Editing Jean Seberg

{{short description|American actress (1938–1979)}}
{{For|the musical|Jean Seberg (musical){{!}}''Jean Seberg'' (musical)}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=December 2023}}
{{Infobox person
| name               = Jean Seberg
| image              = Jean Seberg 1969.jpg
| image_size         = 
| alt                = A black-and-white photograph of a woman wearing a headscarf, staring off to the side with her mouth agape.
| caption            = Seberg in 1969
| birth_name         = Jean Dorothy Seberg
| birth_date         = {{birth date|1938|11|13|mf=yes}}
| birth_place        = [[Marshalltown, Iowa]], U.S.
| death_date         = {{death date and age|1979|08|30|1938|11|13|mf=yes}}
| death_place        = Paris, France
| death_cause        = Probable suicide<ref name="Coates-Smith">{{cite book|last1=Coates-Smith|first1=Michael|last2=McGee|first2=Garry|title=The Films of Jean Seberg|date=2012|publisher=McFarland|page=8|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=7JjyHTthybAC&pg=PA8|access-date=November 26, 2016|quote=Final cause of death was left as 'probable suicide,' ...|isbn=978-0-7864-9022-6}}</ref>
| resting_place      = [[Montparnasse Cemetery]]
| body_discovered    = September 8, 1979
| alma_mater         = [[University of Iowa]]
| occupation         = Actress
| years_active       = 1957–1979
| spouse             = {{plainlist|
* {{marriage|François Moreuil|1958|1960|end=divorced}}
* {{marriage|[[Romain Gary]]|1962|1970|end=divorced}}
* {{marriage|[[Dennis Berry (director)|Dennis Berry]]|1972}}
}}
| partner            = Ahmed Hasni (1979)<ref>[https://www.nytimes.com/1979/09/15/archives/fbi-admits-planting-a-rumor-to-discredit-jean-seberg-in-1970-former.html "F.B.I. Admits Planting a Rumor To Discredit Jean Seberg in 1970"] ''The New York Times'',  September 15, 1979.</ref>
| children           = 2 (1 deceased)
}}

'''Jean Dorothy Seberg''' ({{IPAc-en|ˈ|s|iː|b|ɜːr|g}};<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.loc.gov/nls/about/organization/standards-guidelines/qrst/#s|title=Say How: S|publisher=National Library Service for the Blind and Physically Handicapped (NLS)}}</ref> {{IPA|fr|ʒin sebɛʁɡ|lang}};<ref>Archived at [https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/youtube/20211211/ib1OMh5fTkQ Ghostarchive]{{cbignore}} and the [https://web.archive.org/web/20200212155544/https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ib1OMh5fTkQ Wayback Machine]{{cbignore}}: {{cite web|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ib1OMh5fTkQ&t=1m35s|title=Breathless / À bout de souffle (1960) – Trailer (english subtitles)|publisher=UniFrance|date=November 20, 2014|access-date=August 31, 2019}}{{cbignore}}</ref> November 13, 1938{{spaced ndash}}August 30, 1979) was an American actress. She is considered an icon of the [[French New Wave]] as a result of her performance in [[Jean-Luc Godard]]'s 1960 film [[Breathless (1960 film)|''Breathless'']].<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.indiewire.com/2018/03/kristen-stewart-jean-seberg-casting-against-all-enemies-1201939409/|title=Kristen Stewart to Play 'Breathless' Star and French New Wave Icon Jean Seberg in 'Against All Enemies'|last=Sharf|first=Zack|date=March 14, 2018|website=IndieWire|language=en|access-date=2019-02-11}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://deadline.com/2018/03/kristen-stewart-jean-seberg-movie-against-all-enemies-cast-1202337767/|title=Kristen Stewart To Play Icon Jean Seberg In Political Thriller 'Against All Enemies'; Jack O'Connell, Anthony Mackie Also Star|last=Tartaglione|first=Nancy|date=March 14, 2018|website=Deadline|language=en|access-date=2019-02-11}}</ref>

