Françoise Blanchard

June 6, 1954 – May 24, 2013

Saint-Mandé, Val-de-Marne, France

Françoise Denise Aline Blanchard was a French actress and dubbing artist. Before choosing acting as a career choice, Blanchard worked as a hand model. Throughout the 1970s, she would work in films with such directors as Michel Gérard, Jacques Peroni, Bruno Mattei and Richard Balducci, before being cast in what became her most notable role, in Jean Rollin's 1982 horror film "La morte vivante" ("The Living Dead Girl") as Catherine Valmont, a young woman who is resurrected following a spillage of toxic waste and must devour human blood in order to survive. She received praise for her performance in the film, particularly the end scene, which was so powerful and convincing that it was believed that she had descended into a state of madness. Blanchard went on to appear in three more of Rollin’s works: "Les trottoirs de Bangkok" (1984), the short film "À la poursuite de Barbara" (1991) and her final film role "La nuit des horloges" (2007). She continued in roles during the 1980s, appearing in films, including Jesús Franco's "Revenge in the House of Usher". She had also served as French voice dubbing in film, including that of Olive Oyl in Robert Altman's Popeye (1980), Jane Bux in The NeverEnding Story III (1994) and Margot Wallace in "Hackers" (1995), as well as dubbing of several TV series, including "Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles" and "Totally Spies!". She died in 2013, twelve days before her 59th birthday.