Simone Signoret

Simone Signoret (1921–1985) was a French actress and memoirist. Born in Wiesbaden, Germany, she grew up in France and began her career in Paris, adopting “Signoret” as her stage name. She became one of France’s leading screen performers after the Second World War, acclaimed for her dramatic range and realism. Signoret won the Academy Award for Best Actress for *Room at the Top* (1959), the first French performer to receive the honor, and also received the Cannes Film Festival Best Actress award. She later wrote memoirs, including the bestselling autobiography *La Nostalgie n’est plus ce qu’elle était* (1976), published in English as *Nostalgia Isn’t What It Used to Be*.