Actress. She is best remembered for her roles in such movies as "Bonjour Tristesse" (1958), "The Mouse that Roared" (1959), "Paint Your Wagon" (1969), and "Airport" (1970). Born in Iowa, and educated at Iowa University, she landed the lead role of 'Joan of Arc' in Otto Preminger's "Saint Joan" (1957), after a much publicized contest. When the film failed, and her next film, "Bonjour Tristesse" (1958) was a moderate success, her career seemed stalled. When "Breathless" (1959) came out, her career picked up interest overseas in Europe, but again, only had moderate success in the United States. She began to spend more time in France, and during the late 1960s, took interest in radical political causes, including the Black Panthers. When she became pregnant again, a rumor circulated that Black Panther leader Raymond Hewitt fathered the child. Depressed, Seberg overdosed on sleeping tablets, and her daughter, Nina, died two days after birth on August 25, 1970, from complications. She answered the press's continuing innuendo about the father by presenting the white body of her daughter at a press conference. Although her husband, Romain Gary, acknowledged Nina as being his, she later confessed that the child was the product of an affair with student revolutionary Carlos Navarra. She and Romain were divorced later that year. She continued to make movies, mostly in France, where she had gone to escape the unrelenting media coverage, and achieved some success with French films. Her last film, "La Legion sauté sur Kolwezi," was released after her death in 1979. She committed suicide in Paris, by taking an overdose of sleeping pills. She once stated at an interview, "Money doesn't buy happiness, but happiness isn't everything."
Actress. She is best remembered for her roles in such movies as "Bonjour Tristesse" (1958), "The Mouse that Roared" (1959), "Paint Your Wagon" (1969), and "Airport" (1970). Born in Iowa, and educated at Iowa University, she landed the lead role of 'Joan of Arc' in Otto Preminger's "Saint Joan" (1957), after a much publicized contest. When the film failed, and her next film, "Bonjour Tristesse" (1958) was a moderate success, her career seemed stalled. When "Breathless" (1959) came out, her career picked up interest overseas in Europe, but again, only had moderate success in the United States. She began to spend more time in France, and during the late 1960s, took interest in radical political causes, including the Black Panthers. When she became pregnant again, a rumor circulated that Black Panther leader Raymond Hewitt fathered the child. Depressed, Seberg overdosed on sleeping tablets, and her daughter, Nina, died two days after birth on August 25, 1970, from complications. She answered the press's continuing innuendo about the father by presenting the white body of her daughter at a press conference. Although her husband, Romain Gary, acknowledged Nina as being his, she later confessed that the child was the product of an affair with student revolutionary Carlos Navarra. She and Romain were divorced later that year. She continued to make movies, mostly in France, where she had gone to escape the unrelenting media coverage, and achieved some success with French films. Her last film, "La Legion sauté sur Kolwezi," was released after her death in 1979. She committed suicide in Paris, by taking an overdose of sleeping pills. She once stated at an interview, "Money doesn't buy happiness, but happiness isn't everything."
Bio by: Kit and Morgan Benson
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