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01
She wrote the novel Adieu Volodia about Jewish immigrants from Ukraine and Russia and their children working in Paris’s theatre and film industry from 1926 to 1945.
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02
She adopted the stage name Signoret, her mother’s maiden name, in the early 1940s to avoid drawing Nazi attention to her Jewish heritage.
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03
The late American singer and composer Nina Simone took her stage name from Signoret.
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04
She is buried in Père-Lachaise Cemetery in Paris with her husband Yves Montand.
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05
Actor Philippe Noiret said working with Signoret in 1983 was an experience because she knew everything about movies and acting, but she could be difficult and devouring if you weren’t alert.
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06
She was born to André Kaminker, a Polish linguist, and his French wife Georgette Signoret, and had two younger brothers, Alain and Jean-Pierre.
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07
She was great friends with her look-alike Romy Schneider and convinced her to do her last film The Passerby 1982 after the death of her son.
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08
She published her autobiography Nostalgia Isn’t What It Used To Be in 1976.
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09
She was able to speak French, German, and English.
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10
She is one of six French actors to have won an Academy Award, including Claudette Colbert, Lila Kedrova, Juliette Binoche, Marion Cotillard, and Jean Dujardin.
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11
She was portrayed on a postage stamp issued on October 3, 1998 by the French Post Office.
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12
She was originally cast as Madame Hortense in Zorba the Greek 1964 but quit before filming; Lila Kedrova replaced her and won an Oscar.
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13
For Room at the Top 1958, she became the first French actress to win a BAFTA and a Best Actress Oscar for the same performance; Marion Cotillard is the second.
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14
She always called her second husband Montand because he had the same first name as her first husband Yves Allégret.
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15
She was great friends with Jane Fonda, who credits her with getting Fonda interested in politics.
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16
She won an Emmy in 1966 under the category Single Performance by an Actress for the TV movie A Small Rebellion.
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17
In 1966, she played Lady Macbeth at the Royal Court Theatre opposite Alec Guinness; the production was a disaster, with critics calling her the worst Lady Macbeth ever.
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18
She gave birth to her first child, a son, in 1945 with her then-married lover Yves Allégret, but the son died at nine days old.
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19
She tutored English and Latin while working part-time for Le Nouveau Temps, a newspaper published during the German occupation.
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20
In the spring and summer of 1960, she and Montand lived at the Beverly Hills Hotel, where her neighbor Marilyn Monroe reportedly had an affair with Montand.
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21
She gave birth to her second child, a daughter Catherine Allégret, on April 16, 1946; the father was her then-married lover and later first husband Yves Allégret.
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22
She was the original choice to co-star with Elvis Presley in Wild in the Country 1961 but turned it down.
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23
She took her middle name Simone as a stage name in reference to French actress Simone Simon.
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24
With three wins out of six nominations, she is the French actress most recognized by BAFTA.
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25
She was featured on the poster of the 2013 César awards.
