Anna Karina, legendary French actress and singer, has died from cancer aged 79.
French Minister for Culture, Franck Riester, tweeted, “Her gaze was the gaze of the Nouvelle Vague (New Wave). It will remain so forever.”
From her films with legendary director Jean-Luc Godard through to her collaborations with Serge Gainsbourg, Anna Karina encapsulated the French New Wave.
Emerging as a part of the 60’s French New Wave cinema, Karina became an icon and muse to countless directors, singers and musicians. Having been involved in numerous Jean-Luc Godard movies including Vivre Sa Vie, Bande à Part, Une Femme Est Une Femme and Pierrot le Fou, she would eventually marry the prolific director before divorcing a few years later.
Karina also sung alongside légende Serge Gainsbourg on the songs Roller Girl and Sous le Soleil Exactement. She would go on to create her own production company and go behind the camera for her directional debut Vivre Ensemble (Living Together).
Quentin Tarantino was so obsessed with the actress that he made Uma Thurman’s character Mia Wallace in Pulp Fiction resemble Karina in her film Vivre Sa Vie (My Life to Live).
Her involvement with the Nouvelle Vague cinema of the 1960’s helped to usher in a new era in cinema. From experimenting with traditional film structure and techniques, the free-wheeling period recreated cinema as a more complex art form.
Anna Karina’s involvement in this changing of the guard will continue to reverberate for many years to come.
