archytele The Vault

Jean Seberg

Acting Born Nov 13, 1938 Marshalltown, Iowa, USA 24 credits

Biography

Jean Dorothy Seberg (November 13, 1938 – August 30, 1979) was an American actress who lived half her life in France.

She appeared in 34 films in Hollywood and in Europe, including Saint Joan, Bonjour Tristesse, Breathless, Lilith, The Mouse That Roared, Moment to Moment, A Fine Madness, Paint Your Wagon, Airport, Macho Callahan, and Gang War in Naples.

She was also one of the best-known targets of the FBI COINTELPRO project. Her targeting was a well-documented retaliation for her support of the Black Panther Party in the 1960s.

Seberg died at the age of 40 in Paris, with police ruling her death a probable suicide. Romain Gary, Seberg's second husband, called a press conference shortly after her death where he publicly blamed the FBI's campaign against Seberg for her deteriorating mental health. Gary claimed that Seberg "became psychotic" after the media reported a false story that the FBI planted about her becoming pregnant with a Black Panther's child in 1970. Romain Gary stated that Seberg had repeatedly attempted suicide on the anniversary of the child's death, August 25.

Ask the Vault

Ask anything about Jean Seberg.

Known for

Film

Breathless

as Patricia Franchini

Full filmography

  • The Ed Sullivan Show (1948) as Self
  • The Ed Sullivan Show (1948) as Self (uncredited)
  • Die Drehscheibe (1964) as Self
  • Tonight Starring Jack Paar (1957) as Self
  • Cinépanorama (1956) as Self
  • Breathless (1960) as Patricia Franchini
  • Airport (1970) as Tanya Livingston
  • Paint Your Wagon (1969) as Elizabeth Woodling
  • Bonjour Tristesse (1958) as Cecile
  • The Assassination (1972) as Edith Lemoine
  • The Mouse That Roared (1959) as Helen Kokintz
  • De Gaulle, the Last King of France (2017) as Self (archive footage)
  • Lilith (1964) as Lilith Arthur
  • A Fine Madness (1966) as Lydia West
  • Backfire (1964) as Olga Celan
  • Saint Joan (1957) as St. Joan of Arc
  • The Corruption of Chris Miller (1973) as Ruth Miller
  • Mike Wallace Is Here (2019) as Self (archive footage)
  • Preminger: Anatomy of a Filmmaker (1991) as Self (archive footage)
  • The World's Most Beautiful Swindlers (1964) as Patricia Leacock (segment "Le Grand escroc")
  • Line of Demarcation (1966) as Mary de Damville
  • Kill! (1971) as Emily Hamilton
  • Macho Callahan (1971) as Alexandra Mountford
  • Belmondo: The Incorrigible (2022)