Kristel, Sylvia

ACTOR (THE NETHERLANDS)
BORN 28 Sep 1952, Utrecht - DIED 17 Oct 2012, Amsterdam, Noord-Holland
BIRTH NAME Kristel, Sylvia Maria
CAUSE OF DEATH esophageal cancer
GRAVE LOCATION Utrecht, Utrecht: Sint Barbara Begraafplaats, Prinsesselaan 2 (H2-001-019)

Sylvia Kristel was the daughter of the hotel owner J.C. Kristel (1926-1990). She worked at an office for a while before she became a photo model. As an actress she started with several small parts in Dutch movies. In 1974 she became famous after played the title part in the French erotic movie "Emmanuelle". At the time she was in a relationshop with the author Hugo Claus and on 10 February 1975 she bore him a son, Arhur. She lived with Claus in France until 1978.

She played in four further Emmanuelle films between 1975 and 1993 but she also appeared in non-erotical movies and played next to Alain Delon and Gérard Depardieu. She was directed by Roger Vadim and Claude Chabrol in "Alice ou la Dernière Fugue" (1977).

After her relationship with Claus she had an affair with the actor Ian McShane, but his was plagued by alcohol and drugs. For a while she was married to a businessman. She managed to resume her career, but her second marriage to Philippe Blot in 1986 led to financial problems and she divorced him in 1991. In the early nineties she started a relationship with the Belgian poet Freddy de Vree and she enjoyed success as a painter.

She appeared in several more movies. In 2003 she was diagnosed with throat cancer, but she made a full recovery. In 2006 she published an autobiography. She returned to acting, but she was diagnosed with esophageal cancer in 2012 and she died in October of that year.

Images

The grave of Sylvia Kristel at the Sint Barbara Begraafplaats, Utrecht.
Picture by Androom (12 Aug 2021)

 


Krolow, Karl

Published: 25 Dec 2021
Last update: 12 Mar 2023