Christian Marquand was a multifaceted French artist, renowned for his captivating performances on the big and small screens. Born on March 15, 1927, in Marseille, he was the son of a Spanish father and an Arab mother, and his sister, Nadine Trintignant, was a notable film director.
Marquand's early career in the film industry began in 1946, when he appeared as a footman in Jean Cocteau's enchanting Beauty and the Beast (La Belle et la Bête). He continued to take on small roles until he was prominently featured in Christian-Jaque's Lucrèce Borgia (1953) as one of Lucrezia's lovers, and as an Austrian soldier in Luchino Visconti's poignant Senso (1954).
The year 1956 marked a significant turning point in Marquand's career, as he was directed by Roger Vadim in the provocative And God Created Woman (Et Dieu... créa la femme) opposite the iconic Brigitte Bardot. The film's immense success led to starring roles in No Sun in Venice (1957),Temptation (1959),and The Big Show (1960),alongside esteemed actresses Maria Schell, Jean Seberg, and Annie Girardot.
In 1962, Marquand took on the role of French Naval Commando leader Philippe Kieffer in Darryl F. Zanuck's World War II epic The Longest Day, which led to further international productions such as Behold a Pale Horse (1964),Lord Jim (1965),and The Flight of the Phoenix (1965).
Throughout the 1970s, Marquand continued to appear in feature films and television, and even played a French plantation owner in Francis Ford Coppola's re-edited Vietnam war epic Apocalypse Now Redux (1979/2001). His final performance was in a 1987 French TV mini-series.
As a director, Marquand helmed two films, Les Grands Chemins (1963) and the all-star sex farce Candy (1968). He was married to French actress Tina Aumont from 1963 to 1966, and later lived with French actress Dominique Sanda, who was 21 years his junior, with whom he had a son, Yann. Marquand was also a close friend of Marlon Brando, who named his son Christian after him, as did French director Roger Vadim.
Sadly, Marquand passed away on November 22, 2000, near Paris, at the age of 73, due to complications from Alzheimer's disease.
