French actress and Cannes prize winner Marina Vlady dies at age 88

Cannes recognition and screen career

French actress, author, and singer Marina Vlady died on 24 September 2026 at the age of 88 at her home in Paris, surrounded by her family and animals. Born Catherine Marina de Poliakoff-Baïdaroff on 10 May 1938 in Clichy to Russian emigrant parents, she initially trained in classical ballet at the Paris Opera before transitioning to cinema. She made her screen debut at age 10 in Jean Gehret's 1949 film Orage d'été. In 1954, at age 16, her performance in André Cayatte's Avant le déluge earned her the Prix Suzanne Bianchetti for most promising French actress. Her international breakthrough followed in Marco Ferreri's 1963 film Una storia moderna - L'ape regina, which earned her the Best Actress award at the Cannes Film Festival. Over a career spanning seven decades, she appeared in more than 80 films across France, Italy, and international productions.

Collaborations with auteur directors

Vlady built a diverse repertoire that balanced European auteur cinema with popular comedy. In 1955, she starred in André Michel's La Sorcière and married actor-director Robert Hossein, appearing in four of his films including the 1959 production Toi, le venin alongside her sister Odile Versois. In 1961, Jean Delannoy directed her in the title role of La Princesse de Clèves with Jean Marais, securing her the Prix Femina in Belgium. Director Orson Welles cast her as Lady Percy in his 1964 adaptation Falstaff. In 1966, Jean-Luc Godard selected her for the lead role of Juliette in Deux ou trois choses que je sais d'elle, portraying a suburban housewife navigating urban alienation and prostitution. Her extensive work in Italian cinema included Luciano Emmer's La ragazza in vetrina, Alberto Lattuada's La steppa, and Ettore Scola's 1989 film Splendor alongside Marcello Mastroianni and Massimo Troisi.

Wartime exile, family and literary work

During the Second World War, her family fled Paris in 1939 following the German advance, receiving relocation orders from the Bordeaux prefecture to Pompogne in Lot-et-Garonne. The family lived in an unheated farmhouse provided by the Lambert family until late 1941, where their mother continued their artistic training. All four daughters entered the performing arts under stage names, with Olga Varen, Odile Versois, Hélène Vallier, and Marina Vlady later recording two albums as Les Sœurs Poliakoff. Vlady had two sons with Robert Hossein and a third son with adventurer Jean-Claude Brouillet. In 1969, she married Soviet poet and singer Vladimir Vysotsky and moved to Moscow, remaining with him until his death in 1980. She documented their life together in the 1987 book Vladimir ou le vol arrêté and published approximately ten books in total, including her 2005 memoir 24 images/seconde.

Civic engagement and social causes

Throughout her life, Vlady participated in French political and civic campaigns. She took public stances during the Algerian War and signed the 1971 Manifesto of the 343 in support of abortion rights. Her activism continued into later decades through advocacy for undocumented migrants and housing rights. Together with her final partner, oncologist and former minister Léon Schwartzenberg, she co-founded the housing rights group Droit au logement. In a statement released to Agence France-Presse, her sons addressed her lifelong public commitments.

“Marina Vlady was a generous woman, committed throughout her life: from the Algerian War to the Manifesto of the 343, to the cause of undocumented immigrants and the right to housing alongside her last partner Léon Schwartzenberg.”