Jacqueline Porel

Jacqueline Porel (1918–2012) was a French stage and film actress, best known for her role in Henri Georges Clouzot's La Verité (1960). She was also a voice actor, dubbing foreign films for release in French-speaking markets. She was married to the actors François Périer and Gérard Landry and the mother of actor Marc Porel, who died tragically in 1983.


French postcard by EPC (Editions et Publications Cinematographiques), no. 192. Photo: Studio Harcourt.


French postcard by S.E.R.P., Paris, no. 29. Photo: Studio Harcourt.

Granddaughter of Réjane

Jacqueline Renée Parfouru-Porel was born in 1918 in Divonne-les-Bains, Ain, France.

She was the daughter of author Jacques Porel and Anne-Marie Duval. Her godfather was the actor Louis Jouvet and her grandparents were the legendary actress Gabrielle Réjane and actor Paul Porel.

Jacqueline made her film debut in 1935 at the age of 17 in the comedy Les Beaux Jours/Sunny Days (Marc Allégret, 1935), starring Simone Simon, Jean-Pierre Aumont and Raymond Rouleau.

After she made her mark in the theatre, she played good supporting roles in such films as the musical Romance de Paris/Romance of Paris (Jean Boyer, 1941) starring Charles Trenet.

She played leading roles in films such as La grande meute/The Grand Pack (Jean de Limur, 1944), and the comedy Tierce à coeur/Third at Heart (Jacques de Casembroot, 1947) starring Georges Grey and Sophie Desmarets.


French postcard by Editions O.P., Paris, no. 36. Photo: Studio Piaz.


French postcard by Editions P.I., Paris, no. 122. Photo: Studio Carlet Ainé.

Brigitte Bardot's mother

After the war, Jacqueline Porel acted in the comedy-drama L'Appel du destin/The Call of Destiny (Georges Lacombe, 1953) starring Jean Marais.

According to Alexandre Carle at Les Gens du Cinéma, Porel played her best role in Henri Georges Clouzot's La Verité (1960) as the assistant to the defence lawyer (Charles Vanel) who was to take care of Brigitte Bardot.

She played Bardot's mother in Le Repos du guerrier/Love on a Pillow (Roger Vadim, 1962) and was in the all-star cast of the Emile Zola adaptation Germinal (Yves Allégret, 1963).

At the end of her career, she played in Jules Dassin's drama La Promesse de l'aube/Promise at Dawn (1970) starring Melina Mercouri. Porel has dubbed many actresses in French, including Deborah Kerr, Audrey Hepburn and Lana Turner, and has directed the French adaptation of many films. She retired in the early 1990s.

Jacqueline Porel died in 2012 in Boulogne-Billancourt, Hauts-de-Seine, France. She married and divorced actor François Périer (1941-1947), actor Gérard Landry (1948-1952)) and Jacques Brunet (1964-1968). She was the mother of actor Marc Porel with Gérard Landry, photographer Jean-Marie Périer with singer Henri Salvador and Jean-Pierre Périer-Pillu and journalist Anne-Marie Périer with François Périer.


French postcard by Editions Chantal, Rueil (S.O.), no. 29. Photo: Pathé-Cinema.


French postcard by Editions P.I., Paris, no. 83. Photo: Studio Piaz.

Sources: Alexandre Carle (Les Gens du Cinéma - French), Wikipedia (French and English) and IMDb.