Anne Wiazemsky (14 May 1947 – 5 October 2017) was a German-born French actress and novelist of Russian ancestry. She made her cinema debut at the age of 18, playing Marie, the lead character in Robert Bresson's Au hasard Balthazar (1966). A year later she married the director Jean-Luc Godard and appeared in several of his films, including La Chinoise (1967), Week End (1967), and One Plus One (1968).

Her maternal grandfather was the novelist and dramatist François Mauriac.

Early life Wiazemsky was born on 14 May 1947 in Berlin, Germany. Her father, Yvan Wiazemsky, a French diplomat, was a Russian prince who had emigrated to France following the Russian Revolution. Her mother, Claire Mauriac, was the daughter of François Mauriac, a winner of the Nobel Prize in Literature.

Wiazemsky spent her early years abroad following her father's postings around the world, including Geneva and Caracas; she returned to Paris in 1962. She graduated from the high school Ecole Sainte Marie de Passy in Paris.

Career Acting Wiazemsky made her on-screen acting debut at the age of 18, playing Marie, the lead character in Robert Bresson's Au hasard Balthazar (1966) after being introduced to the director by the actress Florence Delay. The film premièred at the 1966 Venice Film Festival where it won the OCIC (International Catholic Organization for Cinema) Award, the San Giorgio Prize, and the New Cinema Award. The San Giorgio Prize was given from 1956 through 1967 for "artistic works that had been considered especially important for the progress of civilization." It has been listed by critics as one of the great films of all time. Filmmaker and Cahiers du Cinéma critic Jean-Luc Godard wrote a glowing review for the film, writing that "everyone who sees this film will be absolutely astonished...because this film is really the world in an hour and a half."

Wiazemsky developed a relationship with Godard and they married in 1967. She starred in several of his films, including La Chinoise (1967), Week End (1967), and One Plus One (1968).

In the 1980s she began to write and direct. In 1994 she co-wrote the script for U.S. Go Home, directed by Claire Denis, set in 1960s France. She began to direct television documentaries.

Writing In addition to acting, Wiazemsky wrote several novels, including Canines (1993), Une Poignée de Gens (1998), and Aux Quatre Coins du Monde (2001). Hymnes à l'Amour was filmed in 2003 as Toutes ces belles promesses (All the Fine Promises), directed by Jean-Paul Civeyrac and starring Valérie Crunchant and Bulle Ogier. Her novel Jeune Fille (2007) was based on her experience of starring in Au hasard Balthazar.

In 2015, she wrote the novel Un An Après (“One Year After”), which chronicled her time shooting Godard's film La Chinoise to when their relationship soured. It was developed into the feature film Le Redoubtable by Michel Hazanavicius.

Personal life During the 1966 filming of Au hasard Balthazar, director Robert Bresson proposed to her several times, but she refused. In 1967, she married Jean-Luc Godard and starred in several of his films; the couple separated as early as 1970, though the marriage officially ended in divorce in 1979.

In 1971, Wiazemsky signed the Manifesto of the 343, which publicly declared she had an abortion as a way to advocate for reproductive rights; the procedure was illegal in France at the time.

Honours and awards Chevalier of the Order of Legion of Honour (2009)

Death Wiazemsky died of breast cancer on 5 October 2017 at aged 70.

Filmography Actress (partial listing) Year Title Role 1966 Au hasard Balthazar Marie 1967 La Chinoise Veronique Week End Une fille à la femme 1968 Teorema Odetta Les Gauloises bleues L'infirmière One + One Eve Democracy1969 The Seed of Man Dora Pigsty Ida 1970 Wind from the East La révolutionnaire 1971 Raphael, or The Debauched One Diane Vladimir et Rosa Ann 1972 Tout va bien Leftist woman 1973 The Train La fille-Mère 1973 George Who? George Sand 1974 La vérité sur l'imaginaire passion d'un inconnu Le christ-femme 1975 Die Auslieferung Nathalie Herzen 1976 Guerres civiles en France Elisabeth Dimitrieff 1978 Flesh Color La vendeuse 1979 L'enfant secret Elie 1980 Même les mômes ont du vague à l'âme La photographe 1983 Grenouilles Nora 1984 Rendez-vousL'administratrice 1988 Ville étrangère Stéphanie

Bibliography Novels 1989: Mon beau navire, Gallimard, Paris 1991: Marimé, Gallimard, Paris 1993: Canines, Gallimard, Paris (1993 Prix Goncourt des Lycéens) 1998: Une poignée de gens (1998 Grand Prix du roman de l'Académie française), Gallimard, Paris, 2001: Aux quatre coins du monde, Gallimard, Paris 2002: Sept garçons, Gallimard, Paris 2004: Je m'appelle Elizabeth (Je m'appelle Élisabeth), Gallimard, Paris 2007: Jeune Fille, Gallimard, Paris, 2009: Mon enfant de Berlin, Gallimard, Paris 2012: Une année studieuse, Gallimard, Paris 2015: Un an après, Gallimard, Paris,

Short stories 1988: Des filles bien élevées, Gallimard, Paris

Juvenile 2003: Les Visiteurs du soir (illustrations by Stanislas Bouvier)

Memoirs 1996: Hymnes à l'amour (1996 Prix Maurice Genevoix), Gallimard, Paris 2017: Un saint homme, Gallimard, Paris,

Biography 1992: Album de famille 2000: Il était une fois... les cafés (photographs by Roger-Viollet) 2000: Tableaux de chats 2001: Venise (photographs by Jean Noël de Soye)

Preface 1994: En habillant

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