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Denise Filiatrault
Actor, Director, WriterBorn May 16, 1931 (93 years)
Denise Filiatrault (born May 16, 1931) is a Canadian actress and director.
She attained star status on TV in the 1960s, co-starring with Dominique Michel in the Radio-Canada television series Moi et l'autre (1967–71) and in many editions of Radio-Canada's annual New Year's special, Bye Bye. She had further success in Chez Denise (1978–1982), Le 101, avenue des Pins (1984–85) and Denise... aujourd'hui (1990–91).
In addition to her television career, Filiatrault also performed in films and on stage, notably in works by Michel Tremblay. She was known to perform both comic and dramatic roles, such as Gilles Carle's The Death of a Lumberjack (La Mort d'un bûcheron) in 1973, André Brassard's film version of Tremblay's Once Upon a Time in the East (Il était une fois dans l'Est) in 1974, Denys Arcand's Gina in 1975, Claude Fournier's Far from You Sweetheart (Je suis loin de toi mignonne) in 1976, Fantastica in 1980 and Carle's The Plouffe Family (Les Plouffe) in 1981, playing the tormented Cécile.
Following Les Plouffe, Filiatrault took a break from film, concentrating more in writing and directing for theatre and summer comedy. Filiatrault then decided to take the leap to directing cinema by adapting Tremblay's novel C't'à ton tour, Laura Cadieux into the 1998 film It's Your Turn, Laura Cadieux, presenting the world of overweight women yearning for love and affection. Filiatrault opted for a simple yet effective style that showcased the talents of the film's strong female leads. This dramatic comedy scored such success that Filiatrault wrote and directed the 1999 sequel Laura Cadieux II (Laura Cadieux... la suite), in which she further developed the characters and their world.
In 2002, she produced a new comedy fantasy, Alice's Odyssey (L'Odyssée d'Alice Tremblay), which received a lukewarm response from critics and moviegoers. In 2003, taking advantage of the success of her motion picture characters, Filiatrault produced a television miniseries for TVA, Le Petit monde de Laura Cadieux (2003), before tackling a new film Bittersweet Memories (Ma vie en cinémascope) (2004), a dramatic biography of 1930s-1950s singer Alys Robi (played by Pascale Bussières).
As artistic director of the Théâtre du Rideau Vert, she and the theatre were criticized in January 2015 by a coalition of Montreal arts groups for a year-end production in which a Caucasian actor portrayed hockey player P.K. Subban in blackface. Filiatrault responded that she was "shocked, outraged, and humiliated" by the reaction, saying that she had been in show business for 60 years and was the first person to hire a black Quebecer on television.
She attained star status on TV in the 1960s, co-starring with Dominique Michel in the Radio-Canada television series Moi et l'autre (1967–71) and in many editions of Radio-Canada's annual New Year's special, Bye Bye. She had further success in Chez Denise (1978–1982), Le 101, avenue des Pins (1984–85) and Denise... aujourd'hui (1990–91).
In addition to her television career, Filiatrault also performed in films and on stage, notably in works by Michel Tremblay. She was known to perform both comic and dramatic roles, such as Gilles Carle's The Death of a Lumberjack (La Mort d'un bûcheron) in 1973, André Brassard's film version of Tremblay's Once Upon a Time in the East (Il était une fois dans l'Est) in 1974, Denys Arcand's Gina in 1975, Claude Fournier's Far from You Sweetheart (Je suis loin de toi mignonne) in 1976, Fantastica in 1980 and Carle's The Plouffe Family (Les Plouffe) in 1981, playing the tormented Cécile.
Following Les Plouffe, Filiatrault took a break from film, concentrating more in writing and directing for theatre and summer comedy. Filiatrault then decided to take the leap to directing cinema by adapting Tremblay's novel C't'à ton tour, Laura Cadieux into the 1998 film It's Your Turn, Laura Cadieux, presenting the world of overweight women yearning for love and affection. Filiatrault opted for a simple yet effective style that showcased the talents of the film's strong female leads. This dramatic comedy scored such success that Filiatrault wrote and directed the 1999 sequel Laura Cadieux II (Laura Cadieux... la suite), in which she further developed the characters and their world.
In 2002, she produced a new comedy fantasy, Alice's Odyssey (L'Odyssée d'Alice Tremblay), which received a lukewarm response from critics and moviegoers. In 2003, taking advantage of the success of her motion picture characters, Filiatrault produced a television miniseries for TVA, Le Petit monde de Laura Cadieux (2003), before tackling a new film Bittersweet Memories (Ma vie en cinémascope) (2004), a dramatic biography of 1930s-1950s singer Alys Robi (played by Pascale Bussières).
As artistic director of the Théâtre du Rideau Vert, she and the theatre were criticized in January 2015 by a coalition of Montreal arts groups for a year-end production in which a Caucasian actor portrayed hockey player P.K. Subban in blackface. Filiatrault responded that she was "shocked, outraged, and humiliated" by the reaction, saying that she had been in show business for 60 years and was the first person to hire a black Quebecer on television.
Known For
Filmography
| 2024 | Sisters and Neighbors! · as Madame Tremblay |
| 2019 | Compulsive Liar · as Chauffeure Uber |
| 2017 | It's the Heart That Dies Last · as Mme Lapierre |
| 2016 | True North (TV Series) · as Stéphanie Poudrier |
| 2012 | Laurence Anyways · as Restaurant Manager |
| 2003 | Star Academy (TV Series) · as Scene Expression Teacher |
| 1991 | Nelligan · as Mère Supérieure |
| 1988 | Les Tisserands du Pouvoir (TV Series) · as Emma Leclair |
| 1984 | The Crime of Ovide Plouffe · as Soeur D'ovide |
| 1984 | Black Sequence (TV Series) · as Cast |
| 1983 | Effraction · as La Barmaid De L'établissement De Nuit |
| 1981 | The Plouffe Family · as Cécile |
| 1980 | Fantastica · as Emma |
| 1979 | Au revoir à lundi · as The Airline Lady |
| 1979 | Chez Denise (TV Series) · as Denise Dussault |
| 1977 | The Late Blossom · as Marguerite Lapointe-Beaulieu |
| 1976 | Je suis loin de toi mignonne · as Florence |
| 1976 | Mado · as Lucienne |
| 1975 | Gina · as Actress |
| 1974 | Lovely Sundays · as Angéline |
| 1974 | Le Lit... Ze Bawdy Bed · as Fabienne |
| 1974 | Par le sang des autres · as Geneviève Barthélemy |
| 1974 | Il était une fois dans l'est · as Hélène |
| 1973 | The Death of a Lumberjack · as Blanche Bellefeuille |
| 1973 | |
| 1968 | Bye Bye (TV Series) · as Various |
| 1966 | Me ... and the other (TV Series) · as Denise Létourneau |
| 1957 | The Wayne and Shuster Hour (TV Series) · as Cast |
| 1956 | Les belles histoires des pays d'en haut (TV Series) · as Délima |