"Deneuve, I don't like it too much": Catherine Deneuve reveals why she regrets changing her last name

Solène Delinger 14:42 pm, September 25, 2023

Catherine Deneuve is back on the front of the stage. The star of French cinema plays the role of Bernadette Chirac in the film Bernadette, in theaters on October 4. Invited on this occasion in the show Beau geste on France 2, Catherine Deneuve answered the questions of her ex-companion Pierre Lescure. "Why did you call yourself Catherine Deneuve?" asked the journalist, who shared his life from 1983 to 1991. "But because of her! Because of my sister," replied Catherine Deneuve, whose real name is Catherine Fabienne Dorléac.

"I took my mother's maiden name"

Catherine Deneuve's sister, Françoise Dorléac, had indeed begun her acting career before her. And, she played with her in Les Demoiselles de Rochefort. "It was my mother who said that. Because, for the film, Les Demoiselles de Rochefort, she said: 'We can't say Dorléac and Dorléac'. But hey, it's true that I took my mother's maiden name, but I prefer my name Dorléac, "explained Catherine Deneuve in front of Pierre Lescure. Years after making this choice, the star seems to have some regrets. "Deneuve, I don't like it too much. No, it's too much 'E', it's not round, it's not... I don't know," she said in Beau geste, before adding, "Maybe I regret a little not having taken it back anyway too... Yes, yes, maybe."

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During this interview, Catherine Deneuve also returned to the tragic death of her sister François Dorléac at the age of 25 in a car accident. "I can be optimistic at times and think, 'Yes, maybe we could have made films together again, a film together...' That's it, I love my sister, "said the 79-year-old actress, still very moved by invoking the memory of her sister.