Seberg appeared in 34 films in the United States and Europe, including ''[[Saint Joan (1957 film)|Saint Joan]]'', ''[[Bonjour Tristesse (1958 film)|Bonjour Tristesse]]'', ''[[Lilith (film)|Lilith]]'', ''[[The Mouse That Roared (film)|The Mouse That Roared]]'', ''[[Breathless (1960 film)|Breathless]]'', ''[[Moment to Moment]]'', ''[[A Fine Madness]]'', ''[[Paint Your Wagon (film)|Paint Your Wagon]]'', ''[[Airport (1970 film)|Airport]]'', ''[[Macho Callahan]]'', and ''[[Gang War in Naples]]''. Seberg was among the best-known targets of the [[FBI]]'s [[COINTELPRO]] project.<ref>{{cite news|title=The Jean Seberg Affair Revisited|date=March 22, 2009|work=Los Angeles Times}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|title=FBI 'persecution led to suicide' of actress Jean Seberg|work=The Australian|date=August 24, 2009}}</ref> Her targeting was in retaliation for her support of the [[Black Panther Party]], a smear directly ordered by [[J. Edgar Hoover]].<ref name="NYT19810712">{{cite news|last=Maslin|first=Janet|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1981/07/12/books/star-and-victim.html|title=Star and Victim|work=The New York Times|date=July 12, 1981|access-date=July 12, 2020}}</ref><ref name="LAT2002">{{cite news|last=Jallon|first=Allan M.|url=http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/thedailymirror/2009/03/the-jean-seberg.html|title=A journalistic lapse allowed the FBI to smear actress Jean Seberg|work=Los Angeles Times|date=April 14, 2002|access-date=July 12, 2020}}</ref>{{Verify source|date=August 2024|reason=Cannot find linked article in blog archives}}

Seberg died at the age of 40 in Paris, the French police ruling her death a probable suicide.<ref name="Coates-Smith"/> Seberg's second ex-husband, [[Romain Gary]], called a press conference shortly after her body was found, at which he blamed the FBI's campaign against Seberg for her mental demise. Gary mentioned how the FBI had planted false rumors in the media that Seberg's pregnancy by Carlos Navarra in 1970 was by a Black Panther, and how the trauma had resulted in her overdosing on sleeping pills while pregnant. Gary stated that Seberg had attempted suicide on numerous anniversaries of the infant's death, August 25.<ref name="lakeland">{{cite news|url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=LWVRAAAAIBAJ&pg=4580,1035973|title=Jean Seberg not reason for novelist's suicide, note says|date=December 4, 1980|work=Lakeland Ledger|page=12D|access-date=December 2, 2012}}</ref> At the time of her death, Seberg was separated{{Mdash}}though not divorced{{Mdash}}from third husband [[Dennis Berry (director)|Dennis Berry]].

==Early life==
Seberg was born in [[Marshalltown, Iowa]], the daughter of Dorothy Arline (née Benson), a substitute teacher, and Edward Waldemar Seberg, a pharmacist.<ref>{{cite news| url=https://www.nytimes.com/1979/09/09/archives/jean-seberg-found-dead-in-paris-actress-was-missing-for-10-days-a.html|work=The New York Times|title=Jean Seberg Found Dead in Paris; Actress Was Missing for 10 Days; A Life of Personal Tragedy|date=September 9, 1979|access-date=May 6, 2010}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1980/11/30/archives/the-seberg-tragedy-jean-seberg.html|work=The New York Times|title=The Seberg Tragedy; Jean Seberg|date=November 30, 1980|access-date=May 6, 2010|first=Mel|last=Gussow}}</ref><ref name=lea>{{cite web |url=http://www.genealogi.se/shf9731.htm |title=Fler kända svenskamerikaner |first=Bo |last=Lindwall |date=August 24, 1998 |access-date=2012-04-10 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120311034506/http://www.genealogi.se/shf9731.htm |archive-date=March 11, 2012 }}</ref> Her family was [[Lutheranism|Lutheran]] and of Swedish, English, and German ancestry.<ref name=lea/><ref>{{cite news| url=https://www.nytimes.com/1957/04/07/archives/evolution-of-a-new-saint-joan-jean-seberg-18-unknown-and-barely.html|work=The New York Times|title=Evolution of a New Saint Joan; Jean Seberg, 18, unknown and barely tried, illustrates how a star is made, if not born|date=April 7, 1957|access-date=May 6, 2010|first=Gilbert|last=Millstein}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.alice-miller.com/articles_en.php?lang=en&nid=55&grp=11|title=Preface to From Rage to Courage|website=Alice-miller.com|date=November 13, 2009|access-date=October 14, 2017}}</ref> Seberg had a sister, Mary-Ann, and two brothers, Kurt and David, the younger of whom was killed in a car accident at the age of 18 in 1968.<ref name=":0">{{Cite web|date=May 15, 2020|title=The Shocking True Story Behind Kristen Stewart's Seberg Is Stranger Than Fiction|url=https://www.eonline.com/news/1151914/the-shocking-true-story-behind-kristen-stewart-s-seberg-is-stranger-than-fiction|access-date=2021-05-05|website=E! Online}}</ref>

