Jacqueline Bisset

2.1. Childhood and family

Winifred Jacqueline Fraser Bisset was born on September 13, 1944, in Weybridge, Surrey, England. Her father, George Maxwell Fraser Bisset (1911-1982), was a general practitioner of Scottish descent. Her mother, Arlette Alexander (1914-1999), was a lawyer who later became a housewife, with French and English heritage. Bisset has an older brother, Max, born in 1942, who is a business consultant based in Florida. She also has a paternal half-brother named Nick, born around 1981, who was an infant when their father passed away at the age of 70. A notable event in her family history is her mother's escape from the 1940 Battle of France, during which she cycled from Paris and boarded a British troopship to evade the Germans. Bisset spent her childhood growing up in a 17th-century country cottage located in Tilehurst, near Reading, Berkshire. Her parents' 28-year marriage ended in divorce in 1968.

2.2. Education and early experiences

Bisset's mother ensured she learned to speak French fluently, and she received her education at the Lycée Français de Londres (Lycée Français de Londres^French) in London. From a young age, she took ballet lessons. To fund her acting lessons, she began working as a fashion model. During her teenage years, Bisset's mother was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis, a significant event that impacted her early life.

3.1. 1960s: Early roles and breakthrough

Bisset's film career commenced in 1965 with an uncredited appearance as a prospective model in The Knack ...and How to Get It, directed by Richard Lester. Her official debut followed in 1966 in Roman Polanski's Cul-de-sac. In 1967, she gained her first significant role in the film Two for the Road, starring Albert Finney and Audrey Hepburn, where she played a woman romantically involved with Finney's character. This film, produced by 20th Century Fox, led to her signing a contract with the studio. The same year, she also appeared in the James Bond satire Casino Royale as Miss Goodthighs.

Fox then cast Bisset in her first leading role in The Cape Town Affair, opposite a then-unknown James Brolin, a low-budget production filmed in South Africa. She achieved mainstream recognition in 1968 when she replaced Mia Farrow in The Detective, starring alongside Frank Sinatra. That same year, her co-starring role with Michael Sarrazin in The Sweet Ride earned her a Golden Globe nomination for Most Promising Newcomer. She concluded the decade by portraying Steve McQueen's girlfriend in the police drama Bullitt, which became one of the top five highest-grossing films of the year. In 1969, Bisset took top billing in The First Time and Secret World, appearing as a blonde in the latter.

3.2. 1970s: Rise to international stardom

The 1970s marked Jacqueline Bisset's ascent to international recognition, characterized by a series of successful and critically acclaimed films across different genres and countries.

In 1970, Bisset joined an ensemble cast in the popular disaster film Airport, playing a pregnant stewardess carrying Dean Martin's love child, a role that contributed to the film's immense success. She also starred in The Grasshopper (1970), though it was less widely seen, and appeared in The Mephisto Waltz (1971) with Alan Alda. She reunited with her real-life partner, Michael Sarrazin, for the romantic drama Believe in Me, in which she portrayed a drug addict. Bisset took the lead in the comedy Stand Up and Be Counted (1972) before appearing in the more popular The Life and Times of Judge Roy Bean (1972) as the daughter of Paul Newman's titular character. In 1973, she played the female lead in The Thief Who Came to Dinner with Ryan O'Neal, stepping in for a pregnant Charlotte Rampling.

Bisset then traveled to France to star in François Truffaut's Day for Night (1973), a role that garnered her significant respect from European critics and audiences as a serious actress. The film notably won the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film. Following this, she remained in France to make Le Magnifique (1973) alongside Jean-Paul Belmondo, a major hit in France but less known in English-speaking markets. She was part of the star-studded cast in Sidney Lumet's highly successful whodunit, Murder on the Orient Express (1974). In Britain, she starred in a 1975 remake of The Spiral Staircase, then ventured to Germany for End of the Game (1975), co-starring Jon Voight. In Italy, she took the main role in Luigi Comencini's The Sunday Woman (1975) opposite Marcello Mastroianni. She returned to Hollywood to support Charles Bronson in St. Ives (1976).

