Simone Renée Roussel
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Awards
Michèle Morgan, born Simone Renée Roussel, won the first Cannes Best Actress award in 1946 for her role in Pastoral Symphony. She was one of France’s most popular leading ladies for five decades, starring opposite Jean Gabin in films like Port of Shadows 1938. After a brief Hollywood stint, she returned to France and continued prolific work, earning an Honorary César in 1992. She died at age 96 in 2016.
Names, aliases, and relatives of Michèle Morgan — birth name, kin, and personal ties.
Michèle Morgan by the numbers — life, work, and family.
Michèle Morgan — early life, career, personal life, and legacy.
At age 15, Michèle Morgan left home with her younger brother Paul to pursue acting, after her family moved to Dieppe following her father’s job loss during the 1929 crisis. She studied under René Simon at Cours Simon, funding her classes with extra roles, and chose the pseudonym Michèle Morgan from the Morgan Bank in Paris.
Michèle Morgan’s big break came in 1937 when Marc Allégret cast her in Heart of Paris, clinching stardom. She soon appeared opposite Charles Boyer in Orage 1938 and Jean Gabin in Port of Shadows 1938. In 1946, she became the first actress to win the Cannes Film Festival Best Actress award for her role as a blind woman in Pastoral Symphony. Her Hollywood films included Joan of Paris 1942 and Passage to Marseille 1944 with Humphrey Bogart, though she found the experience unhappy. She returned to France and starred in successes like The Proud and the Beautiful 1953 and The Grand Maneuver 1955. Her career declined in the 1960s with the French New Wave, but she received an Honorary César in 1992.
Michèle Morgan married American actor William Marshall in 1942. The marriage was difficult and ended in divorce in 1949. In 1950 she married French actor Henri Vidal, with whom she appeared in several films; he died suddenly in 1959. She married director Gérard Oury in 1960, and they remained together until his death in 2006. Her son Mike Marshall from her first marriage became an actor. She lost custody of Mike due to adultery but maintained a relationship with him.
Michèle Morgan is remembered as the first winner of the Cannes Best Actress award, a milestone in film history. She inspired later French actresses. She was awarded the Grand Cross of the Legion of Honour in 2013. A star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame and an honorary César in 1992 highlight her contributions to cinema.
The complete filmography of Michèle Morgan — every film, TV show, and documentary credit, ranked by popularity.
Every award, honor, and recognition received by Michèle Morgan — Grammys, hall-of-fame inductions, civic honors, lifetime achievements.
A wall of memorable lines from Michèle Morgan — lyrics, interviews, and off-the-cuff remarks captured over a lifetime.
A Woman Can Always Deceive a Hundred Men, but Not a Single Woman.
I Have Never Had the Opportunity to Play Sexy Women. I Must Believe That My Charm Was Not in My Ass.
Little-known facts about Michèle Morgan — origins, oddities, and behind-the-scenes details from a public life.
At a dinner with the cast of Port of Shadows 1938, her co-star Pierre Brasseur made off-color remarks, leading leading man Jean Gabin to punch him hard during a fight scene the next day, which critics praised for its realism.
She was a candidate for Ilsa Lund in Casablanca 1942, but RKO wouldn’t release her for the offered amount, so Ingrid Bergman was cast.
Her marriage to Henri Vidal was strained by his chronic drug addiction and jealousy toward her male co-stars, especially Jean Gabin.
After losing Casablanca, she was cast with Humphrey Bogart in Passage to Marseille 1944, which she called the worst experience of her career, detesting director Michael Curtiz.
She was a candidate for the lead in Alfred Hitchcock’s Suspicion 1941 but was rejected due to her English; she later turned down the mute role in Johnny Belinda 1948 as a mockery, a decision she regretted.
She won the first Best Actress award at the Cannes Film Festival for Pastoral Symphony 1946.
Her career declined in the 1960s because French New Wave directors cut ties with classic cinema; she only worked with Claude Chabrol on Bluebeard 1963.
She built a house at 10050 Cielo Drive in Hollywood, later the site of the Sharon Tate murders; she sold it at her husband’s request.
