Guide |date=24 February 2005}}
* {{cite web |url=http://www.findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_qn4158/is_20050302/ai_n11843324 |title=Obituary: Simone Simon (Article) |first=Tom |last=Vallance |work=[[The Independent]] |date=2 March 2005}}{{dead link|date=May 2025}}

==External links==
{{Portal|Biography}}
{{Commons category}}
* {{IMDb name|800386|Simone Simon}}
* {{Tcmdb name}}
* {{Find a Grave|10519158}}
* [http://film.virtual-history.com/person.php?personid=1062 Photographs and literature]

{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Simon, Simone}}
[[Category:French film actresses]]
[[Category:French people of Italian descent]]
[[Category:French people of Jewish descent]]
[[Category:Actresses from Marseille]]
[[Category:People from Béthune]]
[[Category:Actresses from Hauts-de-France]]
[[Category:1910s births]]
[[Category:2005 deaths]]
[[Category:20th Century Studios contract players]]
[[Category:French expatriate actresses in the United States]]
[[Category:20th-century French actresses]]