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Catherine Fabienne Dorléac, known professionally as Catherine Deneuve (French: [katʁin dənœv], born 22 October 1943), is a French actress as well as an occasional singer, model and producer. She gained recognition for her portrayal of icy, aloof and mysterious beauties for various directors, including Luis Buñuel, François Truffaut and Roman Polanski. In 1985, she succeeded Mireille Mathieu as the official face of Marianne, France's national symbol of liberty. A 14-time César Award nominee, she won for her performances in Truffaut's The Last Metro (1980), for which she also won the David di Donatello for Best Foreign Actress, and Régis Wargnier's Indochine (1992). Deneuve made her film debut in 1957 and first came to prominence in Jacques Demy's 1964 musical The Umbrellas of Cherbourg, before going on to star for Polanski in Repulsion (1965), for Demy again in The Young Girls of Rochefort (1967) and Donkey Skin (1970), and for Buñuel in Belle de Jour (1967) and Tristana (1970). She was nominated for the BAFTA Award for Best Actress for Belle de Jour, and the Academy Award for Best Actress for Indochine. She also won the 1998 Volpi Cup for Best Actress at the Venice Film Festival for Place Vendôme. Other notable English-language films include The April Fools (1969), Hustle (1975), The Hunger (1983) and Dancer in the Dark (2000).
Serge Gainsbourg (French pronunciation: [sɛʁʒ ɡɛ̃sbuʁ]; born Lucien Ginsburg; 2 April 1928 – 2 March 1991) was a French singer, songwriter, pianist, film composer, poet, painter, screenwriter, writer, actor and director. Regarded as one of the most important figures in French popular music, he was renowned for his often provocative and scandalous releases, as well as his diverse artistic output, which embodied genres ranging from jazz, mambo, world, chanson, pop and yé-yé, to rock and roll, progressive rock, reggae, electronic, disco, new wave and funk. Gainsbourg's varied musical style and individuality make him difficult to categorize, although his legacy has been firmly established and he is often regarded as one of the world's most influential popular musicians.His lyrical works incorporated wordplay, often for humorous, provocative, satirical or subversive reasons, including mondegreen, onomatopoeia, rhyme, spoonerism, dysphemism, paraprosdokian and pun. Gainsbourg wrote over 550 songs, which have been covered more than 1,000 times by a range of artists. Since his death, Gainsbourg's music has reached legendary stature in France, and he is regarded as one of France's most revered musicians. He has also gained a cult following in the English-speaking world, with numerous artists influenced by his arrangements.