Oscar-Nominated French Actress Anouk Aimée Dies at 92

Anouk Aimee attends the premiere of the film 'El Laberinto del Fauno' (Pan's Labyrinth) at the 59th edition of the International Cannes Film Festival in Cannes, southern France, on May 27, 2006. (Valery Hache/AFP via Getty Images)

French film star Anouk Aimée, renowned for her roles in ‘60s cult classics, including “La Dolce Vita,” “8 ½,” and “A Man and a Woman,” has died at the age of 92.

Ms. Aimée died at her home in Paris on Tuesday morning while surrounded by her family. Ms. Aimée’s daughter, Manuella Papatakis, whom the actress had with her ex-husband, Ethiopian-Greek filmmaker Nico Papatakis, confirmed her death in a post shared on Instagram.

“With my daughter, Galaad, and my granddaughter, Mila, we are immensely saddened to announce the decease of my mother, Anouk Aimée. I was at her bedside when she passed away this morning,” Ms. Papatakis wrote on Instagram. “With infinite love.”

The statement, shared in French and then translated into English, was published alongside a black and white photo of Ms. Aimée, taken by Giancarlo Botti.

Acclaimed Film Star

Born Nicole Françoise Florence Dreyfus on April 27, 1932, Ms. Aimée was the daughter of actors Henry Dreyfus, known professionally as Henry Murray, and Geneviève Sorya, per the Jewish Women’s Archive.

Following in her parents’ footsteps, Ms. Aimée made her film debut at the age of 15, starring in the 1947 drama “La Maison Sous La Mer,” or “The House Under the Sea.” She then appeared in “The Lovers of Verona” in 1949, before acting in a variety of international projects throughout the 1950s, including “The Paris Express” (1952), “Contraband Spain” (1955), “Nina” (1956), “Lovers of Paris” (1957), “Everybody Wants to Kill Me” (1957), “Montparnasse 19” (1958), and “The Chasers” (1959).

The actress garnered her breakthrough role in 1960, portraying heiress Maddalena opposite actor Marcello Mastroianni in the Italian film “La Dolce Vita,” by famed director and screenwriter Federico Fellini. Ms. Aimée told the Los Angeles Times in 2022 that working with Mr. Mastroianni and Mr. Fellini, who died in 1996 and 1993, respectively, “was a big festival [and] a beautiful party.”

Ms. Aimée, who studied dance and ballet in her youth, played a cabaret dancer in the 1961 romance musical “Lola,” before working with Mr. Mastroianni and Mr. Fellini again on the 1963 film “8 ½,” which won an Oscar for best foreign language film in 1964.

In 1966, she starred opposite Jean-Louis Trintignant in the romantic drama “A Man and a Woman,” directed by French director Claude Lelouch. Ms. Aimée’s performance as a young widow earned her a BAFTA Film Award for best foreign actress and an Oscar nomination for best actress. Ms. Aimée also won a Golden Globe for her role in the film, becoming the first French performer to receive a Golden Globe for best actress in a drama for a French-speaking role, according to the organization’s website.

‘The Symbol of Elegance’

Throughout her more than seven-decade career, Ms. Aimée appeared in over 70 films, including “A Leap in the Dark” (1980), which earned the film star the best actress award at the 1980 Cannes Film Festival. She went on to star in “Viva La Vie” (1984), “Les Marmottes” (1993), “Tell Me Yes...” (1995), “Napoléon” (2002), “Love Letters” (2008), and “Paris Connections” (2010), among many others.

Most recently, in 2019, Ms. Aimée reunited with Mr. Trintignant, who died in 2022 at the age of 91, and Mr. Lelouch on the romantic drama “The Best Years of a Life.”

On Tuesday, Mr. Lelouch paid tribute to Ms. Aimée, penning a message in French on X. Translated to English, the statement reads in part: “Anouk, my Nounouk, left us this morning. ... She was my traveling companion, my lifelong friend. She gave me every chance and said yes when, as a young filmmaker, the others told me no. Thanks to her and only her, I have become familiar with the light.”

“After having made the whole earth dream, now she will make the angels dream,” he concluded his post.

In a statement, Anne Hidalgo, the mayor of Paris, called the actress “the symbol of elegance, talent, commitment.”

French politician Sébastien Chenu also issued a statement on X, writing that he was saddened to learn of Ms. Aimée’s death.

“I admired the actress, I appreciated the person with whom I had the privilege of having dinner a few times a long time ago,” he wrote in French alongside a picture of the two presumably seated at a restaurant.

Belgian fashion designer Diane von Furstenberg shared a picture of the actress on Instagram, writing that as a child, she aspired to look like Ms. Aimée when she grew up and wanted to be “as cool and as free” as her, too.

“The world will miss you,” the 77-year-old wrote. “I was lucky to know her, her mother, her daughter and her granddaughter … a dynasty of matriarchs … strong and beautiful.”

The Associated Press contributed to this report.