Her paternal grandfather, Edward Carlson, arrived in the U.S. in 1882 and observed, "there are too many Carlsons in the New World." He changed the family surname to Seberg in memory of the water and mountains of Sweden.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://docublogger.typepad.com/seberg/jean-trivia/|title=Movie Star|website=Movie Star|access-date=October 14, 2017}}</ref>

In Marshalltown, Seberg babysat Mary Supinger, some eight years her junior, who became stage and film actress [[Mary Beth Hurt]]. After high school, Seberg enrolled at the [[University of Iowa]] to study dramatic arts but took up filmmaking instead.<ref>"At the time I was due to audition for Preminger, I was enrolled to study dramatic art at the State University of Iowa, my eventual goal being stardom on [[Broadway theatre|Broadway]], hopefully."<br />Seberg in ''[[Films and Filming]]'', p. 13, June 1974.<!-- ISSN/ISBN needed --></ref>

==Film career==
Seberg made her film debut in the title role of [[Joan of Arc]] in ''[[Saint Joan (1957 film)|Saint Joan]]'' (1957), based on the [[George Bernard Shaw]] play, having been chosen from among 18,000 hopefuls by director [[Otto Preminger]] in a $150,000 talent search. Her name was entered by a neighbor.<ref name=":0" /><ref name="cinderella">"Seberg: Real-life Cinderella" by Peer J. Oppenheimer, ''[[The Palm Beach Post]]'', April 28, 1957, p. 11</ref>

When she was cast on October 21, 1956, Seberg's only acting experience had been a single season of [[Summer stock theatre|summer stock]] performances.<ref>"'Saint Joan' Chosen", ''[[The Spokesman-Review]]'', October 22, 1956, p. 1</ref> The film generated a great deal of publicity, but Seberg commented that she was "embarrassed by all the attention."<ref name="cinderella"/> Despite great hype, called in the press a "''[[Pygmalion (play)|Pygmalion]]'' experiment", both the film and Seberg received poor reviews.<ref name="chance">"Second Chance for Jean", ''[[The Age]]'', October 8, 1957, p. 13</ref> On the failure, she later told the press:<blockquote>I am the greatest example of a very real fact, that all the publicity in the world will not make you a movie star if you are not also an actress.<ref name=":0" /></blockquote>She also recounted:

<blockquote>I have two memories of ''Saint Joan''. The first was being burned at the stake in the picture. The second was being burned at the stake by the critics. The latter hurt more. I was scared like a rabbit and it showed on the screen. It was not a good experience at all. I started where most actresses end up.<ref name="sinner">"Jean Seberg Failed As Saint On Screen, Scores Success In France As A Sinner" by Bob Thomas, ''[[The Blade (Toledo)|The Blade]]'', August 6, 1961, p. 2</ref></blockquote>