In 1977, Bisset achieved widespread publicity in America with The Deep, directed by Peter Yates, who had previously directed her in Bullitt. A strategic marketing campaign that prominently featured Bisset in underwater scenes wearing only a white T-shirt contributed significantly to the film's box-office success. Producer Peter Guber famously quipped, "That T-shirt made me a rich man!" Many credit Bisset with popularizing wet T-shirt contests due to the film's imagery. However, Bisset herself expressed disappointment that the emphasis on her translucent costume overshadowed the film's technical achievements. Around the same time, a UK production from 1971, Secrets, was re-released in the United States, capitalizing on her newfound notoriety. This film contained the only extensive nude scenes of Bisset's career. By 1978, Bisset had become a household name. She received a Golden Globe nomination for Best Actress - Motion Picture Comedy for her performance alongside George Segal in Who Is Killing the Great Chefs of Europe? (1978), and also starred with Anthony Quinn in The Greek Tycoon (1978), playing a role based on Jackie Onassis. Following these successes, she made Together? (1979) in Italy with Terence Stamp and Maximilian Schell.

3.3. 1980s: Continued success and diverse roles

The 1980s saw Jacqueline Bisset command high fees for her cinematic roles, continuing to expand her diverse filmography across various genres.

During this period, Bisset's fee reportedly reached 1.00 M USD per film. She appeared in several all-star productions, including When Time Ran Out (1980), where she starred alongside Paul Newman and William Holden, and Inchon (1981), featuring Ben Gazzara. Both When Time Ran Out and Inchon were commercial failures. More popular was George Cukor's Rich and Famous (1981), in which Bisset co-starred with Candice Bergen and also served as a co-producer.

One of Bisset's most recognized roles from this era came in the 1983 coming-of-age comedy Class, where she played a married woman involved in an affair with her son's (Rob Lowe) prep school roommate (Andrew McCarthy). Bisset earned her third Golden Globe nomination for her performance in John Huston's critically acclaimed Under the Volcano (1984), this time in the Best Supporting Actress category.

In 1984, Bisset starred in the wartime drama Forbidden with Jürgen Prochnow, earning a CableACE Award nomination for Best Actress. For television, she took on the title role in Anna Karenina (1985), opposite Christopher Reeve, and appeared in an abortion-themed drama, Choices (1986). Bisset portrayed Joséphine de Beauharnais in the miniseries Napoleon and Josephine: A Love Story (1987) with Armand Assante. She also led in several comedies, including High Season (1987) and Scenes from the Class Struggle in Beverly Hills (1989), replacing Faye Dunaway due to scheduling conflicts. In between these projects, she filmed La maison de Jade (1988) in France with Vincent Perez. She concluded the decade by playing Carré Otis's boss in the erotic thriller Wild Orchid (1989), which starred Mickey Rourke.

3.4. 1990s: Focus on international and acclaimed projects

During the early 1990s, Jacqueline Bisset diversified her portfolio by engaging in projects across multiple continents, shifting towards more intimate and internationally acclaimed films.

She co-starred in Mario Monicelli's Rossini! Rossini! (1991), a biopic about the Italian composer Gioachino Rossini. She also worked with Martin Sheen on the Paris-set TV film The Maid (1991), with Elliott Gould in the Dutch miniseries Hoffman's honger (1993), with Jean-Hugues Anglade in the French-language film Les marmottes (1993), and with Japanese star Masaya Kato in the Australian TV film Crimebroker (1993). Reflecting on this period in 1994, Bisset stated, "I used to work [in the states] a lot, and then I started to go and do more of the intimate little films I wanted to do that I didn't find here. I started to have two lives, really. I was able to cover more of the ground that I wanted to as an actress. But now I need to do more things that get seen." She subsequently returned to North American screens with the TV film Leave of Absence (1994), opposite Brian Dennehy.

