Luce Guilbeault

Luce Guilbeault

Luce Guilbeault, actor, director (b at Outremont, Qué 5 Mar 1935; d at Montréal 12 Jul 1991). Her career began in theatre where she particularly excelled in the Québécois repertoire (Réjean DUCHARME, Michel TREMBLAY, etc.) She was also seen on TV where she made her debut in a youth program, Opération-mystère (1957-59). She had a hit with TV series (Des dames de coeur, 1986-89, Un signe de feu, 1989-91) and in television plays (Des souris et des hommes, Paul Blouin, 1971). Denys ARCAND offered her her first important film role, as the bewildered wife in La Maudite Galette (1971); and another in Réjeanne Padovani (1973). Her career at that time included more than one film a year. She was seen in O.K... Laliberté (Marcel Carrière, 1973), Tendresse ordinaire (Jacques Leduc, 1973) and in films by Anne Claire POIRIER (Le Temps de l'avant, 1975, Mourir à tue-tête, 1979, and La Quarantaine, 1982). Since she opted out of commercial cinema, she was rarely seen on the large screen in the eighties, and then essentially in films that appeal primarily to women. She also briefly had a career as a documentary producer interested exclusively in feminist issues and in women's portraits. After Denyse Benoit, actress (1975), she supported American feminists (Some American Feminists, 1977) then adopted a more personal stance in D'abord ménagères (1978), where the viewers clearly felt her affinity for the protagonists. Whether she performs the roles of thankless women or prostitutes, Guilbeault remains somewhat of an enigma: vacant glances and a distinctive musical speech give her characters an original blend of strength and fragility.