Person Biography:
Dany Saval, a renowned French actress, was born Danielle Nadine Suzanne Savalle on January 5, 1942, in Paris. Born into humble surroundings, her father was a factory laborer who had been a German POW before her birth. She began training in dance at a young age and grew into a beautiful young adult.
Saval's early career included a stint as a Can-Can girl at the Moulin Rouge. She made her film debut in 1958 in the movie "Girl and the River" and quickly gained recognition for her roles in films such as "Les tricheurs" and "La verte moisson". She continued to rise in French movie stature with films like "La dragée haute", "Pierrot la tendresse", and "The Seven Deadly Sins".
In 1962, a Disney talent scout discovered Saval and she was introduced to American film audiences in the sci-fi comedy "Moon Pilot". Although the film was a box-office disappointment, she returned to France and continued to enhance various film genres.
Saval did not return to American filming until the mid-1960s when she was cast in the comedy "Boeing, Boeing" alongside Tony Curtis and Jerry Lewis. She was briefly married to Roger Chaland and later married three-time Oscar-winning composer Maurice Jarre, with whom she had a daughter.
Saval semi-retired from acting to focus on her family, but returned to acting in the 1970s, focusing on French TV and occasional films. She married her third husband, Michel Drucker, in 1972 and retired from acting in 1987 to live quietly in Paris.
