Simone Mareuil

Simone Mareuil
Mareuil in a still from Un Chien Andalou.
Born	Marie Louise Simone Vacher (1903-08-25)25 August 1903 Périgueux, Dordogne, France
Died	24 October 1954(1954-10-24) (aged 51) Périgueux, Dordogne, France
Other names	Simonne
Occupation	Actress
Spouse	Philippe Hersent

Simone Mareuil (French pronunciation: [simɔn maʁøj]; 25 August 1903 – 24 October 1954) was a French actress best known for appearing in Luis Buñuel and Salvador Dali's surrealist film Un Chien Andalou (1929).^[1]

Mareuil was born Marie Louise Simonne Vacher in Périgueux, France, on August 25th, 1903. Her mother was Marie Marguerite Soulet (aged 25), and her father was François Vacher (aged 38), a captain in the 50th Infantry regiment and prominent figure in the First World War. She had a brother named Raymond.

In 1925, she and her parents moved to Paris. A friend introduced her to Paul Caroux, a collaborator of Louis Feuillade, the leading director at Gaumont Studios.^[2] This led Simone to her first uncredited roles as extras in various films, working behind stars including Blanche Montel, Suzanne Bianchetti, Pierre Blanchar, Armand Tallier, Laurence Myrga, Paul Ollivier, Sessue Hayakawa, and Roger Karl.

On June 15, 1940, she married actor Philippe Hersent.

After the Second World War, she settled with her mother in Coursac near Périgueux. She subsequently fell into a depression after losing her father and her brother Raymond, and dealing with her own divorce. She died by suicide on October 24, 1954, after dousing herself in gasoline and burning herself to death.

She is buried in the Cimetière du Nord in Périgueux.

• Surrealist Cinema

• Simone Mareuil at IMDb