One of the main sources for this biography is a series of articlesof Jacqueline Bisset's "Memories",published in the British magazine Hello! in 1993.
Her Family and Early Life
 | Jacqueline at 11 months |
 | Jacqueline (age 5) and brother Max |
She was born in Weybridge, Surrey; her mother and brother had beenevacuated there because of a wartime bombing in their village. Her father was working in ahospital in Iceland at the time.
She grew up in a 400-year old cottage in Tilehurst, near Reading.She and her brother played together - sometimes roughly (she mentionsonce breaking a stool over his head!). She took ballet classes, buther cramped feet convinced her to give it up.
When Jacqueline was 15, her mother was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis.This required Jacqueline to take a great deal of responsibility forher mother's care. She credits this experience for developing muchof her inner strength. Her parents eventually divorced. (Jacquelinehas never been married, and has no children.)
At 16, Jacqueline was enrolled in the Lycée Français;the intention was to learn French before going to university.Instead of going to college, Jacqueline became interested in the cinema.In order to earn the money for acting lessons, she became a model.
 | Jacqueline (age 6) performing for camera. |
Her Career
Jacqueline started modelling in London at age 18. She worked withsome of the top photographers of the day: Terry Donovan, David Bailey,etc. She got her first unbilled bit part in Richard Lester's"The Knack...and How To Get It" (1965).She quickly moved on to small supporting roles (1967) and then biggersupporting roles in "big" movies, and starring roles in lesser movies(1968-69). She had two sudden bursts of fame: in 1968, because shereplaced Mia Farrow in "The Detective",opposite Frank Sinatra; and in 1977, when her role in"The Deep" put her on magazine coversaround the world.See theFilmography for more details abouther film career.
 |  | These pictures appeared in Hello! magazine. The picture onthe far left is from an early modelling job in London. The captionsays the picture at left is the south of France, durng the filming of "Two for the Road." In fact, this is a publicityphoto from "The Grasshopper"; it was used on a lobby card. |
Her Romances
As mentioned above, Jacqueline has never been married.But she has spoken publicly about at least five long-term romantic involvements: Michael Sarrazin, Victor Drai, AlexanderGodunov, Vincent Perez, and, most recently, Emin Boztepe.(Of course, since she is a moviestar, Hollywood gossip has linked her romantically with several ofher co-stars over the years, but all such rumors must be taken witha large grain of salt.)
She met Michael Sarrazin in 1968, making "The Sweet Ride". Theysoon moved in together. They originally lived in a cottagethat had started out as a packing crate for a piano. They laterstarred together in "Believe in Me" (and bought a moresubstantial house). They went their separate ways in 1974.
Jacqueline then began a relationship with Victor Drai. He ran aclothing company in Paris. Their involvement lasted several years,before they parted. Drai went on to produce several movies in Hollywood.
In 1981, Jacqueline met Alexander Godunov, who had defected from Russia in1979. Their relationship lasted into the mid-1980's, and theyappeared together on the cover of People magazine.Godunov gave up ballet for acting, but they split up around1986. Godunov died in 1995.
While filming 1987's "Le Maison de Jade", Jacqueline becameromantically involved with her co-star, Vincent Perez. Thisrelationship lasted a few years, until the frequent long-distanceseparations brought it to an end.
Since 1997, Jacqueline has often been seen and photographed with Emin Boztepe,a martial arts instructor. The photo at left is from a 1997post-Oscar party. They parted in 2005.
Honors
She was nominated for the 1979 award in the category Best Performance byan Actress in a Motion Picture - Comedy or Musical for "Who isKilling the Great Chefs of Europe?".
Her performance in "Under the Volcano"earned her a nomination for Best Performance by an Actress in aSupporting Role - Motion Picture in 1985.She co-hosted (with Pierce Brosnan) the Golden Globes, in1986, I believe.
She was nominated for both an Emmy and aGolden Globe for Best Supporting Actress ina Movie or Miniseries for her work in "Joanof Arc".
Early in her career, Jacqueline was a nominee/awardee for several"Golden Laurel" awards, presented by Motion Picture ExhibitorMagazine (not to be confused with the more recent Produceer'sGuild awards). Unfortunately, the IMDb gives conflicting informationon the results for these awards. In 1968, she competed for FemaleNew Face, and seems to be one of several winners; except is also saysshe finished in 5th place. In 1970, in the same category, she is listed as being third place (though again, there seem to be 7 winners).Then in 1971, she seems to a winner (in a 7-way tie) for Star, Female (though it also says "8th place"), and alsoa winner for Best Dramatic Performance, Female, for TheGrasshopper (only a two-way tie, with Glenda Jackson; butalso described as "4th place"). [I'll have to check other references;if anyone has any information on these awards from a sourceother than IMDb, please let me know.]
Also, she was nominated for a CableACE award as BestActress in a Movie or Miniseries for "Forbidden".
In 1996, Jacqueline was nominated for a "César" award, theFrench equivalent of the Oscar. This was for Best Actress in a Supporting Role for"La Cérémonie".
In 2001, she received an honorary "Roger" from the Avignon/New YorkFilm Festival, and the "CineMerit" award from the Munich FilmFest.Both were for her lifetime of contributions to the cinema.
In February, 2002, she was won the first Cambridge Film award foran actress, for her performance in The Sleepy Time Gal.
The 2003 Ft. Lauderdale International Film Festival presentedJacqueline with a "Career Achievement Award".
This page (and all original material on this site) is copyrightedby John Bartelt.