In 1995, Bisset received a César Award nomination for her role in the critically acclaimed French film La Cérémonie, directed by Claude Chabrol. She also appeared in several period pieces, including End of Summer (1997) by Linda Yellen, where she played a spinster in 1890s New York, and Dangerous Beauty (1998) with Catherine McCormack, portraying a retired courtesan in 16th-century Venice.

The end of the decade saw Bisset involved in two high-profile television projects. She played the Virgin Mary in Jesus and Isabelle d'Arc in the miniseries Joan of Arc, starring alongside Jeremy Sisto and Leelee Sobieski respectively. For her performance in Joan of Arc, Bisset earned a Primetime Emmy Award nomination for Best Supporting Actress. Additionally, she featured in Let the Devil Wear Black (1999), an independent film with an ensemble cast that loosely reinterpreted Shakespeare's Hamlet in a modern-day Los Angeles setting.

3.5. 2000s-present: Recent works and critical recognition

From the 2000s onwards, Jacqueline Bisset has continued to engage in a variety of film and television roles, earning further critical recognition and accolades.

In 2000, Bisset returned to the biblical genre, portraying Sarah, wife of Abraham, in In the Beginning. She took on the leading role in Christopher Münch's The Sleepy Time Gal (2001), delivering an understated performance as a terminally ill woman attempting to bring order to her life. Co-starring Nick Stahl, Seymour Cassel, and Amy Madigan, The Sleepy Time Gal premiered on SundanceTV and was recognized by the Village Voice in its annual survey of the year's best undistributed films. Bisset herself has cited this as her best work. In 2003, she appeared in the TV film America's Prince: The John F. Kennedy Jr. Story, portraying Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis. She also made guest appearances in the animated series Hey Arnold!, and live-action shows such as Ally McBeal and Law & Order: Special Victims Unit. During this period, Bisset also held key roles in independent features like Swing (2003), Latter Days (2003), and Fascination (2004).

In 2005, Bisset was seen in the Domino Harvey biographical film Domino alongside Keira Knightley, directed by Tony Scott. In the film, she played a fictionalized version of Paulene Stone (renamed "Sophie Wynn"), whom she knew personally from their modeling days in London. She filmed a cameo for Mr. & Mrs. Smith, but her scenes were ultimately cut. In 2006, Bisset had a recurring role on the FX series Nip/Tuck as the ruthless extortionist James LeBeau. Her next role was in Save the Last Dance 2 (2006), where she played the protagonist's ballet instructor. She also appeared in the Lifetime adaptation of the Nora Roberts novel Carolina Moon (2007).

Bisset starred in the lead role of Boaz Yakin's Death in Love, which premiered at the 2008 Sundance Film Festival. Her portrayal of a volatile Holocaust survivor earned her the Best Actress award at the Boston Film Festival. Later that year, she starred in An Old Fashioned Thanksgiving for the Hallmark Channel, receiving a Satellite Award nomination for Best Actress - Miniseries or Television Film. In 2009, Bisset reunited with Linda Yellen for The Last Film Festival, which marked Dennis Hopper's final screen appearance. Due to Hopper's death in 2010, the film's post-production was delayed, eventually premiering in 2016 following a crowd-funding campaign.

In 2010, Bisset was bestowed with France's highest honor, the Legion of Honour insignia, with French President Nicolas Sarkozy hailing her as "a movie icon". Later that year, she reprised her role in the sequel An Old Fashioned Christmas. Following a recurring role on Rizzoli & Isles from 2011 to 2012, Bisset returned to the UK to film Stephen Poliakoff's 1930s jazz drama series Dancing on the Edge, which premiered on BBC2 in 2013. For her performance, she won the Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actress - Series, Miniseries or Television Film, marking her first Golden Globe win after 14 years and five nominations. Next, she played Gérard Depardieu's wife in Welcome to New York (2014), directed by Abel Ferrara. In 2015, she co-starred with Drew Barrymore and Toni Collette in Miss You Already. The same year, she was honored with a Stanislavsky Award at the 37th Moscow International Film Festival.

