53 Years Ago, She Started on Screen with Apple Pie—Now She’s a French Acting Icon. Guess Who?

From “Manon of the Spring” to “The Beautiful Troublemaker,” “A French Woman,” “Nelly and Mr. Arnaud,” to “8 Women,” Emmanuelle Béart has established herself as a pivotal figure in French cinema, even taking a detour through Hollywood with her role in the blockbuster “Mission: Impossible.” But are you aware of the film in which the actress (who recently brought attention to incest in a crucial documentary) first showcased her talent, at the tender age of just 8 or 9 years old?

Emmanuelle Béart’s first on-screen appearance was in 1972, in René Clément’s crime drama “And Hope to Die.” Clément, a filmmaker responsible for classics such as “Purple Noon,” “Forbidden Games,” and “Is Paris Burning?,” led this international production. The story revolves around a man who, fleeing from gypsies that are hunting him, takes refuge in Montreal and joins a gang of criminals.

In “And Hope to Die,” guided by Jean-Louis Trintignant and American actor Robert Ryan, Emmanuelle Béart briefly appears at the beginning of the film as a little girl innocently eating a slice of apple pie. Alongside the young actress, whose striking blue eyes were already noticeable, were other children of the same age… A scene you can explore below.

Following “And Hope to Die,” which featured music composed by Francis Lai, Emmanuelle Béart did not appear in films for a few years. She returned as the lead in “First Desires” in 1983, and was subsequently nominated for the César Award for Most Promising Actress for her role in “A Forbidden Love.”

Her breakthrough came in 1986, at the age of 23, when Emmanuelle Béart lit up the big screen in “Manon of the Spring,” a Marcel Pagnol adaptation where she starred alongside Daniel Auteuil and Yves Montand. Almost fifteen years after her brief role eating apple pie for René Clément, her career had officially taken off…