French actress and singer Magali Noel, immortalised by Federico Fellini as the sexy icon Gradisca in his 1973 masterpiece Amarcord, has died at the age of 83, her family said Tuesday.
Born in Izmir, Turkey, to French parents in the diplomatic service, Noel left Turkey for France in 1951, and her acting career began soon after. She acted in multilingual cinema chiefly from 1951 to 1980, appearing in several works by Fellini, for whom she was a favourite performer. Noel also acted in films directed by Costa Gavras, Jean Renoir and Jules Dassin. Her career extended to television movies from roughly 1980 to 2002.
Noel's recording career began in France in 1956, and her most famous song was "Fais-moi mal, Johnny" ("Hurt me Johnny"), written by Boris Vian. One of the first rock 'n' roll songs with French lyrics, it was forbidden on the radio for a long time due to its risqué lyrics playfully describing a sadomasochistic episode.
Noel, who died in her sleep, would have turned 84 next Saturday.
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