her tumultuous relationship with Ursula Andress

Since the terrible stroke which struck him down in 2001, the health of Jean-Paul Belmondo was the subject of all attention. After a long convalescence which allowed him to recover a good part of his means, Jean-Paul Belmondo has always displayed his famous smile. This Monday, September 6, 2021, the sacred monster of cinema passed away at the age of 88. We remember, in 2016, an interview he gave to Europe 1. “I am not afraid of the end, I had a very good, wonderful life. I have committed a few sins, a little a lot. But I would like people to say about me that I was a good actor, that I made friends laugh, people too, that’s very good. “ Words which, today, make sense in terms of the legacy he left to French cinema.

If he leaves behind this immense legacy, Jean-Paul Belmondo, it is also the memory of a man whose loves have marked the public. Among these is the ultra-glamorous and legendary relationship he had with Swiss actress Ursula Andress, very first James Bond Girl, at the end of the 60s. An unforgettable love story, certainly, but one that was also very tumultuous. Return on one of the most striking couples of the seventh art.

Jean-Paul Belmondo and Ursula Andress: birth of a forbidden love

In 1965, Jean-Paul Belmondo turns in the film The Tribulations of a Chinese in China, directed by Philippe de Broca, alongside Ursula Andress, former James Bond Girl. Between the two actors, it is love at first sight. The small problem is that at that time, Bebel has been married to the dancer Élodie Constantin since 1959, with whom he had two children, Florence and Paul. If the actor is already taken, he cannot resist his feelings for Ursula Andress. The following year, Élodie Constantin filed for divorce. Ursula Andress, for her part, also left her partner at the time, John Derek. The two lovebirds then settle down together … For better, but especially for worse.

Read also : Jean-Paul Belmondo: death of the icon of French cinema at the age of 88.

Jean-Paul Belmondo and Ursula Andress: a tulmultuous relationship

If Jean-Paul Belmondo and Ursula Andress formed an iconic couple from the end of the 60s to the beginning of the 70s, behind the glitter, all was not rosy. During his lifetime, Bebel has already mentioned the many arguments in their relationship. In his book A thousand lives are better than one, published by Fayard editions, Jean-Paul Belmondo evoked, for example, an argument with his ex-partner one evening. While drunk, Belmondo fails to get into their locked house. “I got home, it was very late. I decided to take the ladder to go up through the window. I was going to knock when the window opened. It was Ursula who was screaming: you are not ashamed. ? She then swung the ladder and I did. ” Despite the love, the construction of a villa and the rumor of a marriage, the couple moved away and separated in 1972.

Read also : Jean-Paul Belmondo’s grandson follows in his grandfather’s footsteps and it is his spitting image

Ursula Andress never forgot Jean-Paul Belmondo

While behind the scenes the relationship seemed toxic, actress Ursula Andress has regularly spoken of her love for Jean-Paul Belmondoeven years after their separation. “He is unique in the world. We loved each other madly. I was with him day and night, for his desires, for his follies. We were totally to each other. The only thing I couldn’t stand anymore was boxing “, she confided in the columns of Ici Paris. At the time, she even admitted that she wanted to see the actor again at all costs: “I write to him from time to time. One day we will meet.” This will be done in 2014. The former lovers met again during the filming of the documentary Belmondo by Belmondo.

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