Marie Trintignant (; 21 January 1962 – 1 August 2003) was a French film and stage actress. She appeared in over 30 movies during her 36-year career. Her family was deeply involved in France's film industry, as her father was an actor and her mother was a director, producer, and screenwriter.
In 2003, Trintignant began an affair with Bertrand Cantat, the lead singer of French rock band Noir Désir. That same year, Cantat, Trintignant, and Trintignant's mother traveled to Lithuania so Trintignant and her mother could finish work on a television movie.
Career
She first appeared on screen aged four in My Love, My Love, which was directed by her mother and starred her father.
Trintignant stated that she enjoyed portraying marginalized women and tragic heroes on film; she enjoyed playing characters who allowed her to speak "for those who don't deserve being spoken for." She performed in both comedies and tragedies.
- Roman, with drummer Richard Kolinka
- Paul, with actor and former husband François Cluzet
- Léon, with Mathias Othnin-Girard
- Jules, with her husband director Samuel Benchetrit
Trintignant was still married to Benchetrit at the time of her death, although the two had separated earlier in 2003. Seven hours later, Trintignant's brother summoned emergency services to check the hotel room. When they arrived, Trintignant had slipped into a deep coma. She was transported to a hospital in Vilnius the next day; later, she was moved to the Hartmann Clinic, a hospital in Neuilly-sur-Seine, as her mother stated, "If she is to die, I want her to die in France." Trintignant died in Neuilly from swelling of the brain at the age of 41 on 1 August 2003.
Aftermath
thumb|Commemorative plaque in Paris.
When authorities first arrived at the hotel room, Cantat told them and Trintignant's parents that Trintignant had fallen backwards during their argument and hit her head against a wall.
Although Cantat attempted to argue in court that he should be convicted of manslaughter, he was convicted of the slightly more severe "murder with indirect intent" and sentenced to eight years in prison. At the request of his lawyers, Cantat was moved from the Lithuanian Lukiškės prison, to a prison near Muret, France, in September 2004.
He was released on parole after serving four years of his sentence. Cantat's parole drew widespread criticism from women's rights activists and Trintignant's parents, who had failed to persuade French President Nicolas Sarkozy and French judges to block Cantat's conditional release.
Several writers criticized the media for sensationalizing Trintignant's death and her relationship with Cantat, as, despite the elements of domestic violence in their relationship, rock journalists frequently compared them to Romeo and Juliet, as well as Sid Vicious and Nancy Spungen. Before her death, Rády had complained that Cantat subjected her to physical and mental abuse. Magistrates in Bordeaux conducted an investigation against Cantat to adjudge if he should be charged for culpability in Rády's death, but ultimately, they decided against pressing charges.
Marie Trintignant has been the subject of several documentaries, including Enquete Exclusive – Affaire Bertrand Cantat (2019) and Marie Trintignant: Tes rêves brisés (2022). The former deals with her death and Cantat's subsequent trial; it also shows, for the first time on French television, images of Bertrand Cantat's hearing before the Lithuanian court. The latter, which was directed by Trintignant's mother, recalls her life. In 2025 a Netflix documentary mini-series From Rockstar to Killer - The Cantat Case (2025) brought up new claims against Cantat from journalist Anne-Sophie Jahn.
Awards
Trintignant was nominated for France's most prestigious acting honor, the César Award, five times, for her roles in:
- Comme elle respire - 1999 (best actress)
- Le Cousin - 1998 (best supporting actress)
- Le cri de la soie - 1997 (best actress)
- Les Marmottes - 1994 (best supporting actress)
- Une affaire de femmes - 1989 (best supporting actress)
Partial filmography
- Mon Amour, Mon Amour (1967)
- It Only Happens to Others (1971)
- Défense de savoir (1973) - La petite fille Marie
- Le voyage de noces (1976) - La jeune fille au marriage
- Série noire (1979) - Mona
- La terrazza (1980) - Isabella
- Premier voyage (1980) - Marie Lambert
- Un matin rouge (1982) - Marie
- Les îles (1983) - Nathalie
- Next Summer (1985) - Sidonie
- Noyade interdite (1987) - Isabelle
- La maison de Jeanne (1988) - Martine
- Story of Women (1988) - Lulu / Lucie
- Wings of Fame (1990) - Bianca
- ' (1990) - Emilie / Woman
- Alberto Express (1990) - Clara
- Les Amants du Pont-Neuf (1991) - (voice)
- Contre l'oubli (1991) - Herself (segment "Pour José Ramón Garciá Gómez, Mexique")
- Betty (1992) - Betty Etamble
- L'instinct de l'ange (1993) - La jeune veuve
- ' (1993) - Renée Dandrieux
- Les marmottes (1993) - Lucie
- Hoffman's honger (1993) - Irena Nova
- Fugueuses (1995) - Marina
- Les apprentis (1995) - Lorette
- Des nouvelles du bon Dieu (1996) - Evangile
- Le cri de la soie (1996) - Marie Benjamin
- Ponette (1996) - La mère
- Portraits chinois (1996) - Nina
- Les démons de Jésus (1997) - Levrette
- Le cousin (1997) - Juge Lambert
- White Lies (1998) - Jeanne
- Deep in the Woods (2000) - La mère
- Harrison's Flowers (2000) - Cathy
- Le prince du Pacifique (2000) - Moeata
- Una lunga lunga lunga notte d'amore (2001) - Irene
- Petites Misères (2002) - Nicole
- Total Kheops (2002) - Lole
- Corto Maltese, la cour secrète des arcanes (2002) - La Duchesse Marina Seminova (voice)
- Corto Maltese - Sous le signe du capricorne (2002) - Bouche Dorée
- Les Marins perdus (2003) - Mariette
- Janis et John (2003) - Brigitte Sterni
- Ce qu'ils imaginent (2004) - Juliette
- Colette, une femme libre (2004, TV mini-series, also writer) - Colette (final appearance)
Appearances in other media
Not long before her death, she sang a duet in the song "Pièce montée des grands jours" by French folksinger Thomas Fersen in 2003.