Annie Girardot, born in Paris in 1931, left the Comédie-Française for the cinema, which nobody did then, and Visconti hired her for Rocco and His Brothers. Three Césars would follow. That of 1996 came after years of silence: she walked on stage, said that she had missed French cinema, and the hall rose to its feet. She died in February 2011, and her slab is wrong by a year.
The story
Annie Girardot was born in Paris on 25 October 1931. Trained at the Conservatoire, she was taken on at the Comédie-Française in 1954 — then left the house in 1957 for the cinema, which was not done.
Visconti gave her “Rocco and His Brothers” in 1960. Then came “The Slap” in 1974, “No Time for Breakfast” in 1976, “Life Goes On” in 1981: she became the French actress women recognised themselves in, without ever playing a heroine.
Three Césars, in 1977, 1996 and 2002. The one for “Les Misérables”, in 1996, came after years in the wilderness: she went up on stage and said that she did not know whether French cinema had missed her, but that she had missed French cinema. The hall rose to its feet.
Alzheimer's disease took the last years. She went on working as long as she could, and her daughter made a film of it.
She died on 28 February 2011. On the stone in Division 49 there is a line of her own and a signature: “Le pays d'où je viens, c'est le public. Annie.” — the country I come from is the audience. The date cut beside it says 2012.
The grave
A family stone where the actress rests with her mother Raymonde, who died in 1989, and Jean Girardot, who died in 2013. The inscription reads “Annie Girardot, 1931-2012” — the year of death is wrong by a year, the actress having died on 28 February 2011. Then comes a line of hers, signed with her first name alone: “The country I come from is the audience. Annie.” Another inscription, for Jean Girardot, adds: “There is always a sail flying towards hope.”
On site, do not miss
The engraved line and its signature — “Annie”, without the surname — then the date of death, wrong by a year.
Visitors' questions
Where is Annie Girardot's grave?
In Division 49, chemin de la Cave, fifth row, in the central part of the cemetery — the Division of Gérard de Nerval, Charles Nodier and Thierry Mugler's cavotin. Her mother rests there with her.
Thierry MuglerWhat line is carved on her grave?
One of her own, followed by her first name alone: “Le pays d'où je viens, c'est le public. Annie” — The country I come from is the audience. It is one of the very few epitaphs in the cemetery signed with a first name, without the surname.
Marie TrintignantIs there a mistake on her grave?
Yes, in the year of her death: the stone reads “1931-2012”, whereas she died on 28 February 2011. The one-year error was never corrected, and joins the cemetery's collection of wrong dates.
Francis PoulencWhat are her best-known films?
“Rocco and His Brothers” by Visconti in 1960, “La Gifle” in 1974, “Docteur Françoise Gailland” in 1976 and “La Vie continue” in 1981. She won three Césars, including the one in 1996 after years away from the screen.
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