Blonde Corrine Marchand embarked on a multifaceted career, commencing as a vocalist, where she mesmerized audiences with her performances in nightclubs, operettas, and revues. Her striking appearance also made her a successful photographic model, and she eventually transitioned to the silver screen, making her motion picture debut as an enchanting oriental dancer in the 1954 film Cadet Rousselle.
As her career progressed, Marchand secured various minor roles, but it was her iconic portrayal of Cléo Victoire, the beautiful, vain, and superstitious Parisian pop singer, in Agnès Varda's 1962 masterpiece Cléo from 5 to 7 that catapulted her to stardom. Her poignant performance as the titular protagonist, who grapples with her mortality, remains a benchmark in French New Wave cinema.
Marchand's captivating rendition of Michel Legrand's "Sans Toi", "La Joyeuse", and "La Menteuse" further elevated the film's charm. Although she never replicated this level of success, she continued to secure significant leads in various international and French productions, including Nunca pasa nada (1963),The Hour of Truth (1965),Les Sultans (1966),the Italo western Man from Nowhere (1966),the gritty Charles Bronson thriller Rider on the Rain (1970),and the rousing gangland crime drama Borsalino (1970).
Beyond her acting career, Marchand pursued a lucrative side venture as an apiarist, having graduated from the esteemed Charenton School of Beekeeping.
