Marie Laure Viole Bellon, commonly known as Loleh Bellon, was a renowned French stage and film actress, as well as a playwright. Born on May 14, 1925, in Bayonne, she was the daughter of Jacques Bellon, a magistrate, and Denise Simone Hulmann, a prominent photographer. Bellon's family had a strong connection to the arts, with her younger sister being the film director and screenwriter Yannick Bellon.
Bellon's early education was in the theatre, where she studied under the guidance of Tania Balachova, Charles Dullin, and Julien Bertheau. She made her stage debut in 1945 in J. B. Priestley's "Dangerous Corner" and later played in Jules Romains' "L'An Mil" in 1947. Her breakthrough performance came in 1949, when she played the role of Marie in Louis Daquin's "Le Point du jour," earning her the Prix des Jeunes comédiens.
Bellon's film career began in the late 1940s, with notable collaborations with Jean-Louis Barrault and Jean Vilar. Her early success in cinema was followed by appearances in two more of Daquin's films, "The Perfume of the Lady in Black" (1949) and "Maître après Dieu" (1950). Bellon's sister, Yannick Bellon, played a significant role in her career, as she starred in Yannick's films "Quelque part quelqu'un" (1972) and "Jamais plus toujours" (1976).
In addition to her acting career, Bellon was a successful playwright. Her plays, including "Dames du jeudi" (1976),"Une absence" (1988),and "La Chambre d'amis" (1995),received critical acclaim. Her play "L'Éloignement" (1987) earned her the prestigious Molière prize.
Throughout her life, Bellon was married twice. Her first marriage was to Spanish writer Jorge Semprún Maura in 1947, with whom she had a son, Jaime Semprún. After their divorce in 1960, Bellon married poet Claude Roy in 1962. She passed away on May 22, 1999, in Le Kremlin-Bicêtre, Paris suburbs.
