Micheline Presle Actress - Born 22 Aug 1922 Paris, France

Birth Name Micheline Nicole Julia Emilienne Chassagne

Height 5' 6¼" (1.68 m)

Mini Bio (1) Elegant, dark-haired Parisian Micheline Presle (billed in the U.S. as Micheline Prelle) was born on August 22, 1922, the daughter of a businessman whose surname was Chassagne. Taking acting classes as a teen, she was discovered by Georg Wilhelm Pabst and cast in Young Girls in Trouble (1939) (portraying Jacqueline Presle, whose last name she chose as her own marquee name). Very early into her film career, she was awarded the Prix Suzanne Bianchetti as the" most promising young actress" in French cinema.

While Micheline proceeded to make movies during the Occupation with such offerings as Four Flights to Love (1939) (dual role), Comedy of Happiness (1940), Foolish Husbands (1941), Fantastic Night (1942), Twilight (1944), and Paris Frills (1945), she was regarded as an important young French star in the post -war years when she appeared in the classic films Angel and Sinner (1945) and, in particular, Devil in the Flesh (1947), both gaining her world-wide notice.

After a brief post-war marriage to Michel Lefort, Micheline's second marriage to American actor-turned-producer William Marshall in 1949 led her to attempt Hollywood pictures. Receiving a 20th Century-Fox contract, none of the those pictures, which included Under My Skin (1950), American Guerrilla in the Philippines (1950) and Adventures of Captain Fabian (1951), the last one produced and directed by husband Marshall, captured the hearts of American audiences despite co-starring opposite Hollywood's top male superstars stars at the time -- John Garfield, Tyrone Power and Errol Flynn.

Divorced in 1954, Micheline never truly adjusted to the Hollywood way of life and returned quite willingly to Paris with her daughter, the future actress/director Tonie Marshall. She would, however, return briefly to America in the early 1960's to appear in the Dee/Darin comedy fluff If a Man Answers (1962) and the spy drama The Prize (1963).

The supremely talented Micheline continued to reign supreme back in Europe and appeared frequently on the stage as well. Some of her post-Hollywood films (mid-1950's on) included House of Ricordi (1954), Royal Affairs in Versailles (1954) (as Madame de Pompadour), Her Bridal Night (1956), Demoniac (1957), Mistress of the World (1960), Imperial Venus (1962) (as Napoleon's Josephine), Dark Purpose (1964), The Nun (1966), King of Hearts (1966), Donkey Skin (1970), The Legend of Frenchie King (1971), A Slightly Pregnant Man (1973), A Young Emmanuelle (1976), Demons of the South (1979), Thieves After Dark (1983), Good Weather, But Stormy Late This Afternoon (1986), High Finance Woman (1990), Fanfan (1993), Les Misérables (1995) and Diary of a Seducer (1996).

Into the millennium, Micheline graced a large number of French films such as Le coeur à l'ouvrage (2000), Charming Fellow (2001), The Devil in the Box (1977), Transfixed (2001), France Boutique (2003) (directed by daughter Tonie), Grabuge! (2005), Going South (2009), Just Like Brothers (2012) and her last, an unbilled part in Sex, Love & Therapy (2014).

Nominated for a supporting actress Cesar Award for her role as in the Venice Film Festival winner I Want to Go Home (1989), Micheline received an honorary César Award in 2004.

- IMDb Mini Biography By: Gary Brumburgh / gr-home@pacbell.net

William Marshall (3 September 1949 - December 1955) divorced 1 child F1. Tonie Marshall (29 November 1951)

Michel Lefort (25 April 1945 - 1948) divorced

François Arnal (Since 1959)

Her chic elegance

Her equal proficiency at drama and comedy

Mermaid figure

Her singing skills, often put to use in film

Frequently cast by Marcel L'Herbier, Christian-Jaque, Jean Delannoy, Jacques Demy and daughter Tonie Marshall

Often played sassy heroines who were much ahead of their time

Bio Born August 22nd, 1922 and educated in a convent, Micheline Presle entered films as an ingénue in 1938. She blossomed into a sleek, seductive leading lady in the mid-'40s, thanks in great part to her sensuous performance in Claude Autant-Lara's Devil in the Flesh (1947) and ethereal portrayal of the "back from the dead" heroine in Les Jeux Sont Faits (1947). Presle was brought to Hollywood in 1950 by Darryl F. Zanuck, who sought to deflect problems with the pronunciation of her last name by changing the spelling from "Presle" to "Prelle." After a handful of inconsequential American film appearances, the last and least of which was the disastrous Republic costumer The Adventures of Captain Fabian (1951), she returned to Europe. Micheline Presle continued going strong with choice character parts in continental films into the 1990s.

Biography by Hal Erickson

http://www.allmovie.com/artist/micheline-presle-p1