Catherine Spaak facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Catherine Spaak
Spaak in Radiocorriere magazine (1975)
Born	(1945-04-03)3 April 1945 Boulogne-Billancourt, France
Died	17 April 2022(2022-04-17) (aged 77) Rome, Italy
Occupation	Actress singer
Years active	1959–2020
Spouse(s)	Fabrizio Capucci ​ ​ (m. 1963; div. 1971)​ Johnny Dorelli ​ ​ (m. 1972; div. 1979)​ Daniel Rey ​ ​ (m. 1993; div. 2010)​ Vladimiro Tuselli ​ ​ (m. 2013; div. 2019)​
Children	2

Catherine Spaak (born April 3, 1945 – died April 17, 2022) was a well-known actress and singer. She was born in France but became famous in Italy. She starred in many Italian movies and also appeared in some films made in Hollywood and other countries. People remember her especially for her roles in movies like Il Sorpasso (1962), The Empty Canvas (1963), and The Cat o' Nine Tails (1971).

Early Life

Catherine Spaak was born on April 3, 1945, near Paris, France. Her mother, Claudie Clèves, was an actress. Her father, Charles Spaak, was a Belgian writer for films. Catherine's older sister, Agnès Spaak, also became an actress. Her family had other famous members too. Her uncle, Paul-Henri Spaak, was an important Belgian politician. Her grandmother, Marie Janson Spaak, was the first woman to be a member of Parliament in Belgium.

When she was young, Catherine wanted to be a ballerina. She studied ballet for a while. But she stopped because she was told she was too tall. In 1955, she went with her father to a movie set. There she saw the famous actress Gina Lollobrigida. This made Catherine want to become an actress too.

When she was 15, her parents decided to divorce. Catherine wanted to leave her boarding school. So, she moved to Italy. She lived there and later became an Italian citizen.

Film Career

Catherine Spaak's first movie was a short French film called L'hiver in 1959. After that, she had a small part in the French prison movie Le Trou (1960). Her brief appearance in Le Trou caught the attention of a TV reporter in Paris. He interviewed her, and the famous actress Sophia Loren saw it. Sophia Loren thought Catherine would be perfect for a big role in a movie called Dolci inganni, which was being made in Rome.

Catherine quickly became a teenage star. Between the ages of 15 and 18, she played the main character in at least 12 movies. When she first started, her lines were spoken by other actors. This is called "dubbing." She learned Italian quickly, and soon she could speak her own lines.

As an adult, Catherine Spaak acted in many comedies and some dramas. These films were made from the mid-1960s to the early 1980s. Her first role in an American movie was in Hotel (1967). In this film, she played the girlfriend of a person who wanted to buy a famous hotel in New Orleans.

She also appeared in other notable films. These include Diary of a Telephone Operator (1969) with Claudia Cardinale. She was in the mystery film The Cat o' Nine Tails (1971), directed by Dario Argento. She also acted in Story of a Cloistered Nun (1973) and the comedy My Darling Slave (1973). Later, she was in the Western movie Take a Hard Ride (1975) with Jim Brown and Lee Van Cleef. Some of her other films were Sunday Lovers (1980), Miele di donna (1981), and Alice (2010).

In the 1980s, her film career slowed down. Catherine then started working in journalism and television. She hosted a popular Italian TV talk show called Harem. This show was on air for many years, from 1988 to 2002.

Singing Career

Besides acting, Catherine Spaak also had a singing career in the 1960s and 1970s. She recorded several music albums. Some people thought she was like the French singer Françoise Hardy in Italy. In 1963, Catherine recorded some of Françoise Hardy's songs. She worked with Ezio Leoni, who had also worked with Hardy.

Personal Life

Spaak in 2011

Catherine Spaak was married four times. Her first marriage was on January 30, 1963. She was 18 years old. She married actor Fabrizio Capucci. They had met while working on the movie La voglia matta (1962). They had a daughter named Sabrina.

After divorcing Fabrizio Capucci in 1971, Catherine married Italian entertainer Johnny Dorelli. They were married from August 1972 to 1979. They had a son together, named Gabriele Guidi.

Later, she was married to architect Daniel Rey from 1993 to 2010. Her last marriage was to Vladimiro Tuselli, from July 2013 to June 2020.

Death

Catherine Spaak passed away in Rome on April 17, 2022. She was 77 years old. She died about a year after she had a brain hemorrhage.

Selected Filmography