Micheline Presle turns 100! It seems that such longevity is the embodiment of the dream of millions of people. But today it is difficult to say that Micheline is happy, alone in a nursing home. And especially without her only daughter.
Micheline Presle is a born actress. As a child, she often went with her father to the cinema and the music hall. When they were on holiday, as a child, the future actress put on a show by transforming the toilet cubicles into a theatre.
Little Micheline and her younger brother Claude made “sand seats” and sold “shell seats”.
And in 1937, as a teenager, Micheline Presle, whose real name was Micheline Chassagne, made her debut in French cinema. She was directed by Pierre Caron in the film entitled “La fessée”, from which she got her pseudonym “Presle”.
Pushing her towards a great career, she became attached to it and carried it through her entire life. In fact, she had played the role of “Jacqueline Presle”, a young boarder who tries to reconcile her parents in the process of divorcing.
From then on, directors fought over her and in 1947, thanks to her role as “Marthe” in “Le diable au corps”, she became known in Hollywood. And it was in the United States that she met her future husband, William Marshall.
If Micheline Presle managed to pursue a dazzling career, it was above all because she had a clear vision of her career. Her curiosity led her to be interested in all kinds of roles and pushed her more towards comic roles. She “loves to make people laugh”.
Love life and the birth of her daughter, Tonie Marshall
Micheline Presle’s film career has not only brought her success. In fact, it is thanks to her that the actress met the men of her life. Also, while acting in “Félicie Nanteuil”, a film by Marc Allégret, in 1944, she fell in love with Louis Jourdan. The two became engaged before separating.
Then, in 1945, she married for the first time Michel Lefort, a businessman. Unfortunately, their marriage only lasted a few years. Coveted by Hollywood cinema, she signed a contract and left for the United States.
However, she did not complete her American career. Recognizing that it was “a mistake” to have signed with the Americans, she confided in an article by Lise Elina in 1961:
“I had to make a choice and I made it. “I chose my privacy.”
However, she does not regret this choice, as it teaches her to be more mature, “more reasonable” and “less dependent.” Especially since her time in Hollywood allowed her to meet her second husband, Bill Marshall, also known as William Marshall.
She married director and ex-wife Michelle Morgan in 1949 and bore him a daughter, Tonie Marshall.
Divorce of an American director and a troubled relationship with her daughter
The relationship between the famous actress and her daughter’s father has become strained over the years. Then, after Tonie was born in 1951, the couple finally divorced. Knowing that she had given up her career in France, taking it up again was not without difficulties.
As she told L’Express, she was no longer wanted, but she still regretted it. And she also regained the love of the public by acting in the television series “Les Saintes Chéries”.
It seems that it was not easy for Tonie Marshall to climb the film ladder either. Following in the footsteps of her parents, she had to overcome their fame, especially that of her famous mother.
“When you are a teenager, when you have a very brilliant and very beautiful mother and when you yourself are in the prime of your life and you are not necessarily destined to be so pretty, you have to find a kind of space. My mother was, as actors often are, self-centered.”
Bill Marshall’s daughter rightly confessed in Europe 1 that “there is more than one life in life.” Tonie’s mother knew perfectly well that it was not easy for her daughter to have to live in her shadow.
“Being recognized as Micheline Presle’s daughter and not being recognized by her father is difficult to live with… She needed to assert her personality, her uniqueness. She had to overtake me to find her own place.”
The doyenne of French cinema portrayed her in her memoirs entitled “Di(s)grésions.” She also added that although her relationship with her daughter “has been conflictive, that has not taken away the love that exists between them.”
From conflict to reconciliation between mother and daughter
Tonie had to overcome her mother’s fame and finally abandoned her acting career to devote herself to directing. And it was the wisest decision she ever made, both for her career and for her relationship with Micheline.
In the end, the love between mother and daughter overcame the conflict and they remained united. In addition, in the face of her daughter’s success, the famous Micheline Presle did not fail to express her pride.
“By embarking on writing and directing, Tonie forged her own path completely alone. (…) everything depended on her, I am very proud and happy about it,”
confided the French actress, who lived happily until the death of her only daughter. After battling a “long illness,” the talented director finally succumbed, leaving her mother mired in grief.
At 100 years old, Micheline buried her daughter and now lives in a nursing home
Micheline was lucky enough to be able to work with her daughter. In fact, we can see her in “Tu veux ou tu veux pas,” in “Rue Mandar,” in “Louise et Chantal,” as well as in “Thelma,” films directed by Tonie.
Unfortunately, their collaboration ended and the woman who celebrated her 100th birthday on August 22 had to bury her son. Tonie Marshall, who received an honorary César, died on March 12, 2020, at the age of 68.
Although the terrible event affected her deeply, Micheline Presle continues to appreciate life.
“Until the end I will love life, I have always loved it.”
She also confessed this to Le Figaro.
The newspaper interviewed her in the nursing home where she now lives and where she “often thinks” of her “baby” (her daughter, Tonie Marshall) and misses her.
Given such a long and beautiful life journey, as she herself said, it is “miraculous” that “she is still here.” And we hope she enjoys it more.