Preminger promised her a second chance,<ref name="chance"/> and he cast Seberg in his next film, ''[[Bonjour Tristesse (1958 film)|Bonjour Tristesse]]'' (1958), which was filmed in France. Preminger told the press: "It's quite true that, if I had chosen [[Audrey Hepburn]] instead of Jean Seberg, it would have been less of a risk, but I prefer to take the risk. [..] I have faith in her. Sure, she still has things to learn about acting, but so did [[Kim Novak]] when she started."<ref name="chance"/> Seberg again received negative reviews and the film nearly ended her career.<ref name="sinner"/>
{{box quote|width=30em|bgcolor=cornsilk|fontsize=100%|salign=center|quote="The only problem I had at the time was that Columbia insisted I use Jean Seberg…Jean had just done ''[[Saint Joan (1957 film)|Saint Joan]]'' (1957) and ''[[Bonjour Tristesse (1958 film)|Bonjour Tristesse]]'' (1958), fresh from her indoctrination by director [[Otto Preminger]] into film acting. Preminger was a screamer and yeller. He waited until he got her into hysterics, then he'd turn the camera on. I don't yell and scream and this was a new experience for her. Sometimes it took twenty [takes] to get it but we got it…She went on to be quite a good actress." —Filmmaker [[Jack Arnold (director)|Jack Arnold]], on directing Seberg in ''[[The Mouse That Roared (film)|The Mouse That Roared]]''.<ref>Reemes, 1988 p. 128: Ellipsis for brevity, clarity, no change in meaning.</ref>}}
Seberg renegotiated her contract with Preminger and signed a long-term contract with [[Columbia Pictures]]. Preminger had an option to use her on another film, but they never again worked together. Her first Columbia film was the successful comedy ''[[The Mouse That Roared (film)|The Mouse That Roared]]'' (1959), starring [[Peter Sellers]].<ref>Michael Coates-Smith, Garry McGee, ''The Films of Jean Seberg'' (Jefferson NC: McFarland, 2014), 28–33. {{ISBN|9780786490226}}</ref>

[[Mylène Demongeot]] recalled in a 2015 filmed interview in Paris: "Otto had high hopes in Jean and ''Saint Joan''<nowiki/>'s failure took a toll on him also because there was a 5-films-contract from what I recall. She was extremely sad too about it and when we all arrived on the set of ''Bonjour Tristesse'' she carried on her shoulders the weight of guilt, she was scared. And with that type of man, of character [Preminger] she shouldn't have shown fear, that's why I got along with him. I was a supporting role, I didn't have the weight of the expected success of the film on my shoulders. I had no apprehension regarding him. When he screamed, I would turn and tell him [sarcastically] "you know, you shouldn't screech like that, you gonna get yourself a stroke". Such words would defuse him. On the contrary, Jean was scared of him so he would take advantage and eventually became very mean to her."<ref name=":02">Archived at [https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/youtube/20211211/-I-cqo6QES8 Ghostarchive]{{cbignore}} and the [https://web.archive.org/web/20211026224550/https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-I-cqo6QES8 Wayback Machine]{{cbignore}}: {{Cite news|date=July 5, 2015|title=Rencontre avec mylène demongeot|work=Mac Mahon Filmed Conferences Paris|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-I-cqo6QES8|access-date=October 24, 2021}}{{cbignore}}</ref>

===''Breathless'' and French career===
During the filming of ''Bonjour Tristesse'', Seberg met François Moreuil, the man who was to become her first husband, and she then based herself in France, finally achieving success as the [[free-love]] heroine of [[French New Wave]] films.<ref name="sinner"/>

She appeared as the female lead in [[Jean-Luc Godard]]'s ''[[Breathless (1960 film)|Breathless]]'' (French title: ''À bout de souffle'', 1960) as Patricia, co-starring with [[Jean-Paul Belmondo]]. The film became an international success and critics praised Seberg's performance; film critic and director [[François Truffaut]] even hailed her as "the best actress in Europe."<ref name="tragedy">Charles Champlin. "Jean Seberg: A Hollywood tragedy", ''[[The Modesto Bee]]'', September 16, 1979, pg. F6</ref> Despite her achievements, Seberg did not identify with her characters or the film plots, saying that she was "making films in France about people [I'm] not really interested in."<ref name="sinner"/> Back in the U.S., she made another film for Columbia, the crime drama ''[[Let No Man Write My Epitaph]]'' (1960).

