Legrand entered the Conservatoire at eleven and studied with Nadia Boulanger, emerging as much a jazz pianist as a harmonist. His meeting with Jacques Demy decided the rest: The Umbrellas of Cherbourg, sung from beginning to end, made him known the world over in 1964, and brought him three Oscar nominations in the same year without a single statuette. He would win three later, in 1969, 1972 and 1984, and five Grammys. A black marble cross crossed by ribbons, like staves, was placed in 2021.
The story
Born in Paris on 24 February 1932, the son of the bandleader Raymond Legrand, he entered the Conservatoire at eleven and worked there with Nadia Boulanger. He came out a jazz pianist as much as a classical harmonist.
Meeting Jacques Demy decided the rest: in 1964 Les Parapluies de Cherbourg, “The Umbrellas of Cherbourg”, sung from beginning to end, made his name worldwide. He worked for Godard too, and for Varda — for Agnès and Jacques both, the New Wave before Hollywood.
Les Parapluies de Cherbourg brought him three Oscar nominations in a single year, in all three music categories — and not one statuette. He won three later: in 1969 for the song “The Windmills of Your Mind”, from The Thomas Crown Affair, in 1972 for Summer of '42, in 1984 for Yentl. Five Grammys came on top, and hundreds of film scores.
He never stopped playing: jazz piano, tours, orchestras. In 2014 he married the actress Macha Méril, who was with him to the end.
He died on 26 January 2019 and lies in Division 44, avenue Transversale n°2, first row, in one of the most visited parts of the cemetery — the one that holds Sarah Bernhardt, Allan Kardec, Yves Montand and Simone Signoret.
The grave
A black marble cross crossed by ribbons that trace musical staves: the sculpture is by Benoît Lemercier and was installed in 2021, two years after the composer's death. The inscriptions give “Michel LEGRAND 1932-2019” and, already engraved, the name of his wife, the actress Macha Méril, born in 1940. Few contemporary graves at Père-Lachaise were the object of a commission to a living sculptor.
On site, do not miss
The sculpture by Benoît Lemercier, placed in 2021: a black marble cross crossed by ribbons like staves. It is one of the rare recent graves in the cemetery to bear a commissioned work.
Visitors' questions
Where is Michel Legrand's grave?
In Division 44, Avenue Transversale No. 2, first row, not far from Sarah Bernhardt, Allan Kardec and Yves Montand. You know it by its black marble cross threaded with musical ribbons, sculpted by Benoît Lemercier in 2021.
Yves Montand and Simone SignoretHow many Oscars did Michel Legrand win?
Three: The Thomas Crown Affair in 1969, for “The Windmills of Your Mind”, Summer of '42 in 1972 and Yentl in 1984. The Umbrellas of Cherbourg brought him none — three nominations in the same year, not one statuette. He also received five Grammy Awards — an American recognition unmatched by any French composer of his generation, and the fruit of thirty years of Hollywood scores.
Michel MagneWhat can be seen on Michel Legrand's grave?
A black marble cross crossed by ribbons suggesting musical staves, the work of the sculptor Benoît Lemercier, installed in 2021. The stone also bears the name of his wife, the actress Macha Méril, born in 1940.
Jacques PlanteWhich film-makers did Michel Legrand work with?
Jacques Demy first — The Umbrellas of Cherbourg, The Young Girls of Rochefort — then Jean-Luc Godard and Agnès Varda, before a long Hollywood career. More than two hundred films carry his music.
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