Seberg, Jean

ACTOR (UNITED STATES OF AMERICA)
BORN 13 Nov 1938, Marshalltown, Iowa - DIED 30 Aug 1979, Paris
CAUSE OF DEATH overdose of sleeping pills
GRAVE LOCATION Paris: Cimetière du Montparnasse, 3 Boulevard Edgar Quinet (division 13)

Jean Seberg was the daughter of a pharmacist and a teacher. She entered the University of Iowa to study dramatic arts, but soon she started to play in movies. She debuted in 1957 with the title role in Otto Preminger's "Saint Joan". In 1958 he gave her a part in "Bonjour Tristesse" and during the filming in France she met her first husband François Moreuil. She settled in France and was Patricia next to Paul Belmondo in Godard's successful "À bout de souffle".

She had married François Moreuil in 1958. after their marriage fell apart she married Romain Gary on 6 October 1962. Earlier that year they had a son, Alexandre Diego Gary.

She had parts in many Hollywood films, but at the height of her success she stopped filming in Hollywood because she didn't like the roles she was offered anymore. After gifts to organisations that stood up for civil rights and supporting the Black Panther Party, the FBI investigated her and also harassed and discredited her.

During the filming of "Macho Callahan" in 1969 in Mexico she met the student Carlos Ornelas Navarra and in 1970 their daughter Nina was born. Nina and died two days later. In 1972 she married the starting film director Dennis Berry. During the 1970s she appeared in European films.

In 1979 she lived with the Algerian Ahmed Hasni, who talked her into selling her apartment at the Rue du Bac and kept the proceeds for himself. On 30 Aug she suddenly disappeared. Eight days later her body was found in her car. She had died from an overdose of sleeping pills and a suicide note addressed to her son was found. Both Hasni and Gary stated that she had been suicidal, but it remained unclear if others were involved in her death.

Images

The grave of Jean Seberg at the Cimetière Montparnasse, Paris.
Picture by Androom (18 Feb 2016)

 

Sources
• Culbertson, Judi & Tom Randall, Permanent Parisians, Robson Books, London, 1991
Jean Seberg - Wikipedia


Sedelmeyer, Charles

Published: 16 Jun 2017
Last update: 19 Apr 2022