French-British actress (1926–2024)
Yvonne Furneaux (born Elisabeth Yvonne Scatcherd; 11 May 1926 – 5 July 2024) was a French-British actress. A graduate of the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art, she worked with notable filmmakers like Peter Brook, Federico Fellini, Roman Polanski, Michelangelo Antonioni, and Claude Chabrol, as well as in several genre productions.
Early life
Furneaux was born Elisabeth Yvonne Scatcherd to English parents living in Roubaix, France on 11 May 1926.[2] Her Yorkshireman father, Joseph Scatcherd, was a director at a local branch of Lloyds Bank. Her mother, Amy Furneaux, was from Devon. She had a sister, Jeanne.
The family moved to England prior to the outbreak of World War II, and Yvonne enrolled in St Hilda's College, Oxford in 1946 to study Modern Languages, where she was known as "Tessa Scatcherd". While studying at Oxford she became involved in university theatre groups, and after graduating enrolled in the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art,[2] which she graduated from in 1951.[3]
Career
Furneaux made her stage debut at the age of 24. She played in productions of Macbeth and The Taming of the Shrew, and was photographed by Norman Parkinson as one of "The Young Look in the Theatre" for the January 1953 issue of Vogue.[2]
She made her film debut with a minor role in Anthony Pelissier's omnibus comedy Meet Me Tonight (1952). She subsequently played several supporting parts, including in Peter Brook's 1953 film version of The Beggar's Opera, the adventure films The Master of Ballantrae and The Dark Avenger, and the mystery film The House of the Arrow. She played the female lead in the Hammer horror film The Mummy.
In 1955, she starred in Michelangelo Antonioni's Le Amiche, which won the Silver Lion at the Venice Film Festival, and launched a successful parallel career in Italian cinema. She played Emma, the fiancée to Marcello Mastroianni's character, in Federico Fellini's La Dolce Vita. She played leading roles in several peplum films, and she returned to her native France to star in a pair of films for director Claude Autant-Lara (The Count of Monte Cristo and Enough Rope).
In 1965, she played the sister of Catherine Deneuve's character in Roman Polanski's psychological thriller Repulsion.
Personal life and death
Furneaux was married to cinematographer Jacques Natteau, who died on 17 April 2007. They had one son, Nicholas.[2] From 1985, she resided in Lausanne, Switzerland.
Furneaux died of complications from a stroke at her home in North Hampton, New Hampshire, on 5 July 2024, at the age of 98.[4][5]
Filmography
Film
Television
References
External links
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