MovieChat Forums > Zazie dans le métro (1961) Discussion > So, who played Zazie?

So, who played Zazie?

posted 12 years ago by rozklad
1 reply | jump to latest

One reviewer here suggests that Zazie may not have been played by Catherine Demongeot, but her younger sister Milène. Can anyone clarify or elaborate on this?

Most sources (including IMDb) give her d.o.b. as 16 May 1950, making her around 9 or 10 when the film was shot — about right, I would say. However one or two (including rottentomatoes) say she was born on 10 July 1948, which might lend credence to the "little sister" theory, in the face of all other evidence. This site http://cinefrance.pagesperso-orange.fr/1960/zazie.html actually gives the actress's name as Milène Demongeot. It would be good to establish the truth. It was a terrific performance.

And another little mystery: some French sources (but not IMDb) give Catherine Demongeot an uncredited role in Godard's 1961 film Une Femme est une Femme. Sure enough, around 2 minutes in, there is Zazie's face clearly highlighted on the cover of a magazine at a news stand. Does she actually appear anywhere in person or was that her appearance? Was this Godard's tribute to Malle's Zazie? Or some form of private revenge for Malle's disparaging reference to the "Nouvelle Vague" in Zazie?

Do I care? Well, not really, I'm not especially keen on the film anyway, though I can appreciate that it was groundbreaking, and I'll always prefer Malle over Godard. But it would be nice to have these uncertainties cleared up. Anyone?

[–] CuddlyFluffyBunnyRabbit 10 years ago

It was most certainly Catherine Demongeot and not Milène who starred in Zazie. The linked article (Cinefrance) has made an understandable error, because although Demongeot is a rare surname in France, there is also the well known actress Milène Demongeot, which I think confuses people.

The Criterion BluRay has many, many extras, including old b/w interviews with Catherine and with her parents, this is explained and there is no doubt.