14 DAY TRIAL // Iconic actress Sylvia Kristel, who starred in the first “Emmanuelle” film and all its spinoffs, has died. Her agency confirms for the New York Times that she had been battling cancer, which was also the cause of death.
Reports online suggest that she died at her home in The Hague. She was 60 years old.
At the time she landed the part in “Emmanuelle” (1974), that of the wife of a French diplomat who engages in a series of relationships and romantic encounters out of boredom, Kristel’s experience included only gigs as a model and a beauty pageant girl.
She had dreams of becoming an actress but she never imagined she would turn out to be the icon she was.
“Emmanuelle” instantly became a hit in France. Japan and the US followed, with more films and a television series being made.
Kristel’s name and image became linked to that of the protagonist of the franchise for eternity.
Some called Emmanuelle a symbol of feminism, while others were focused on, well, just the character’s obvious charms and willingness to bed almost anyone.
Kristel, on her part, came to regret her initial luck at landing the part, when she realized that, whatever project she took on, the focus would still be on her looks and not her performance, the aforementioned media outlet says.
“Kristel was ambivalent about her experience making the films; they allowed her to travel and opened doors for her as an actress, she said, and it was hard not to be proud of a film that so many people had seen. But the career that grew out of them was not what she had planned or hoped for,” the NY Times writes.
Towards the end of her life, the actress was at peace with her Emmanuelle, after learning to see the half of the glass that’s full.
“The series allowed me to paint for a year and live in peace. And I think that justifies the means,” she said in 2009.