Nathalie Delon

Nathalie Delon (born Francine Canovas, also known as Nathalie Barthélémy; 1 August 194121 January 2021) was a French actress, model, film director and writer. In the 1960s, Nathalie was regarded as one of the most beautiful women in the world and in the 1970s, she was considered a French sex symbol. She is well known for her first acting role, appearing opposite her husband, actor Alain Delon, in the neo-noir film Le Samouraï directed by Jean-Pierre Melville (1967). She appeared in 30 films and directed two others. Nathalie was also credited as the muse of the Rolling Stones. Early life Francine Canovas was born on 1 August 1941 in Oujda, then under the French Protectorate in Morocco to a French family of Italian-Spanish origin. She was the daughter of Louis Canovas (1915–2003), pied-noir of Oran (Algeria), manager of a transport company in Morocco, who abandoned the family when she was 8 months old in 1942 and Antoinette Rodriguez, who was from Melilla. Nathalie had a sister, Louisette, and a brother. Personal life In 1957, Nathalie got married for the first time to a conscript from the north of France, Guy Barthélémy, who later become the signing officer for Omnium Marocain d'Assurance. They lived in Morocco and had a daughter named Nathalie Barthélémy. They broke up in 1960 and she moved to Paris in 1961. Their divorce was granted in July 1964. In August 1962, Nathalie met French actor Alain Delon at New Jimmy's, a Paris nightclub, and they began a secret relationship that night that lasted one year. In May 1963, Nathalie accompanied Delon to the shoot of his new film La Tulipe Noire. In April 1964 they got engaged and on 13 August 1964, Nathalie and Alain married in Loir-et-Cher. Their son, Anthony Delon, was born on September 30, 1964, at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles. They were one of the most glamorous and talked-about couples of the 1960s. In June 1968, Nathalie and Delon separated. The couple divorced on 14 February 1969. They worked together on two films: Le Samouraï (while they were married) and Doucement les Basses (some years after their separation).