Catherine Deneuve is one of the most respected French actresses known for her Gallic beauty as well as for her roles in films by some of the world’s prominent directors. She made her film debut as early as thirteen and went on to perform in more than 120 films in a career spanning over five decades. She has worked with several eminent directors including Roman Polanski, Roger Vadim, Jacques Demy and Luis Buñuel. Though she played small parts in many of her early films, her real breakthrough came with Jacques Demy’s remarkable musical ‘Les Parapluies de Cherbourg’ (‘The Umbrellas of Cherbourg’) in 1964. Her memorable performance as Geneviève Emery in the film paved way to stardom. Thereafter she worked in different genres including comedies, musicals and dramas delivering a wide range of memorable performances with great élan. Some of her notable films are ‘Repulsion’, ‘Belle de Jour’, ‘Tristana’, ‘Mississippi Mermaid’, ‘Hustle’, ‘The Last Metro’, ‘The Hunger’, ‘8 Women’ and ‘Dancer in the Dark’. Her excellent performance as Eliane in the Régis Wargnier directed epic drama ‘Indochine’ fetched her first ever Academy Award nomination for Best Actress. Nominated fourteen times, she has won the César Awards twice for her outstanding performances in ‘The Last Metro’ and ‘Indochine’.