In France, after appearing in ''[[Time Out for Love]]'' (''[[:fr:Les Grandes Personnes (film, 1961)|Les grandes personnes]]'', 1961), Seberg took the lead role in Moreuil's directorial debut, ''[[Love Play]]'' (''[[:fr:La Récréation (film, 1961)|La Recréation]]'', also 1961). By that time, Seberg had become estranged from Moreuil, and she recollected that production was "pure hell" and that he "would scream at [her]."<ref name="sinner"/> She followed with ''[[Five Day Lover]]'' (''[[:fr:L'Amant de cinq jours|L'amant de cinq jours]]'', 1962), ''[[Congo vivo]]'' (1962) and ''[[In the French Style]]'' (1963), a French-American film featuring [[Stanley Baker]] released through Columbia. She also appeared in the anthology film ''[[The World's Most Beautiful Swindlers]]'' (''Les plus belles escroqueries du monde'', 1963) and ''[[Backfire (1964 film)|Backfire]]'' (''[[:fr:Échappement libre|Échappement libre]]'', 1964), which reunited her with [[Jean-Paul Belmondo]].

Seberg starred with [[Warren Beatty]] in the American film ''[[Lilith (film)|Lilith]]'' (1964) for Columbia, which prompted the critics to acknowledge Seberg as a serious actress.<ref name="tragedy"/> She returned to France to make romantic crime drama ''[[Diamonds Are Brittle]]'' (''[[:fr:Un milliard dans un billard|Un milliard dans un billard]]'', 1965).

===Return to Hollywood===
In the late 1960s, Seberg was increasingly based in Hollywood. ''[[Moment to Moment]]'' (1965) was mostly filmed in Los Angeles; only a small part of the film was shot on the French [[Cote d'Azur]].<ref>{{cite book |last1=Coates-Smith |first1=Michael |last2=McGee |first2=Garry |title=The Films of Jean Seberg |date=2014 |publisher=McFarland |isbn=978-0-7864-9022-6 |page=77 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=7JjyHTthybAC |access-date=February 24, 2019 |language=en}}</ref> In New York City, she acted in the comedy ''[[A Fine Madness]]'' (1966) with [[Sean Connery]] and under the direction of [[Irvin Kershner]].<ref>{{cite book |last1=Coates-Smith |first1=Michael |last2=McGee |first2=Garry |title=The Films of Jean Seberg |date=2014 |publisher=McFarland |isbn=978-0-7864-9022-6 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=7JjyHTthybAC&pg=PA102 |access-date=February 24, 2019 |language=en}}</ref>

In 1966 and 1967, Seberg played the leading roles in two French films directed by [[Claude Chabrol]] and co-starring [[Maurice Ronet]]. In February and March 1966, she starred in ''[[Line of Demarcation (film)|Line of Demarcation]]'', filmed around [[Dole, Jura]],<ref>{{cite book |last1=Coates-Smith |first1=Michael |last2=McGee |first2=Garry |title=The Films of Jean Seberg |date=2014 |publisher=McFarland |isbn=978-0-7864-9022-6 |page=107 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=7JjyHTthybAC |access-date=February 24, 2019 |language=en}}</ref> and in May and June 1967, she played the lead role in the French-Italian [[Eurospy film]] ''[[The Road to Corinth]]'', shot in Greece.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Coates-Smith |first1=Michael |last2=McGee |first2=Garry |title=The Films of Jean Seberg |date=2014 |publisher=McFarland |isbn=978-0-7864-9022-6 |page=116 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=7JjyHTthybAC |access-date=February 24, 2019 |language=en}}</ref>

