Jean Seberg

Born in Marshalltown, Iowa on November 13, 1938, Jean Dorothy Seberg was plucked from obscure small-town Midwest life at age 17 when director Otto Preminger selected her from over 18,000 applicants to star as Joan of Arc in "Saint Joan" (1957). After starring in Preminger's adaptation of Françoise Sagan's "Bonjour Tristesse" (1958), Seberg moved to Paris, where she met avant-garde French filmmaker Jean-Luc Godard. In 1960, Seberg starred opposite Jean-Paul Belmondo in Godard's revolutionary directorial debut, "Breathless" (À bout de souffle). Playing Patricia Franchini, an American student selling the New York Herald Tribune on the Champs-Élysées, Seberg's short blonde pixie haircut, casual striped marinière shirt, sunglasses, and cool, enigmatic naturalism revolutionized screen acting, becoming the definitive visual avatar of French New Wave modernism. Throughout the 1960s, Seberg starred in acclaimed international films like Robert Rossen's "Lilith" (1964) alongside Warren Beatty and the musical western "Paint Your Wagon" (1969). A passionate champion of racial justice, Seberg contributed substantial personal funds to the NAACP, Native American school programs, and the Black Panther Party. Tragically, her civil rights activism made her the target of illegal surveillance, harassment, and defamation by the FBI's COINTELPRO operation, which manufactured false rumors that contributed to severe emotional trauma. Passing away in Paris in August 1979 at age 40, Jean Seberg remains an enduring international symbol of cinematic grace and personal courage.