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Lise Bourdin, Actress in Billy Wilder’s ‘Love in the Afternoon,’ Dies at 99

Lise Bourdin, the French model who rose to prominence in the 1940s and ’50s before transitioning into acting alongside some of Hollywood’s biggest stars, has died at the age of 99. Her family confirmed to AFP that she passed away on Friday at her home in Labastide-d’Armagnac, France, just two days before her 100th birthday.

A Breakthrough Model With Global Recognition

Born on Nov. 30, 1925, in Néris-les-Bains, Allier, France, Bourdin began her career unexpectedly after being spotted in a Paris train station by a connection from Claudine magazine. She soon graced covers and features for leading publications including Marie-Claire, Noir et Blanc, Harper’s Bazaar, and *Life* magazine. In its July 1946 issue, *Life* celebrated her as a “youngster with a fresh country look” and a rising “Paris sensation.”

“Few French women have had two pages in *Life*. There was Bardot, Moreau and me,” she recalled in a 2017 interview. By 1948, during a trip to New York, she was widely recognized as the most photographed woman in France.

A Short but Memorable Film Career

Bourdin made her notable film debut in *Les Enfants de l’amour* (1953), directed by Léonide Moguy. Her acting career quickly gained momentum as she appeared alongside major European and Hollywood names. She co-starred with Sophia Loren in *The River Girl* (1954), with Linda Darnell and Vittorio De Sica in *It Happens in Roma* (1955), and portrayed a fashion editor on the brink in *Dishonorable Discharge* (1957) opposite Eddie Constantine.

Starring in Billy Wilder’s ‘Love in the Afternoon’

Her most internationally recognized role came in Billy Wilder’s 1957 romantic comedy *Love in the Afternoon*, written by Wilder and I.A.L. Diamond. Bourdin played one of the many women entangled with American playboy Frank Flannigan, portrayed by Gary Cooper. The film also starred Audrey Hepburn and Maurice Chevalier, marking the first of twelve Wilder–Diamond screenplay collaborations.

While the film struggled in the U.S.—with audiences questioning the age gap between Cooper and Hepburn—it was a major success in Europe, released under the title *Ariane*.

Stepping Away From the Spotlight

By 1959, after roles in *Quai des illusions* and *The Last Blitzkrieg*—which featured Van Johnson, Dick York, and Larry Storch—Bourdin chose to retire from acting. “The press didn’t like me, and I had a private life outside the artistic world,” she later reflected. She concluded she would not achieve the career she envisioned, prompting her departure from cinema.

A Life Beyond Film

Bourdin married only once, briefly, to Brazilian industrialist Roberto Seabra. She later shared a long-term relationship of more than 30 years with Raymond Marcellin, France’s former Interior Minister, until his passing in 2004.

Her legacy endures through her contributions to post-war fashion, European cinema, and her iconic role in one of Billy Wilder’s most celebrated collaborations.