Jean Seberg

Born Jean Dorothy Seberg November 13, 1938 in Marshalltown Iowa. She was a beautiful american actress starring in 37 films in Hollywood and Fance. Most notably known from her role as Patricia in Jean-Luc Godard's 1960 film Breathless, French title: À bout de souffle, in which she co-starred with Jean-Paul Belmondo. During the later part of the 1960s, Seberg used her high-profile image to privately voice support for the NAACP and Black Panther Party. Though she had done nothing illegal, FBI director J. Edgar Hoover considered her a threat to the American state. Her telephone was tapped and her private life was closely observed, similar to the way they did Martin Luther King Jr. She knew about this and felt chased. According to documents that had been obtained by Seberg's lawyers and were released publicly by the FBI, an unnamed agent in Los Angeles proposed to Hoover that the actress, who was several months pregnant, be discredited with a rumor that her baby's father was Black Panther leader Raymond Hewitt. Said the agent in a memo, which was dated April 27,1970: "The possible publication of Seberg's plight could cause her embarrassment and serve to cheapen her image with the general public." Hoover agreed to the plot against Seberg and in a memo to Washington her stated that Seberg was a financial supporter of the BPP (Black Panther Party) and that she needed to be neutralized. These reports were picked up by French publications, The LA Times and Newsweek. During this time Seberg was a huge star living in Paris. At 7 months pregnant on August 23, 1970 Seberg went into labor and gave birth to a girl named Nina. Sadly the baby died 2 days later. The actress claimed that the shock of reading all the false stories had caused her premature labor and led to her baby's death. Seberg proceeded with a law suit against all the publications and won an out of court settlement and public apology (To bad this apology from the FBI wasn't given to Martin Luther King Jr. or his family) Later Seberg's husband French Author diplomat Romain Gary insisted the child was his, but Seberg says she confessed that the chid was a result from an affir she had with revolutionary student Carlos Nevarra during their separation. Gary and Seberg divorced by years end and she became dependent on alcohol and prescription drugs. She had two more marriages and the latter of the two she claimed abuse.

In August 1979 Seberg went into hiding and was found dead in the backseat of her car 11 days later. The police report stated that she had taken a massive overdose of barbiturates and alcohol. A suicide note that read: "Forgive me. I can no longer live with my nerves" was found in her hand. However, it is often questioned how she could have operated a car with that amount of alcohol found in her body, and without the corrective lenses she always maintained while driving. A year later, her former husband Romain Gary committed suicide too.

Seberg remains a female icon with her timeless beauty and classic style. I loved the quirky innocent role she played in Breathless. I remember seeing her in fashion magazines and different articles on her life. I felt drawn to her the first time I saw her beautiful piercing eyes and can't imagine how it must have been to know her. Although she lived a troubled life she remains talked about and emulated in fashion today. To Mark the 50th Anniversary of the film Breathless Rialto films has acquired the US Theatrical rights to re-release the film with a new 35mm restoration which was recently unveiled at the International Film Festival. The theatrical release launches May 28th at New York film forum. I can't wait to see it!

Endless Love,
Ronnie.B