Ginger Rogers was the first to welcome her to Hollywood; Rogers later married Morgan’s first husband, William Marshall.
She was one of the most successful French actresses of the 1940s, alongside Danielle Darrieux and Micheline Presle.
She lost custody of her son Mike due to adultery when private detectives photographed her in bed with Henri Vidal, while her husband was also unfaithful.
She credited Micheline Presle for helping raise her son Mike after she married William Marshall.
After her divorce from William Marshall, she could only see her son Mike during his adolescence after he finished studies.
Her relationship with Gérard Oury began on the set of The Mirror Has Two Faces 1958, while she was still married to Henri Vidal.
She starred in five movies with Jean Gabin, beginning an affair during Coral Reefs 1939 that ended when WWII separated them.
She won the Victoire du cinéma Français for Best Actress in 1954, 1955, and 1956.
After The Diary of an Innocent Boy 1968, she focused on painting and launched her own tie label, Cravates Michèle Morgan, in the late 1970s.
Her marriage to William Marshall was difficult; she married him after knowing him only a month, and he was despotic and scornful.
While filming The Proud and the Beautiful 1953 in Mexico, she did not bond with co-star Gérard Philipe, but they worked well together later in The Grand Maneuver 1955.
She asked for extra scenes in The Proud and the Beautiful 1953, including one in her underclothes, which became a signature moment.
She was admired for leaving France to work in the US during WWII, unlike some actors who remained under occupation.
Although married to Gérard Oury, they did not live under the same roof.
Her husband William Marshall later married her friend Micheline Presle, starting an affair after being introduced by Michèle.
Her acting idols included Greta Garbo, Françoise Rosay, and Gaby Morlay; she once saw Garbo in Hollywood but did not intrude.
She was skeptical about being cast in Higher and Higher 1943 with Frank Sinatra because she had no singing experience; the film failed.
Her husband William Marshall nicknamed her Mike because he couldn’t pronounce Michèle and disliked France; they named their son Mike.
She starred in three movies with Charles Boyer, initially finding him cold but later enjoying their collaborations.
In La belle que voilà 1950, she worked with both her second and third husbands, Henri Vidal and Gérard Oury.
She turned down Jeanne Moreau’s role in La Notte 1961.
Her only American hit was Joan of Paris 1942, but she detested the movie and found co-star Paul Henreid cold.
She auditioned for Heart of Paris 1937 under advice of script-girl Jeanne Witta; financier Max Stoffel wanted her for the lead, leading to an RKO contract.
She named Jean Gabin, Raimu, and Serge Reggiani among her favorite co-stars.
She took the name Michèle Morgan from the Morgan Bank in Paris because she disliked her birth name and wanted an internationally pronounceable surname.
She was named Chevalier of the Legion of Honor in 1969, later raised to Officer, Grand Officer, and Grand Cross in 2013.
Her son Mike Marshall became an actor after being inspired by seeing Gérard Philipe on set of The Grand Maneuver 1955.
She left home at age 15 with her brother to pursue acting, taking extra roles and studying at Cours Simon.
She appeared in three movies with Gérard Oury: La belle que voilà 1950, The Mirror Has Two Faces 1958, and A Man and a Woman: 20 Years Later 1986.
She was a boxing fan.
Her memorial service was at Saint-Pierre de Neuilly-sur-Seine on December 23, 2016; she was buried next to Gérard Oury.
She turned down the role of Laura Reynolds in the stage production of Tea and Sympathy because she feared stage acting; Deborah Kerr played it.
At age three, her father’s colleague an amateur astrologer foresaw her celebrity.
After marrying Henri Vidal, she starred with him in La belle que voilà 1950 but felt uneasy and swore not to work with him again, though they did later in two more films.
She performed several of her own trapeze stunts in Obsession 1954.
She was named Best Actress of 1950 by Cinémonde and most popular actress by Cinérevue multiple years.
She won the 1954 Triomphe du Cinéma for The Proud and the Beautiful.
She turned down the role of Countess Serpieri in Senso 1954; Alida Valli was cast instead.
Quick answers to the questions readers ask most about Michèle Morgan.
Celebrities similar to Michèle Morgan — same craft, ranked by reach.
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