Dominique Wilms, born Claudine Maria Célina Wilmes, was a French model and actress who rose to fame in the 1950s. Born to French parents in the Belgian town of Montignies-sur-Sambre, in the municipality of Charleroi, she was destined for a life in the spotlight.
Abandoning her studies at the prestigious École des Beaux-Arts in Paris, Dominique instead pursued a career in modeling, working for renowned fashion designer Edouard Molyneux. Her stunning looks and charisma soon caught the attention of the director and impresario Edmond T. Gréville, who recommended her to Bernard Borderie for the female lead in his film Poison Ivy (1953).
With her striking features and long, strawberry blonde hair, Dominique bore a resemblance to the iconic Veronica Lake. She soon found herself cast as femme fatales in fashionable crime melodramas, often based on the novels of Peter Cheyney. Her frequent co-stars included the rugged expat American actor Eddie Constantine and her actor-husband Jean Gaven, with whom she appeared in two exotic adventure films set in South-East Asia: The River of Three Junks (1957) and Adventures in Indochina (1958).
As her popularity in France began to wane, Dominique ventured into Italian and German productions, taking on a range of roles, including Queen Astrid in the sword-and-sandal epic Caesar the Conqueror (1962),a secret service agent in An Ace and Four Queens (1966),and an episode of the German crime comedy Graf Yoster gibt sich die Ehre (1967).
After retiring from the entertainment industry, Dominique pursued her passion for art, studying at the Ecole du Louvre for four years before dedicating herself to painting and restoring art objects.
Dominique's marriage to Jean Gaven, her husband of 57 years, ended with his passing in 2014.
