Trivia of Capucine

 Trivia of Capucine (6 January 1928 - 17 March 1990)

*Born Germaine Hélène Irène Lefebvre on 6 January 1928 in Saint-Raphaël, Var, France.She often confused the date of her birth by saying that she was born in 1931 or 1933, and most sources indicate those years.

*At age 17, while riding in a carriage in Paris, Lefebvre was noticed by a commercial photographer. Adopting the French name of a flower, "Capucine" (nasturtium, Tropaeolum), she became a fashion model, working for the fashion houses Givenchy and Christian Dior.Capucine met Audrey Hepburn while modeling for Givenchy in Paris. They remained close friends for the rest of Capucine's life.

*Film producer Charles K. Feldman spotted Capucine while she was modeling in New York City. He brought her to Hollywood to learn English and study acting under Gregory Ratoff.She took the stage name "Capucine", saying, "Two names are interesting and I hope one is interesting."

*She landed her first English-speaking role in the film Song Without End (1960), a biopic of Franz Liszt, where Capucine played Carolyne zu Sayn-Wittgenstein.Charles Vidor had completed about 15 percent of this movie when he died of a heart attack on June 4, 1959. Dirk Bogarde later recalled that he was "secretly relieved" by Vidor's death, since he and his co-star, Capucine had been treated badly by the short-tempered director. Vidor would often scream at Capucine to relax, and at one point, Bogarde recalled, "shook her like a dead cat." Vidor was replaced by George Cukor, who got along much better with his stars, and was more of an "actor's director."

*Blake Edwards cast Capucine in The Pink Panther (1963), playing Inspector Clouseau (Peter Sellers)'s wife , who is having an affair with a jewel thief (David Niven).Later Capucine play as Peter Sellers' lover again in What's New Pussycat (1965).

*Had a two-year relationship with actor William Holden, who was married at the time.They starred in the films The Lion (1962) and The 7th Dawn (1964).After the affair ended, she and Holden remained friends until his death in 1981.In his will, he left Capucine $50,000.

*At age 62, Capucine jumped to her death from her eighth-floor apartment in Lausanne, Vaud, Switzerland, where she had lived for 28 years, having reportedly suffered from illness and depression for some time.The police said an investigation left no doubt that she died by suicide. Neighbours said she had led a reclusive life with her three cats, hardly ever leaving her apartment and spending most of her time reading.