Anne Wiazemsky, author and muse to Jean Luc Goddard, dies aged 70

After a battle with breast cancer

Anne Wiazemsky (REX)

Anne Wiazemsky — the actor best known for appearing in numerous French New Wave movies and marrying director Jean-Luc Godard — has died aged 70 after a battle with breast cancer.

Her brother confirmed the news to AFP, saying: “Anne died this morning. She had been very sick.”

Aged 18, Wiazemsky quickly became famous after making her debut appearance in Robert Bresson’s 1966 film Au Hasard Balthazar, about a shy farm girl’s relationship with a donkey. Throughout the production, Bresson became obsessed with Wiazemsky, proposing to the actor on numerous occasions.

A year later, Wiazemsky appeared in two of Goddard’s film — La chinoise and Week End — the pair marrying while they were still being produced. She later appeared in Goddard’s One Plus One, which also featured the Rolling Stones as they recorded Sympathy for the Devil.

As Goddard became more involved with France’s social uprising, the pair grew apart, eventually divorcing in 1979. Following the split, Wiazemsky appeared in two films directed by Pier Paolo Pasolini (Teorema, Pigsty) and Philippe Garrel L’enfant secret.

Later, Wiazemsky became a celebrated author, publishing numerous books, including 2015’s Un an après, which focusses on her relationship with Goddard.

The book also serves as the source material for Michel Hazanavicius’s upcoming film Redoubtable, which premiered at Cannes earlier this year. Wiazemsky only agreed to the adaptation because Hazanavicius promised to make the film humorous.