After making the crime drama ''[[Pendulum (1969 film)|Pendulum]]'' with [[George Peppard]] (1969), Seberg appeared in her only [[musical film]], ''[[Paint Your Wagon (film)|Paint Your Wagon]]'' (also 1969), based on [[Lerner and Loewe]]'s stage musical and co-starring [[Lee Marvin]] and [[Clint Eastwood]]. Her singing voice was dubbed by [[Anita Gordon]].<ref>{{cite book|title=Music of the Postwar Era|last=Tyler|first=Don|year=2008|publisher=[[Greenwood Publishing Group|Greenwood Press]]|location=United States of America|isbn=978-0-313-34191-5|page=152|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=slHsWvLKB5sC&pg=PA152|access-date=June 25, 2010|quote=Marvin and Eastwood sang, but Miss Seberg's vocals were dubbed by Anita Gordon.}}</ref> Seberg also starred in the [[Ensemble cast|ensemble]] [[disaster film]] ''[[Airport (1970 film)|Airport]]'' (1970), which drew mixed reviews but was a huge success at the box office.

===Later career===

Seberg acted in the western ''[[Macho Callahan]]'' (1970) and the violent crime drama ''[[Kill! Kill! Kill! Kill!]]'' (1971), but both films were failures. In 1972, she appeared in ''[[Gang War in Naples]]'', which was successful in Europe but not in the United States.

[[File:Camorra Jean Seberg.png|thumb|left|upright=1|Seberg in ''[[Gang War in Naples]]'' (1972)]]
Seberg was [[François Truffaut]]'s first choice for the central role of Julie in ''[[Day for Night (film)|Day for Night]]'' (''[[:fr:La Nuit américaine (film)|La Nuit américaine]]'', 1973), but after several fruitless attempts to contact her, he gave up and cast British actress [[Jacqueline Bisset]] instead.<ref>{{cite book|first=Garry|last=McGee|title=Jean Seberg – Breathless|publisher=BearManor Media|location=Albany, GA|year=2008|isbn=978-1-59393-127-8|page=238}}</ref>

Seberg's last American film appearance was in the TV movie ''[[Mousey]]'' (1974). She remained active during the 1970s in European films, appearing in ''[[White Horses of Summer]]'' (''Bianchi cavalli d'Agosto'') (1975), ''[[The Big Delirium]]'' (''[[:fr:Le Grand Délire|Le Grand Délire]]'', 1975, with husband [[Dennis Berry (director)|Dennis Berry]]) and ''[[:de:Die Wildente (1976)|Die Wildente]]'' (1976, based on Ibsen's ''[[The Wild Duck]]''<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0075430/|title=The Wild Duck|date=April 28, 1977|access-date=October 14, 2017|website=IMDb.com}}</ref>).

At the time of Seberg's death, she was working on the French film ''[[Operation Leopard]]'' (''La Légion saute sur Kolwezi'', 1980), which was based upon the book by [[:fr:Pierre Sergent (militaire)|Pierre Sergent]].<ref>{{cite book |last=Sergent |first=Pierre |author-link=:fr:Pierre Sergent (militaire) |title=La Legion saute sur Kolwezi: Opération Léopard: le 2e R.E.P. au Zaire, mai-juin 1978 |language=fr |publisher=[[Presses de la Cité]] |location=Paris |date=January 1, 1978 |isbn=978-2-258-00426-9}}</ref> She had filmed scenes in [[French Guiana]] and returned to Paris for additional work in September. After her death, the scenes were reshot with actress [[Mimsy Farmer]].<ref>p. 40 Coates-Smith, Michael & McGee, Garry ''The Films of Jean Seberg'' McFarland, January 10, 2014</ref>

== FBI COINTELPRO operation ==
[[File:FBI vs. Jean Seberg1.jpg|thumb|FBI inter-office memo: "... cause her embarrassment and cheapen her image"]]
[[File:FBI vs. Jean Seberg2.jpg|thumb|FBI inter-office memo: "Usual precautions to avoid identification of the Bureau"]]
During the late 1960s, Seberg provided financial support to groups supporting [[Civil and political rights|civil rights]], such as the [[National Association for the Advancement of Colored People|NAACP]] as well as [[Indigenous peoples of the Americas|Native American]] school groups such as the [[Meskwaki]] Bucks at the [[Meskwaki Settlement, Iowa|Tama County settlement]] near her hometown of Marshalltown, for whom she purchased $500 worth of basketball uniforms.<ref name="LAT2002" /><ref name="Richards">{{cite book|first=David|last=Richards|title=Played Out: The Jean Seberg Story|publisher=Random House|year=1981|isbn=0-394-51132-8|page=204}}</ref>

