Zouzou(I)

Danièle Ciarlet, AKA Zouzou, has become one of the most revered - even though quite obscure for most - icons of the 60s Parisian scene. Discovered at age 16 by then young design artist Jean-Paul Goude, she briefly modeled for Yves Saint Laurent, and, as a tireless night-clubber, was better known, in the early 60s, under the nickname "Zouzou la twisteuse". Shortly after that, she got romantically involved with Rolling Stones member Brian Jones, whom she followed around the world. She was also a good friend of John Lennon and George Harrison and was photographed by Richard Avedon and Helmut Newton, met Bob Dylan, Andy Warhol and most of all, Jack Nicholson who remained, along with Marianne Faithfull, very... faithful friends. She also recorded two EPs as a singer at the end of the 60s, and a duet with Dani, another French 60s icon. After a few roles in underground and experimental French films (under the direction of Philippe Garrel or Yves Lagrange), she got a cinematographic breakthrough in 1972 with Eric Rohmer's L'amour l'après-midi, and developed an international career as an actress, a career which unfortunately, and progressively, slowed down because of her addiction to heroin. She spent seven years on the Cariibean Island of Saint Barthélémy to shape up, but her return to Paris, in the mid-80s, was followed by two jail incarcerations due to mild drug dealings. In the mid-90s, drug free at last, she got a fresh start solding the newspapers "La rue" and "Le réverbère" (the equivalent of British "The Big Issue") in the Parisian metro. In November 2003, the autobiography "Zouzou jusqu'à l'aube" ("Zouzou until Dawn") was released, in which she recounted with utmost honesty the extreme ups and downs of her incredible life. A compilation of all her songs was also released, and a documentary, "Zouzou l'héroïne", told in images the fate of probably one of the most beautiful woman of the world, revered as the "female Marlon Brando" when she burst into the Parisian scene.