Editing Simone Signoret (section)

== Career ==
During the occupation of France, Signoret mixed with an artistic group of writers and actors who met at the [[Café de Flore]] in the [[Saint-Germain-des-Prés]] quarter. By this time, she had developed an interest in acting and was encouraged by her friends, including her lover [[Daniel Gélin]] to follow her ambition. In 1942, she began appearing in bit parts and was able to earn enough money to support her mother and two brothers as her father, who was a French patriot, had fled the country in 1940 to join General [[Charles de Gaulle|De Gaulle]] in England. She took her mother's maiden name for the screen to help hide her Jewish roots.

Signoret's sensual features and earthy nature led to type-casting and she was often seen in roles as a prostitute. She won considerable attention in ''[[La Ronde (1950 film)|La Ronde]]'' (1950), a film which was banned briefly in New York City as immoral. She won further acclaim, including an acting award from the British Film Academy, for her portrayal of another prostitute, [[Amélie Élie]], in [[Jacques Becker]]'s ''[[Casque d'or]]'' (1951). She appeared in many French films during the 1950s, including ''[[Thérèse Raquin (1953 film)|Thérèse Raquin]]'' (1953), directed by [[Marcel Carné]], ''[[Les Diaboliques (film)|Les Diaboliques]]'' (1954), and ''[[The Crucible (1957 film)|The Crucible]]'' (''Les Sorcières de Salem''; 1956), based on [[Arthur Miller]]'s ''[[The Crucible]]''.
[[File:Room at the Top screenshot.jpg|thumb|left|200px|Simone Signoret with [[Laurence Harvey]] in ''[[Room at the Top (1959 film)|Room at the Top]]''; the film established her as an international actress.]]

In 1958, Signoret acted in the English independent film ''[[Room at the Top (1959 film)|Room at the Top]]'' (1959), and her performance won numerous awards, including the [[Prix d'interprétation féminine|Best Female Performance Prize]] at [[Cannes Film Festival|Cannes]] and the [[Academy Award for Best Actress]]. She was offered films in Hollywood, but turned them down for several years, continuing to work in France and England—for example, with [[Laurence Olivier]] in ''[[Term of Trial]]'' (1962). She earned another Oscar nomination for her work on ''[[Ship of Fools (film)|Ship of Fools]]'' (1965), appeared in a few other Hollywood films, and returned to France in 1969.

In 1962, Signoret translated Lillian Hellman's play ''[[The Little Foxes]]'' into French for a production in Paris that ran for six months at the Theatre Sarah-Bernhardt. She played the Regina role as well. Hellman was displeased with the production, although the translation was approved by scholars selected by Hellman.<ref>Signoret 1978, pp. 324–328.</ref>

Signoret's one attempt at Shakespeare, performing [[Macbeth|Lady Macbeth]] with [[Alec Guinness]] at the [[Royal Court Theatre]] in London in 1966 proved to be ill-advised, with some harsh critics; one referred to her English as "impossibly Gallic".<ref>Sutcliffe, Tom. [http://film.guardian.co.uk/News_Story/Guardian/0,4029,351452,00.html "Sir Alec Guinness".] ''Film Guardian'', 7 August 2000.</ref>

Signoret won acclaim for her portrayal of a weary madam in ''[[Madame Rosa]]'' (1977) and as an unmarried sister who unknowingly falls in love with her paralyzed brother via anonymous correspondence in ''{{Interlanguage link|Chère inconnue|fr|3=Chère inconnue|lt=I Sent a Letter to my Love}}'' (1980). She continued to appear in many movies before her death in 1985.