Star

In cinema, theParisienne type is often overdetermined by the star incarnating the role, pointing to more extra-cinematic considerations in the construction of la Parisienne in cinema. Certain actors possess a Parisienne iconographical profile which develops out of intra-, inter-, and extra-cinematic considerations. In any Parisienne film, there are three possible ways la Parisienne can appear on screen: first, played by an actor who is not a star; second, played by an actor who is a star but who does not possess a Parisienne iconographical profile; and lastly, played by an actor who is a star and who also possesses a Parisienne iconographical profile. The self-fashioning aspect of Parisienne stars was in part facilitated by the absence of a rigorous star system in France during the 1950s and 1960s, which allowed French female stars in particular to take a more active role in the development of their personae. Certain stars in particular have contributed to the evolution of the type, including Brigitte Bardot’s coquettish ingénue, Jeanne Moreau’s cerebral and sensual mature woman, Anna Karina’s gamine and Charlotte Gainsbourg’s bourgeois bohemian.