Bisset had a recurring role in the American TV series Counterpart in 2017. In the independent film circuit, Bisset remained active with roles in four features in 2018: Head Full of Honey, which reunited her with her The Deep co-star Nick Nolte; Backstabbing for Beginners (opposite Ben Kingsley); Here and Now with Sarah Jessica Parker; and Asher with Famke Janssen and Ron Perlman. In 2019, she co-starred with Fabio Testi in the Lifetime movie Very Valentine.

In 2020, Bisset joined the cast of Birds of Paradise from Amazon Studios, filmed in Budapest. She also had a co-starring role in the fantasy/horror film The Lodger alongside Alice Isaaz, and plays a title role in Russell Brown's Loren & Rose (2022) with Kelly Blatz and Paul Sand. In 2022, Bisset was honored by the Coronado Island Film Festival with the "Cultural Icon Award". She is set to star with Dominic Monaghan in Long Shadows (2024), which will be her first Western film since The Life and Times of Judge Roy Bean.

4.1. Media perception and iconic status

Throughout her extensive career, Bisset has maintained a considerable presence in the media, gracing over 300 magazine covers. In 1977, coinciding with the release of her film The Deep, Newsweek magazine hailed her as "the most beautiful film actress of all time." In 1989, the year she headlined Paul Bartel's provocative comedy Scenes from the Class Struggle in Beverly Hills, the New York Daily News published an article about her titled "Bad Girl Bisset," reflecting her daring roles. In 2010, Bisset became a prominent face in broadcast and print advertisements for Avon's Anew Platinum line of skin care, further cementing her image in popular culture.

The wet T-shirt scene from The Deep became one of the most iconic images of the 1970s and is still widely discussed. Despite Bisset's own disappointment that the marketing emphasized her translucent costume over the film's technical achievements, this image notably contributed to the popularization of wet T-shirt contests.

4.2. Influence on popular culture

Jacqueline Bisset's influence extends beyond her film roles into various aspects of popular culture. She is referenced in the song "Clifton in the Rain" from Al Stewart's album Bed-Sitter Images. Her name has also appeared in television programs, including the "Bar Bet" episode of NBC's Cheers, and two cable television shows starring Garry Shandling: It's Garry Shandling's Show and The Larry Sanders Show.

Interestingly, despite her prominent status as a heterosexual sex symbol, Bisset has inadvertently cultivated a dedicated gay fanbase, a fact she reportedly remained unaware of for many years. According to Forbes, the origins of this following can be traced back to as early as 1968, when she played the widow of a bisexual suicide in The Detective. Subsequently, several of her films have featured LGBT characters, from The Grasshopper to Loren & Rose, and Bisset herself portrayed an LGBT character during her recurring role on Nip/Tuck.

5.1. Relationships and family

Bisset has never married, but she has been involved in several long-term romantic relationships throughout her life. Her notable partners have included Canadian actor Michael Sarrazin, Moroccan real estate magnate Victor Drai, Russian dancer and actor Alexander Godunov, Swiss actor Vincent Perez, and Turkish martial arts instructor Emin Boztepe.

In interviews, Bisset has frequently been asked about her decision not to marry or have children. At the age of 32, she stated to the press, "I couldn't in all conscience do what I do and have children. Could you imagine being the daughter of Raquel Welch? I've heard such horror stories, about the children in Hollywood." Despite not having her own biological children, Bisset acted as a de facto stepmother in two of her past relationships, as both Sarrazin and Boztepe had children from previous relationships before meeting her. Bisset is also the godmother to actress Angelina Jolie, stemming from her close friendship with Jolie's parents, Jon Voight and Marcheline Bertrand. However, she has reportedly stated in interviews that she now has minimal contact with Jolie.

5.2. Personal views

Jacqueline Bisset has occasionally voiced her opinions on social matters. In February 2025, she was reported by Page Six to have expressed a degree of skepticism concerning the #MeToo movement. Her reported comments indicated she was "very unsympathetic to these stories," referring to accounts of sexual abuse and sexual harassment that women, particularly in Hollywood, shared during the movement. This stance contrasted with the broader advocacy for accountability and victim support that characterized the movement.

6.1. Film

6.2. Television