Jane Mallory Birkin , born the December 14th 1946 with London, is a Actrice and a British Chanteuse installed in France since the end of the Années 1960.

Family

Jane Birkin is the girl of David Birkin (1914 - 1991), ordering in the Royal Navy, and of the actress Judy Gamble (more known under its name of scene, Judy Campbell (1916 - 2004), MUSE of Noel Coward, celebrates it British playwright). She is the sister of the actor and realizer Andrew Birkin, who played with her in the film the Pirate and directed Charlotte Gainsbourg (the girl which she had with Serge Gainsbourg) in The Cement Garden and of Linda Birkin. During the Second world war, his/her father helped the French Résistance while transhipping of night, between England and Normandy, the combatants of the free France. He, inter alia, saved François Mitterrand. It is the aunt of the poet and musician Anno Birkin and of the actors David Birkin and Ned Birkin.

Jane Birkin is the downward one of Charles II king of England and Scotland, the small-niece of Freda Dudley Ward, mistress of Edouard VIII king of Great Britain then prince of Wales and the cousin of the mathematician and philosopher Bertrand Russell.

Jane Birkin was the partner of the type-setter John Barry (1933), (who composed the music of several films of James Bond, the topic of The Knack… and how to get it or that of the successful series Amicalement yours with Roger Moore and Tony Curtis), of the actor and song writer and performer Serge Gainsbourg (1928 - 1991), of the actor and scenario writer Jacques Doillon (1944), and of the author Olivier Rolin (1947), each of the three first being the father of one of his daughters: Kate (1967), now photographer, Charlotte (1971), actress and singer and Lou (1982) actress and mannequin.

Biography

Serge Gainsbourg was his Pygmalion, propelling it at the top of the Hit-parade S in 1968 with the sulfurous Duo I love you… me either , initially written for Brigitte Bardot. The song is prohibited by the the Vatican, which explodes its sales. An album with the two signatures Serge Gainsbourg-Jane Birkin follows in 1969. The childish voice of the singer, sometimes near to a simple breath, her marked English accent, makes it immediately recognizable. It is the departure of a long collaboration which will lead to a quasi-single work in the French song. With died of Gainsbourg, Birkin records several albums where it takes again the songs that he wrote to him (or written for others) as in Versions Jane and Arabesque. It becomes thus the ambassadress of the work of Gainsbourg and gives concerts throughout the World (as well with Tokyo, as with New York or than in Palestine). The series in concerts of Arabesque meets an unquestionable success and proposes a version orientalized of its music. Birkin tries also the adventure apart from Gainsbourg and convenes many type-setters for three albums with success ( With light the where it côtoie Zazie or MC Solaar, the album of Duo S Rendez-vous or recent the Fictions ). Its statute of international icon enables him to collaborate with as talented and varied foreign musicians as Brian Molko (of the British group Placebo), Rufus Wainwright, Beth Gibbons (of Portishead) or Caetano Veloso. It is also been useful by texts of young hexagonal musicians such as Cali, Arthur H, Zazie, Dominique has or older like Etienne Daho or Alain Souchon (with which it had made a duet for the film Comédie of Doillon).

With the cinema, it begins in England in film from Richard Lester " The Knack… and how to get it " , film emblematic of the Swinging London where it appears at the sides of other beginners such as Jacqueline Bisset or Charlotte Rampling. The film is a success and Jane Birkin connects under the direction of Michelangelo Antonioni in the film " Blow Up " who is introduced to the Festival of film of Cannes (and gains there the gold Palm) where it appears naked. At this point in time it decides to go to France to try its chance as actress and it is committed after disastrous extracts (it will finish in tears) for the film " Slogan" of Pierre Grimblat on which it meets Serge Gainsbourg. Grimblat tells that with beginning of turning, Birkin and Gainsbourg heard at all (Gainsbourg left its relation with Brigitte Bardot and appreciated not too this English which made French faults) and that it invited them to the restaurant Maxim' S to dine, to dine to which it did not come. Finally, the film is done and Birkin becomes a popular high-speed motorboat, often used for comedies where she plays of the roles of " charming idiote" (its duet with Pierre Richard is concluded by many successes with the boxoffice).

