USA: Legendary French actress Catherine Deneuve receives the 39th annual Chaplin Award at Lincoln Center in New York

Record ID: 205100

  • Title: USA: Legendary French actress Catherine Deneuve receives the 39th annual Chaplin Award at Lincoln Center in New York
  • Date: 3rd April 2012
  • Summary: NEW YORK CITY, NEW YORK, UNITED STATES (APRIL 02, 2012) (REUTERS) ( * BEWARE FLASH PHOTOGRAPHY **) ACTRESS CATHERINE DENEUVE POSING FOR PICTURES ON RED CARPET PHOTOGRAPHERS TAKING PICTURES ON RED CARPET MORE OF DENEUVE ON RED CARPET WITH DAUGHTER CHIARA MASTROIANNI DENEUVE AND MASTROIANNI POSING WITH FILM SOCIETY OF LINCOLN CENTER MEMBERS DENEUVE SPEAKING TO REPORTER
  • Embargoed: 18th April 2012 13:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: Usa, Usa
  • Country: USA
  • Reuters ID: LVAEGPPI2RY485ZNGFYL3Z3EZGI7
  • Story Text: French actress Catherine Deneuve was honored on Monday (April 2) at the 39th annual Chaplin Award Gala at Lincoln Center in New York.
    Joined by her daughter Chiara Mastroianni at the red carpet event, Deneuve said she was shocked to be receiving the honor.
    "I was very surprised frankly, being a French actress I was really quite amazed they would choose me," said Deneuve.
    With a career that has spanned nearly 55-years, Deneuve's film career has earned her numerous awards including an Oscar nomination and two best actress Cesar trophies. However, the 68-year-old actress counts working with a crop of legendary directors as one of the highlights, calling it luck.
    "I think I was very lucky to meet Jacques Demy when I was very young and to do Cherbourg. And I've been lucky enough to also work with, at an early age with very important directors like Roman Polanski or Luis Bunuel, Francois Truffaut. I mean really a lot of luck, yes that's the word I would use," Deneuve told Reuters.
    Deneuve's daughter and popular French actress Chiara Mastroianni recalled the first time she saw her mother on the big screen in the 1970 movie "Donkey Skin."
    "I'm not sure I really realized it was her, I mean, of course I knew it was my mom. But I was so mesmerized by the beauty of the film, her beauty, customs and everything. I didn't relate it to everyday life, you know? Maybe this sounds like bizarre but it's strange when you have actor parents that are actors, you - usually you do very well - that's me - I never mix up the screen and the life is alike. So I like 'Donkey Skin' I was just happy to think it was my mom with this very long blonde hair, you know, she just looked gorgeous," she said with a smile.
    Actress Susan Sarandon, who served as the honorary chair of the event, co-starred with Deneuve in the 1983 film "The Hunger," and shared some little know facts about the veteran actress.
    "Everybody knows what a great actress she is, but I don't think everybody knows what a great sense of humor she has. And also, when we were doing 'The Hunger' and we were partying she was - one of the things I'm going to say is, the next day she came and helped clean up," revealed Sarandon.
    TV and movie star Glenn Close had nothing but praise for Deneuve: "I think she's probably the quintessential film actress, I think she has one of those faces that is just beautiful and whatever age she is and I aspire to have the longevity of Catherine Denueve and her class and her wonderful choices at what she does. She does comedy, she does drama, she does, you know - she's done it all, so it's very exciting to be here to celebrate her."
    The Film Society's Annual Gala began in 1972 with an honor for exiled actor Charles Chaplin. Over the course of 39 years numerous stand-outs in the film industry have received the award. Deneuve will now be in the company of Elizabeth Taylor, Bette Davis, Meryl Streep, Tom Hanks, and Sidney Poitier, who was honored last year.
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