Career

Born in Neuilly-sur-Seine, Hauts-de-Seine, west of Paris, Belmondo did not perform well in school, but developed a passion for boxing and football. Belmondo made his amateur boxing debut on 10 May 1949 in Paris, France, when he knocked out Rene DesMarais in one round. Belmondo's boxing career was undefeated, but brief. He won three straight first round knockout victories from 1949 to 1950. His breakthrough role was in Jean-Luc Godard's Breathless (1960), which made him a major figure in the French New Wave. Later he acted in Jean-Pierre Melville's philosophical movie Leon Morin, Priest (1961) and in Melville's film noir crime film The Fingerman (Le Doulos, 1963) and Godard again with Pierrot le fou (1965). With That Man From Rio (1965) he switched to commercial, mainstream productions, mainly comedies and action films but did appear in the title role of Alain Resnais' masterpiece Stavisky (1974), which some critics regard as Belmondo's finest performance. Until the mid-1980s, when he ceased to be one of France's biggest box-office stars, Belmondo's typical characters were either dashing adventurers or more cynical heroes. As he grew older, Belmondo preferred concentrating on his stage work, where he encountered success. He suffered a stroke in 2001 and had since been absent from the stage and the screen until 2009 when he appeared in Un homme et son chien (A man and his dog).

He was made Chevalier (Knight) of the Ordre national du Mérite, promoted Officier (Officer) in 1986 and promoted Commandeur (Commander) in 1994.

He was made Chevalier (Knight) of the Légion d'honneur, promoted Officier (Officer) in 1991 and promoted Commandeur (Commander) in 2007.

In 2010 the Los Angeles Film Critics Association Awards gave him a Career Achievement award. Belmondo attended the ceremony and made appearances in the Los Angeles area.

Personal life

Belmondo's father, Paul Belmondo, was a Pied-Noir sculptor who was born in Algeria of Italian descent, whose parents were of Sicilian and Piedmontese origin.

In 1959, Belmondo married Élodie Constantin, with whom he had three children: Patricia (1954), Florence (1960) and Paul (1963). Paul became a Formula One driver; his eldest daughter Patricia was killed in a fire in 1994. In 1966, due to a well-publicized affair between Belmondo and actress Ursula Andress, Belmondo and his wife divorced. He has six grandchildren, three from his daughter Florence - Annabelle, Christopher and Nicholas - and three from his son Paul - Alessandro, Victor and Giacomo.

In 1989, Belmondo met Nathalie Tardivel, who was 24 at the time; they officially married in 2002. On 13 August 2003, his fourth child, Stella Eva Angelina, was born. He was 70 at the time. In 2008, Belmondo and Tardivel divorced.

Gallery

• Jean-Paul Belmondo at the
  1988 Cannes Film Festival.

• Jean-Paul Belmondo's handprint on the pavement in front of the Palais des Festivals et des Congrès in Cannes.

• Belmondo at the
  2011 Cannes Film Festival.

• Jean-Paul Belmondo at the
  2011 Cannes Film Festival.

Cultural references

• Belmondo is saluted in a 1967 episode of the U.S. television sitcom Get Smart. In the episode "The Spirit is Willing" a top agent of the sinister spy agency KAOS is named Paul John Mondebello, an obvious alteration of Belmondo's name. He is also mentioned in a song about "Masculinity" in the play La Cage Aux Folles, and is mentioned in the Donovan song "Sunny South Kensington" on the Mellow Yellow album. A poster of him as "A bad guy, a good-looking bad guy" is in Rachel's apartment in "The Light of Day" by Graham Swift. In 1968 a Yugoslavian quartet "Kvartet 4M" recorded a song "Bebel" about him.

The book "Youth in Revolt" by author C.D. Payne and its sequels refer to Belmondo several times and at one point feature the main character going to Mexico and getting plastic surgery in order to resemble Belmondo.