In the Eighties, she knows a turning towards the cinema of author starting from her meeting with Jacques Doillon and of the film the Girl lavishes . If the film does not go (it leaves during the presidential elections), it proves that Birkin is able to play in the two registers. She comments on it later a quarter century (March 2006): “It was the first time that a person turning of films known as intellectual thought of me. Jacques Doillon was a film producer who was not interested to see me without my clothing. He said to me: “I you want buttoned to the neck, I want to know what occurs in your head and I want that you make an attack of nerves. ” I thus made to the Girl lavishes and consequently I was regarded as a serious actress in France, and realizers like Jacques Rivette, Agnès Varda or Jean-Luc Godard requested me, whereas before I was a popular high-speed motorboat, but with nothing in the head”. This handing-over in question is worth to him thus to turn with the largest contemporary scenario writers (it is necessary to add James Ivory, Alain Resnais or Bertrand Tavernier) to this list) in varied roles. Almost completely goes away with the Cinema in the Nineties (devoted to the song and marked by the death of Gainsbourg), it returns to play in films haloed of a statute of icon such as désopilant " Thank you Doctor Rey " of Andrew Litvack or " Married but not too " of Catherine Corsini (the two scenario writers make him homages supported in these films).

During the turning of " Jane B. by Agnes V. " , Agnes Varda the growth to concretize its projects of author (scenario writer-director). Thus she will write the scenario of " Kung fu Master " (also realized by Varda, just after first film) and that it will carry out (for television) and will put in scene (with the theater) its part " Oh, Pardon you slept " with Christine Boisson and Pierre Arditi. Birkin turned its first feature film of Cinema as a director, " Boxings " (which joins together Geraldine Chaplin, Natacha Régnier or her daughter Lou Doillon) in 2006. The film left in rooms in June 2007.

Jane Birkin is also invested in humanitarian actions (with Amnesty International, inter alia) and was the godmother of the Telethon in 2001.

Anecdotes

  • In March 1991, Jane Birkin lost at a few days of interval Serge Gainsbourg (deceased on March 2nd) and his father David Birkin (deceased on March 7th), this last death, at 78 years, the very same day of funerals of Serge Gainsbourg.

  • Several albums of Jane Birkin were Disques of gold of which " Alone Baby in Babylon " (1983) and " Arabesque ".
  • Jane Birkin is the inspirer of famous Birkin Bag of Hermes (bag which was and is still an enormous success). At the time of a voyage by plane where she had sat beside the director of Hermes, she complained (without knowing which it was) about her bag. He proposed to him to draw the type of bag which would be appropriate to him best. From there, it has creates a bag which it baptized of the name of its inspirer.
  • Jane Birkin was present, any little girl, with the marriage of the Queen Elizabeth II as a young lady of honor.
  • Jane Birkin tells, in " Jane B. by Agnes V. " that, when it was with the boarding school, child on the island of Wight, it was called by his number of room: " Ninety-Nine" (what means 99).
  • In " Jane B. by Agnes V. " , Varda requires of Birkin to lay down the objective of the camera, which this one has of the evil to do. Varda is not long in understanding that finally, in film, it reveals as much (if that is not any more) but Birkin. Jane Birkin known as besides this sentence " Even if all is unpacked, finally large chose" is not revealed; who explains the gasoline-even of film and his failure in the comprehension of Birkin by Varda, which is not finally the principal stake.
  • the preferred actress of Jane Birkin is probably Marilyn Monroe (to which Gainsbourg had devoted the song " Normalized Jean Baker "), as she explains it in film of Varda.

Catalog of films

Actress

Actress of Television

Producing

Director

  • 1992 : Oh forgiveness you slept
  • 2007: Boxings

Scenario writer

Theater

Actress

Auteure

Discography

Caption:

  1. * recording in public
    • compilation
    (SG) albums writes by Serge Gainsbourg

Videotex

Rewards

Decorations

  • It was decorated Officier with the British Empire by the queen Elisabeth II in 2001
  • It was decorated Chevalier with the National order of the merit by the French Minister for the foreign affairs in 2004
  • It is knight of the Arts and Lettres
  • It refused the Légion of honor in 1989 because of the states of service of her father

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