icon - catherine deneuve

in luis bunuel’s “belle du jour”, photograph by raymond voinquel, 1967

photograph by richard avedon, ca. 1970s

photograph by milton greene

chanel nº5, 1979

with husband david bailey, may 5, 1966

1964

photographed by helmut newton, 1976

before a press conference for "belle de jour',  new york, 1968

1963

with husband roger vadim, ca. 1962

with sister françoise dorleac

in "the hunger"

with marcello mastroianni, ca. early 1970s

during the filming of roman polanski's "repulsion", 1965

photograph by raymond depardon

with yves saint laurent

catherine deneuve was my first blonde icon.....i can't really say the first time i saw her, probably in magazines for chanel nº5.  i remember seeing the hunger when i was quite young (bowie fetish!) and just being mesmerized by her.  it was so difficult to pick my favorite images of her - she is just so beyond stunning.  she was the epitome of class & otherness - so glamorous, so beautiful, so blond, so french. oh la la.  still going strong & still beautiful.  & i am still obsessed with her hair color!!

the story-tellers, part 44

catherine deneuve ca. 1968

charlotte rampling, 1960s

frida khalo photographed by nickolas muray

evelyn nesbit

helga, crown of flowers by andrew wyeth, 1973

jean shrimpton photographed by david bailey, 1960s

mick & bianca jagger

princess natalia pavlovna paley, ca. 1930s

marisa berenson photographed by henry clarke in sardinia, 1967

wild flowers photographed by mark anthony, ca. 1857

la femmes de david bailey - penelope tree

penelope tree & david bailey on the street.

penelope tree photographed by david bailey for vogue, april 15, 1970.

andy warhol & penelope tree photographed by david bailey.

penelope tree photographed by david bailey.

penelope tree photographed by david bailey for vogue.

penelope tree photographed by david bailey for vogue, july 1967.

while still married to catherine denueve, she pointed out some photos of penelope tree by avedon in american vogue & said to bailey, "you're gonna run off with this woman." at the time bailey thought it odd as he didn't even know tree.

in 1967 vogue called bailey up & said, "we're photographing this very aristocratic girl called penelope tree, and we don't want any of your nonsense." which he said was like a "red rag to a bull" - "if they hadn't said anything, i might not have noticed. but because they said it i thought, 'my god, now i'm really interested.'" they soon moved in together into bailey's infamous primrose hill flat (even though bailey was still married to deneuve). she was 17 & he was 30. 

their place became a hang-out for hippies during the "swinging sixties" - supposedly penelope installed a ufo detector. they had a passionate but troubled six year long relationship.  bailey has said of tree that she was "bright, bright, bright." their first conversation was about t.s. eliot & continued for eight years. john lennon encapsulated tree by saying "hot, hot, hot, smart, smart, smart!"

bailey credits tree with starting the flower power movement. "penelope was fantastic in terms of avant- garde style. when she was 19, they offered her the editorship of italian vogue. penelope was out there! you should have seen her father's face when she walked out with a skirt made of raccoon tails, and her knickers below her skirt!"

at 21, tree suffered a nervous breakdown. "i always felt as thought i was falling, falling, falling," she has said.  a mysterious skin disease resulted in adult acne leaving her face scarred & effectively ending her career. penelope has said "i was with this photographer whose great love was female beauty and i no longer fitted the bill in any way. i went from being sought after to being shunned because nobody could bare to talk about the way i looked."  that coupled with bailey's many affairs ended their relationship 3 years later. in 1974 they separated & penelope moved to sydney, australia.  today, bailey & tree remain very good friends.

la femmes de david bailey - catherine deneuve

david bailey & catherine deneuve are surrounded by press photographers as they leave st. pancras after their wedding,  august, 1965.

catherine deneuve & david bailey cut their wedding cake, 1965

catherine deneuve walks with her groom david bailey in rome after their wedding, september 1965.

catherine deneuve by david bailey, vogue, august 1965.

catherine deneuve & david bailey at the first annacat fashion show in chelsea, london, 1965.  photograph by patrick lichfield.

catherine deneuve & husband david bailey attend the cannes film festival, 1966

bailey & deneuve

catherine deneuve & david bailey at premiere of the umbrellas of cherbourg, 1965

deneuve by bailey, 1965.

deneuve by bailey, 1966

bailey & deneuve

catherine deneuve by david bailey, 1968.

photographer david bailey was introduced to catherine deneuve by roman polanski, towards the end of the filming of repulsion in 1965. polanski told him, "you're gonna love this french girl i'm making a film with". bailey replied, "no, she's short, and i don't like short women."  when polanski talked her into posing for playboy with bailey photographing her,  "catherine and i just hit it off", bailey recalled. they were married in august of 1965. 

bailey described their seven year marriage as "like trying to manage a maserati when you're used to a ford."  bailey would be deneuve's only husband...she has said, "marriage is obsolete & a trap." although her screen image is cold, bailey has said in interviews that she's not like that. "she's got a good sense of humor - likes a good dirty joke. i love her. we're still friends." 

they separated after 3 years & divorced after 7 years in 1972 (deneuve was already pregnant with marcello mastroianni's child).