French star had family connections with town

AWARD-WINNING actress Jeanne Moreau.

THE death of Jeanne Moreau has gained worldwide recognition, but did you know the French cinema icon often rubbed shoulders with people with Oldhamers?

The actress, who is probably best known for her role in Francois Truffaut's 1962 new wave film Jules et Jim and won a number of awards including the best actress prize at Cannes for Moderato Cantabile in 1960, died on Monday aged 89.

Although born and raised in Paris she had links with Oldham as her mother, Katherine Buckley, came from Lees and the film star would shop at Tommyfield Market on several occasions when she visited.

Katherine left her job in the cotton mills to dance in France at the Folies Bergere.

She married French café owner Anatole but they had a stormy marriage and after his business collapsed Katherine, Jeanne and her sister, Michelle, lived in a boarding house in an area frequented by prostitutes and black marketeers.

Following the end of the Second World War, after 24 years in France, Katherine returned to Oldham, permanently splitting from Jeanne's father.

Jeanne, who had studied at the Conservatoire de Paris, stayed in France as she was under contract with Comedie Francaise, where she established herself as a leading role.

She enjoyed a prolific career, winning the BAFTA Award for Best Foreign Actress for Viva Maria! (1965), and the Cesar Award for Best Actress for The Old Lady Who Walked in the Sea (1992).

As well as this she received several lifetime awards including a BAFTA Fellowship in 1996.

French President Emmanuel Macron paid tribute, calling her "a legend of cinema and theatre? an actress engaged in the whirlwind of life with an absolute freedom."

Pierre Lescure, president of the Cannes Film Festival, said: "She was strong and she didn't like to see people pour their hearts out. Sorry, Jeanne, but this is beyond us. We are crying."

She was also also honoured with a 1965 Time magazine cover story and was compared to the likes of Garbo and Monroe.

Orson Welles, who worked with her on several films, once described her as "the greatest actress in the world".

She was married twice, first to actor and director Jean-Louis Richard (1949-51) and then to American film director William Friedkin (1977-79).

She is survived by a son, who is the actor Jerome Richard.