Belmondo, Jean-Paul (1933-2021), was a French movie star best known for playing antiheroes and sympathetic tough guys. Belmondo did not possess the conventional good looks of many leading men, but his combination of acting skill and an engaging personality earned him international popularity.
Belmondo was born on April 9, 1933, in Neuilly-sur-Seine, near Paris. He studied acting in Paris and performed as a stage actor for several years in the French provinces and then in Paris. He appeared in supporting roles in his first nine movies, beginning with Be Beautiful But Shut Up (1958). Belmondo then achieved immediate fame as a small-time gangster in Jean-Luc Godard’s influential first film, Breathless (1960). Soon Belmondo was France’s leading film actor, developing a rebellious image that appealed to international audiences.
Belmondo appeared in both French and internationally produced films. They include Two Women (1961), Cartouche (1962), That Man from Rio (1964), Is Paris Burning? (1966), The Mississippi Mermaid (1969), Borsalino (1970), Stavisky (1974), Hold-Up (1985), Desire (1996), and A Man and His Dog (2008). He wrote an autobiography about his early career, Thirty Years and Twenty-Five Films (1963). Belmondo died on Sept. 6, 2021.
