Jean Seberg

Date of Birth: November 13, 1938

Zodiac Sign: Scorpio

Date of Death: August 30, 1979

Biography

Jean Dorothy Seberg was an American actress who became an international film star with a career that spanned from the late 1950s to the late 1970s. Born in Marshalltown, Iowa, Seberg gained prominence as a film actress after her breakthrough role in Otto Preminger’s “Saint Joan” (1957). Despite a rocky start with her debut film, she achieved widespread acclaim with her performance in Jean-Luc Godard’s “Breathless” (1960), which is considered one of the seminal films of the French New Wave. Throughout her career, Seberg appeared in a variety of roles in both American and European cinema. Her life off-screen, however, was often fraught with personal struggles and controversy, particularly due to her political activism and subsequent surveillance by the FBI. Jean Seberg’s tragic and untimely death in 1979 remains a subject of much speculation and intrigue.

5 Interesting Facts about Jean Seberg

1. Jean Seberg was discovered by director Otto Preminger during a nationwide talent search, beating out 18,000 other actresses for the role of Joan of Arc in “Saint Joan.”

2. She was married four times, including to French novelist and diplomat Romain Gary, with whom she had a son.

3. Seberg became a significant figure in the civil rights movement and was notably involved with the Black Panther Party, which led to her being targeted by the FBI’s COINTELPRO program.

4. Her mysterious death at the age of 40 was ruled as a probable suicide, although the circumstances surrounding it have led to numerous conspiracy theories.

5. Despite her tragic end, Seberg’s legacy endures, particularly for her role in “Breathless,” which continues to influence filmmakers and actors worldwide.

5 Most Interesting Quotes from Jean Seberg

1. “I’m enjoying the most perfect tranquillity, free from all worries, and in consequence would like to stay this way forever, in a peaceful corner of the countryside like this.”

2. “Money doesn’t buy happiness. But it does buy a better brand of misery.”

3. “I’m not afraid of life and I’m not afraid of death: Dying is the easy part.”

4. “In Paris, everybody wants to be an actor; nobody is content to be a spectator.”

5. “I know that the greatest crimes in the world are not committed by people breaking the rules but by people following the rules.”

Highest Net Worth Achieved

At the peak of her career, Jean Seberg’s net worth was estimated to be around $3 million.

Children

Jean Seberg had one son, Alexandre Diego Gary, with her second husband, Romain Gary. She also had a daughter named Nina Hart Gary, who tragically died just two days after her birth.