Biography

Her stage career began in 1954 under the name of Gisèle Clavart, her first role being in Occupe-toi d'Amélie by Georges Feydeau.

She began her career as a steno-typist at the Messageries Maritimes in Paris. Dissatisfied with the job and her miserable salary, she perfected her English. After a difficult competition, she was hired at the United Nations and embarked for New York. She stayed there for two and a half years, the time it took to become part of a troupe of amateur actors in Greenwich Village during her spare time. She was then able to save enough money to take René Simon's acting classes once back in Paris.