Geneviève Bujold

**Geneviève Bujold** (born 1 July 1942) is a Canadian actress. She is best known for her portrayal of Anne Boleyn in the 1969 movie _Anne of the Thousand Days_.

## Life and career

Bujold was born in Montreal, Quebec, into a Catholic French Canadian working-class family. She received a strict convent education for twelve years. After that, she entered Montreal's Conservatoire d'art dramatique. There she was trained in the great classics of French theatre. She made her stage debut as Rosine in Beaumarchais' _Le Barbier de Séville_ in 1962.

Bujold got her first major break in 1965, while on a theatrical tour in Paris. She was noticed by French director Alain Resnais, who offered her a role in his movie _La guerre est finie_, opposite Yves Montand. This led to her staying in France for a time. There she appeared in two other movies: Philippe de Broca's _Le Roi de Coeur_, opposite Alan Bates, and Louis Malle's _Le voleur_, opposite Jean-Paul Belmondo.

Back in Canada, Bujold married screenwriter/director/producer Paul Almond in 1967. She starred in three of his movies; _Isabel_ (1968), _The Act of the Heart_ (1970) and _Journey_ (1972). She won the Canadian Film Award for best actress for the first two. The couple divorced in 1973, but worked again together in _Final Assignment_ (1980) and _The Dance Goes On_ (1991). The latter also featured their son Mathew Almond (born in 1968).

Bujold appeared in Michel Brault's _Entre la mer et l'eau douce_ (1967). She appeared in Claude Jutra's _Kamouraska_ (1973), and won her third Canadian Film Award for best actress for that role.

Bujold made notable appearances on American television (_Hallmark Hall of Fame_, NBC) in George Bernard Shaw's classic plays; _Saint Joan_ in 1967, and _Caesar and Cleopatra_ in 1976, the later opposite Sir Alec Guinness. She also appeared in Jean Anouilh's _Antigone_ in 1974 (Great Performances, PBS).

International recognition came in 1969, when Bujold portrayed Anne Boleyn in Charles Jarrott's movie _Anne of the Thousand Days_, opposite Richard Burton's Henry VIII. Her performance won her the Golden Globe Award for best actress in a leading role and an Academy Award nomination in the same category. The following year, she played Cassandra in Michael Cacoyannis's movie version of _The Trojan Women_, opposite Katharine Hepburn, Vanessa Redgrave and Irene Papas.

Bujold is fluent in both French and English. She has worked steadily in the United States, Canada and France. Notable movies have included; _Earthquake_ (1974), _L'incorrigible_ (1975), _Swashbuckler_ (1976), _Obsession_ (1976), _Another man, another chance_ (1977), _Coma_ (1978), _Murder by Decree_ (1979), _Monsignor_ (1982), _Tightrope_ (1984), _Choose Me_ (1984), _Dead Ringers_ (1988), _The Moderns_ (1988), _Les noces de papier_ (1989), _Mon amie Max_ (1994), _The House of Yes_ (1997), _Eye of the Beholder_ (1999), _Finding Home_ (2003), etc.

In 1994, she was chosen to play the lead character in the popular television series _Star Trek: Voyager_. She made headlines when she quit after the first episode, finding the shooting schedule too demanding.

Geneviève Bujold has lived in Malibu, California, since 1974. She has a second son, Emmanuel (born in 1980), with companion Dennis Hastings.

## Awards

- 1967 - Prix Suzanne Bianchetti for most promising actress in _Le voleur_
- 1968 - Canadian Film Award for best actress in _Isabel_
- 1969 - Golden Globe Award for best actress in _Anne of the thousand days_
- 1970 - Canadian Film Award for best actress in _The Act of the Heart_
- 1973 - Canadian Film Award for best actress in _Kamouraska_
- 1979 - Genie Award for best supporting actress in _Murder by Decree_
- 1990 - Prix Gémeaux for best actress in _Les noces de papier_

## References

- _The Canadian Film Encyclopedia_, The Toronto Film Festival Group, November 2007.