Selected filmography

Year	Title	Role	Director
1959	Charlotte et son Jules ("Charlotte and Her Boyfriend")	Jean	Jean-Luc Godard
	À double tour ("Web of Passion")	Laszlo Kovacs	Claude Chabrol
1960	À bout de souffle ("Breathless")	Michel Poiccard	Jean-Luc Godard
	Classe tous risques ("The Big Risk")	Eric Stark	Claude Sautet
	Moderato cantabile ("Seven Days... Seven Nights")	Chauvin	Peter Brook
	Lettere di una novizia	Giuliano Verdi	Alberto Lattuada
	La Ciociara ("Two Women")	Michele de Libero	Vittorio De Sica
1961	La Viaccia ("The Lovemakers")	Amerigo	Mauro Bolognini
	Léon Morin, prêtre ("Léon Morin, Priest")	Léon Morin	Jean-Pierre Melville
	Une femme est une femme ("A Woman Is a Woman")	Alfred Lubitsch	Jean-Luc Godard
	Un nommé La Rocca (fr) ("A Man Named Rocca")	Roberto La Rocca	Jean Becker
1962	Le Doulos ("The Finger Man")	Silien	Jean-Pierre Melville
	Cartouche	Louis Dominique Bourguignon	Philippe de Broca
	Un singe en hiver ("A Monkey in Winter")	Gabriel Fouquet	Henri Verneuil
	Un cœur gros comme ça (documentary "The Winner")	as himself	François Reichenbach
1963	Mare matto ("Crazy Sea")	Il Livornese	Renato Castellani
	Peau de banane (fr) ("Banana Peel")	Michel Thibault	Marcel Ophüls
	Dragées au poivre ("Sweet and Sour")	Raymond	Jacques Baratier
	L'Aîné des Ferchaux ("Magnet of Doom")	Michel Maudet	Jean-Pierre Melville
	Il giorno più corto ("The Shortest Day")	Erede Siciliano	Sergio Corbucci
1964	L'Homme de Rio ("That Man from Rio")	Adrien Dufourquet	Philippe de Broca
	Cent mille dollars au soleil ("Greed in the Sun")	Rocco	Henri Verneuil
	Échappement libre (fr) ("Backfire")	David Ladislas	Jean Becker
	Week-end à Zuydcoote ("Weekend at Dunkirk")	Julien Maillat	Henri Verneuil
	La Chasse à l'homme (fr) ("Male Hunt", "The Gentle Art of Seduction")	Fernand	Édouard Molinaro
1965	Par un beau matin d'été ("Crime on a Summer Morning")	Francis	Jacques Deray
	Pierrot le fou	Pierrot (Ferdinand Griffon)	Jean-Luc Godard
	Les Tribulations d'un Chinois en Chine ("Up to His Ears")	Arthur Lempereur	Philippe de Broca
1966	Tendre Voyou (fr) ("Tender Scoundrel")	Antoine Maréchal	Jean Becker
	Paris brûle-t-il? ("Is Paris Burning?")	Pierrelot - Yvon Morandat	René Clément
1967	Casino Royale	French Leggionnaire	Ken Hughes, John Huston and others
	Le Voleur ("The Thief of Paris")	Georges Randal	Louis Malle
1968	Ho!	François Holin	Robert Enrico
1969	Le Cerveau ("The Brain")	Arthur Lespinasse	Gérard Oury
	La Sirène du Mississippi ("Mississippi Mermaid")	Louis Mahé	François Truffaut
	Un homme qui me plaît ("Love Is a Funny Thing")	Henri	Claude Lelouch
1970	Borsalino	François Capella	Jacques Deray
1971	Les Mariés de l'an II ("The Married Couple of the Year Two")	Nicolas Philibert	Jean-Paul Rappeneau
	Le Casse ("The Burglars")	Azad	Henri Verneuil
1972	Dr. Popaul	Le docteur Paul Simay	Claude Chabrol
	La Scoumoune	Roberto Borgo	José Giovanni
1973	L'Héritier ("The Inheritor")	Bart Cordell	Philippe Labro
	Le Magnifique	François Merlin / Bob Saint-Clar	Philippe de Broca
1974	Stavisky	Alexandre Stavisky	Alain Resnais
1975	L'Incorrigible ("Incorrigible")	Victor Vauthier	Philippe de Broca
	Peur sur la ville ("Fear over the city")	Jean Letellier	Henri Verneuil
1976	L'Alpagueur	Roger Pilard ("L'Alpagueur")	Philippe Labro
	Le Corps de mon ennemi ("Body of My Enemy")	François Leclercq	Henri Verneuil
1977	L'Animal ("Animal")	Mike Gaucher / Bruno Ferrari	Claude Zidi
1979	Flic ou voyou ("Cop or Hood")	Antonio Cerutti / Stanislas Borowitz	Georges Lautner
1980	Le Guignolo	Alexandre Dupré	Georges Lautner
1981	Le Professionnel ("The Professional")	Josselin Beaumont, a.k.a. "Joss"	Georges Lautner
1982	L'As des as ("Ace of Aces")	Jo Cavalier	Gérard Oury
1983	Le Marginal	Philippe Jordan	Jacques Deray
1984	Les Morfalous	Pierre Augagneur	Henri Verneuil
	Joyeuses Pâques ("Happy Easter")	Stéphane Margelle	Georges Lautner
1985	Hold-up	Grimm	Alexandre Arcady
1987	Le Solitaire	Stan Jalard	Jacques Deray
1988	Itinéraire d'un enfant gâté	Sam Lion	Claude Lelouch
1995	Les Cent et Une Nuits de Simon Cinéma ("A Hundred and One Nights")	Professeur Bébel	Agnès Varda
	Les Misérables	Henri Fortin / Jean Valjean	Claude Lelouch
1996	Désiré	Désiré	Bernard Murat
1998	Une chance sur deux	Léo Brassac	Patrice Leconte
1999	Peut-être	Ako	Cédric Klapisch
2000	Les Acteurs	Himself	Bertrand Blier
2009	Un homme et son chien ("A Man and His Dog")	Charles	Francis Huster

[ Source: Wikipedia ]