Pages

Monday, July 17, 2023

Godspeed Jane Birkin

Actress, singer, and Sixties style icon Jane Birkin died on July 16 2023 at the age of 76.

Jane Birkin was born on December 14 1946 in Marleybone, London. Her mother was Judy Campbell, an actress best known for her work in the theatre. Her father, David Birkin, was a British Naval officer. She grew up in Chelsea. Birkin attended Miss Ironside's School in Kensington and  Upper Chine School on the Isle of Wight.

Jane Birkin made her film debut in an uncredited role in The Knack...and How to Get It in 1965. She had a brief, but notable nude scene in Blowup (1967). In the Sixties she also appeared in the films The Idol (1966), Kaleidoscope (1966), Wonderwall (1968), La piscine (1969), Slogan (1969), Les chemins de Katmandou (1969), Sex Power (1970), Alba pagana (1970), Cannabis (1970), and Trop petit mon ami (1970). She made her television debut in 1967 in an episode of Armchair Theatre.

In the Seventies she appeared in the films Devetnaest djevojaka i jedan mornar (1971), Romansa konjokradice (1971), Trop jolies pour être honnêtes (1972), Don Juan ou Si Don Juan était une femme... (1973), La morte negli occhi del gatto (1973), Projection privée (1973), Le mouton enragé (1974, Dark Places (1974), Comment réussir... quand on est con et pleurnichard (1974), La moutarde me monte au nez (1974), Sérieux comme le plaisir (1975), La course à l'échalote (1975), Catherine et Cie (1975), 7 morts sur ordonnance (1975), Je t'aime moi non plus (1976), Le diable au coeur (1976), Bruciati da cocente passione (1976), L'animal (1977), Death on the Nile (1978), Au bout du bout du banc (1979), Melancholy Baby (1979), La miel (1979), and Egon Schiele - Exzesse (1980). She appeared on television in the TV movie Melody and the mini-series Les Maudits Rois Fainéants.

In the Eighties Jane Birkin appeared in the movies La fille prodigue (1981), Rends-moi la clé! (1981), Evil Under the Sun (1982), Nestor Burma, détective de choc (1982), Circulez y a rien à voir! (1983), L'ami de Vincent (1983), Le garde du corps (1984), La pirate (1984), L'amour par terre (1984), Dust (1985), Le neveu de Beethoven (1985), Leave All Fair (1985), Le neveu de Beethoven (1986), Soigne ta droite (1987), Comédie! (1987), Kung-fu master! (1988), Jane B. par Agnès V. (1988), and Daddy Nostalgie (1990). On television she appeared on the TV series Médecins des hommes.

In the Nineties she appeared on television in the mini-series Red Fox and the TV movie Cinderella. She appeared in the movies La Belle Noiseuse (1991), Divertimento (1992), Les cent et une nuits de Simon Cinéma (1995), Noir comme le souvenir (1995), On connaît la chanson (1997), A Soldier's Daughter Never Cries (1998), and The Last September (1999).

In the Naughts Jane Birkin appeared in the movies Ceci est mon corps (2001), Reines d'un jour (2001), Merci Docteur Rey (2002), Mariées mais pas trop (2003), La tête de maman (2007), Boxes (2007), 36 vues du Pic Saint Loup (2009), and Thelma, Louise et Chantal (2010). In the Teens she appeared in the movies Si tu meurs, je te tue (2011), Venuto al mondo (2012), and Quai d'Orsay (2013). She appeared on the TV miniseries Les Saisons meurtrières.

Jane Birkin also had a recording career. In 1969 her controversial and sexually explicit duet with Serge Gainsbourg,  "Je t'aime... moi non plus," was released. An album of the same title was released the same year. From 1973 to 2020 Jane Birkin would release twelve studio albums and six live albums.

Throughout her career, Jane Birkin played a variety of roles. Two of them were in adaptations of Agatha Christie novels. In Death on the Nile she played the bitter maid Louise Bourget, whose own actions lead her to become the movie's second murder victim. In Evil Under the Sun she played the villainous Christine Redfern. Her role in the horror movie Dark Places was very different from those two, that of the ill-fated governess Alta. In Wonderwall she played Penny Lane, a photographer's model who becomes the object of obsession of scientist Oscar Collins (Jack MacGowran). In La piscine she played 18 year old Penelope (Miss Birkin was 22 at the time), a character who was equal pats awkwardness and calm. Jane Birkin was an enormous talent and capable of playing a wide variety of roles.

No comments:

Post a Comment