Geneviève Bujold facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Geneviève Bujold
Geneviève Bujold in Anne of the Thousand Days
Born	(1942-07-01) July 1, 1942 (age 82) Montreal, Quebec, Canada
Occupation	Actress
Years active	1962–present
Spouse(s)	Paul Almond ​ ​ (m. 1967; div. 1974)​
Partner(s)	Dennis Hastings (1977–2017)
Children	2

Geneviève Bujold (born July 1, 1942) is a famous Canadian actress. She has starred in many movies and TV shows. One of her most well-known roles was playing Anne Boleyn in the film Anne of the Thousand Days (1969). For this role, she was nominated for a top award called the Academy Award for Best Actress. Some of her other popular films include Earthquake (1974), Coma (1978), and Dead Ringers (1988).

Early Life and Education

Geneviève Bujold was born in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Her mother, Laurette, worked as a maid, and her father, Joseph, was a bus driver. Her family has French Canadian roots, and some distant Irish ancestors.

She went to a strict convent school for twelve years, which she did not enjoy. She was even expelled for reading a play called Fanny by Marcel Pagnol. Later, she studied acting at the Montreal Conservatory of Dramatic Art. There, she learned about classic French plays.

Starting Her Acting Career

Early Work in Canada

Just two months before she was supposed to finish acting school, Geneviève Bujold made her first stage appearance. This was in 1961, playing Rosine in Le Barbier de Séville. After leaving school, she was always busy. She found work in radio, on stage, and in TV and film.

Her first TV role was in Le square (1963), a TV film. She also appeared in TV shows like Jeudi-théâtre and Les belles histoires des pays d'en haut. Her first Canadian movie was Amanita Pestilens (1963). She also starred in La terre à boire (1964), which was the first movie in Quebec to be paid for by private money. She even toured Canada performing in plays and was named actress of the year in Montreal.

Acting in French Films

In 1965, Geneviève Bujold traveled to Russia and France with a theater group. While in Paris, she was performing in a play when a famous French director, Alain Resnais, saw her. He chose her for his film The War Is Over. In this movie, she acted alongside well-known stars like Yves Montand.

She then made two more films in France. These were Philippe de Broca's King of Hearts (1966) and Louis Malle's The Thief of Paris (1967). She won an award called the Prix Suzanne for being the "Discovery of the Year." Even though she was becoming famous in France, she decided to return to Canada.

Coming Back to Canada

After returning to Canada, her husband at the time, Paul Almond, directed her in a TV show called Festival. She also appeared in the film Between Salt and Sweet Water (1967). Then, she went to New York to play the main role in Saint Joan (1967) for American TV. She received great praise for this role, even getting an Emmy nomination.

In Canada, she starred in Isabel (1968), which her husband Paul Almond wrote and directed. This movie was one of the first Canadian films to be released by a major Hollywood studio.

Becoming an International Star

Anne of the Thousand Days and Beyond

Geneviève Bujold became famous around the world in 1969. She played Anne Boleyn in the film Anne of the Thousand Days, starring with Richard Burton. The producer, Hal B. Wallis, chose her after seeing her in Isabel.

For her amazing performance, she won the Golden Globe Award for Best Actress in a Motion Picture – Drama. She was also nominated for the prestigious Academy Award for Best Actress. After this, Universal Studios signed her to a contract for three more movies.

She made another film with her husband in Canada, The Act of the Heart (1970). She also wrote and starred in a short film called Marie-Christine (1970). Universal Studios wanted her to be in Mary, Queen of Scots (1971), but she said no.

Instead, she played Cassandra, a Greek prophet, in The Trojan Women (1971). She acted alongside famous actresses like Katharine Hepburn. She also made Journey (1972) in Canada and won another award for Best Actress. In 1973, she starred in Kamouraska, earning her third Canadian Film Award for Best Actress.

Moving to Hollywood

In 1973, after her marriage ended, Geneviève Bujold moved to Los Angeles. She settled her disagreement with Universal Studios and agreed to make three films for them. The first was Earthquake (1974), where she acted with Charlton Heston.

She then went to France for the film Incorrigible (1975). She also appeared in a TV movie called Caesar and Cleopatra (1975) with Alec Guinness. At Universal Studios, she played the lead role in Swashbuckler (1976) with Robert Shaw.

In 1976, she starred in Obsession, directed by Brian De Palma. She also made Alex & the Gypsy (1976) with Jack Lemmon and Another Man, Another Chance (1977) with James Caan.

A big success for her was the medical thriller Coma (1978), where she starred with Michael Douglas. This movie was very popular at the box office.

Geneviève Bujold returned to Canada to play an important role in the Sherlock Holmes film Murder by Decree (1979). For this, she won a Best Supporting Actress Award. She also appeared in the Disney fantasy film The Last Flight of Noah's Ark (1980) and the Canadian film Final Assignment (1980).

She starred in the TV movie Mistress of Paradise (1981). Later, she acted with Christopher Reeve in Monsignor (1982) and with Clint Eastwood in Tightrope (1984).

Working with Alan Rudolph

Geneviève Bujold starred in Choose Me (1984), a film directed by Alan Rudolph. She enjoyed working with him so much that she made two more movies for him: Trouble in Mind (1985) and The Moderns (1988). She became part of a group of actors that Rudolph often used in his films.

She also starred in David Cronenberg's Dead Ringers (1988) with Jeremy Irons. After that, she made a TV movie and False Identity (1990).

Back to Canadian Films

After being away from Quebec for a while, she returned to appear in two more films by Michel Brault: The Paper Wedding (1989) and My Friend Max (1994). She also made a film in France and another with her former husband, Paul Almond.

Star Trek: Voyager Role

In 1994, Geneviève Bujold was chosen to play Captain Nicole Janeway (later renamed Kathryn Janeway). This was the main character in the American TV series Star Trek: Voyager. However, she left the project after only two days of filming. The role was then given to Kate Mulgrew.

Later Career Highlights

Geneviève Bujold continued to take on many roles in the late 1990s and early 2000s. She had supporting parts in films like The Adventures of Pinocchio (1995), The House of Yes (1997), and Last Night (1998).

She also co-starred with Graham Greene in Dead Innocent (1997). In 2002, she returned to Quebec to star in Chaos and Desire. She once said that she likes doing all kinds of films, whether big studio movies or smaller independent ones. She believes her roles should be important to the story and true to her.

Her later films include Jericho Mansions (2003), Finding Home (2004), and Disappearances (2006). She also appeared in The Trotsky (2009) and For the Love of God (2011).

In 2012, Geneviève Bujold played a woman dealing with memory loss in the romantic drama Still Mine. Critics praised her performance, calling it "superb" and "remarkably detailed." Her most recent film was Chorus (2015).

Personal Life

In 1967, Geneviève Bujold married Canadian director Paul Almond. They had a son named Matthew in 1968. They divorced in 1974.

In 1980, she had a second son, Emmanuel, with Dennis Hastings. She met Dennis, a carpenter, in 1977 when he was building her house. They were together until 2017. Dennis Hastings passed away in 2020.

Awards and Recognition

Geneviève Bujold has won many awards throughout her career.

Filmography

Here are some of the films and TV shows Geneviève Bujold has been in:

Films

Television Shows

See also

In Spanish: Geneviève Bujold para niños