Louis Jourdan

Born Louis Gendre or Gendice, he was educated in France, England, and Turkey. He trained as an actor with Rene Simon at the Ecole Dramatique. He debuted onscreen in 1939, going on to play cultivated, polished, dashing lead roles in a number of French romantic comedies and dramas. After his father was arrested by the Gestapo, Louis and his two brothers joined the French underground; his film career came to a halt when he refused to act in Nazi propaganda films. In 1948 David O. Selznick invited him to Hollywood to appear in The Paradine Case (1948); he remained in the U.S. and went on to star in a number of Hollywood films. After 1953 he appeared in international productions. His career was hampered by the limitations of the roles he was offered, most of which featured him as an old-fashioned Continental lover. ~ Full Biography »