Jacqueline Sassard's illustrious career as a leading actress spanned a decade, with her journey commencing in Italy rather than her native country. At the tender age of 17, she made her mark with a featured role as the titular heroine in Alberto Lattuada's Guendalina (1957),paving the way for her future success.
This breakthrough performance earned her recognition and led to her starring in a string of popular comedies, including March's Child (1958),where she portrayed a young woman navigating a failing marriage to an older architect, played by Gabriele Ferzetti. Her outstanding performance earned her the Zulueta Prize as best actress at the San Sebastián International Film Festival in 1958.
In the black comedy Three Murderesses (1959),Sassard demonstrated her versatility, playing one of three jilted ladies plotting revenge against a caddish playboy, played by Alain Delon. The same year, she made significant forays into serious drama with Luigi Zampa's Il magistrato (1959) and Valerio Zurlini's Violent Summer (1959),set in Italy during World War II.
At the height of her popularity, Sassard graced the cover of Tempo magazine and was featured in an edition of Playboy. However, by the early 1960s, her career began to decline, with her subsequent films being of lower quality, including peplum, tawdry costume dramas, and corny musical comedies.
After a two-year hiatus, Sassard made a brief comeback with Joseph Losey's off-beat drama Accident (1967),where she played an enigmatic Austrian princess, and as one third of a ménage à trois in Les Biches (1968),alongside Stéphane Audran and Jean-Louis Trintignant.
Despite her achievements, little is known about Sassard's private life, except that she retired from the entertainment industry upon her marriage to automobile manufacturer Gianni Lancia and eventually settled in the affluent neighborhood of Saint-Jean-Cap-Ferrat in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region of southern France, far from the limelight.