As part of its extended campaign to smear and discredit [[Black power movement|black liberation]] and [[Anti-war movement|anti-war]] groups, which began in 1968, the [[FBI]] became aware of several gifts Seberg had made to the [[Black Panther Party]], totaling an estimated $10,500 in contributions; these were noted among a list of other celebrities in FBI internal documents later declassified and released to the public under [[Freedom of Information Act (United States)|FOIA]] requests.<ref name="LAT2002" /><ref name="Richards" />

The FBI operation against Seberg, directly overseen by [[J. Edgar Hoover]], used [[COINTELPRO]] program techniques to harass, intimidate, [[Defamation|defame]], and discredit her.<ref name="NYT19810712" /><ref name="LAT2002" /> The FBI's stated goal was an unspecified "neutralization" of Seberg with a subsidiary objective to "cause her embarrassment and serve to cheapen her image with the public", while taking the "usual precautions to avoid identification of the Bureau."<ref>{{cite book|first=Paul|last=Brodeur|title=A Writer in the Cold War|publisher=Faber and Faber|year=1997|isbn=978-0-571-19907-5|pages=[https://archive.org/details/secretswriterinc00brod/page/159 159–65]|url-access=registration|url=https://archive.org/details/secretswriterinc00brod/page/159}}</ref> The FBI's strategy and [[modality (linguistics)|modalities]] can be found in its interoffice memos.<ref name="jfk.hood.edu">Ronald Ostrow, [http://jfk.hood.edu/Collection/Weisberg%20Subject%20Index%20Files/F%20Disk/FBI/FBI%20Cointelpro/Item%2045.pdf "Extensive probe of Jean Seberg Revealed"], ''The Times'' via jfk.hood.edu, January 9, 1980.</ref>

In 1970, the FBI created a false story from a San Francisco-based informant that the child Seberg was carrying was not fathered by her ex-husband [[Romain Gary]], as initially claimed, but by [[Raymond Hewitt]], a member of the Black Panther Party.<ref>Richards 234–38</ref><ref name="Munn90">Munn, p. 90</ref> The story was reported by [[gossip columnist]] [[Joyce Haber]] of the ''[[Los Angeles Times]]'' as a [[blind item]].<ref>Richards, p. 239</ref><ref name= haber-story>[[Joyce Haber|Haber, Joyce]] (May 28, 1970). "[https://www.newspapers.com/image/222417604/ Miss A and Panther to Be Parents]". ''The Courier-News'' (Bridgewater, New Jersey). p. 19.</ref>{{efn|"She is beautiful, she is blonde, and she was born in the state of one of the senators Ted Kennedy just proposed for the 1972 Democratic Presidential nomination... a distinguished diplomat picked her for his wife... her houseguests were often... black nationalists... And now, according to all those really 'in' international sources, topic A is the baby Miss A is expecting, and its father. Papa's said to be a rather prominent Black Panther."<ref name=haber-story/>}} It was also printed by ''[[Newsweek]]'' magazine, in which Seberg was directly named.<ref>Richards, p. 247</ref> Seberg went into [[Preterm birth|premature labor]] and, on August 23, 1970, gave birth to a {{convert|4|lb|kg|abbr=on|adj=on}} baby girl. The child died two days later.<ref>Richards, p. 253</ref> Seberg held a funeral in her hometown with an open casket that allowed reporters to see the infant's white skin to disprove the rumors, though she later acknowledged that a Mexican student revolutionary, Carlos Navarra, was the actual father.<ref>{{cite book|last=Friedrich|first=Otto|title=Going crazy: An inquiry into madness in our time|year=1975|publisher=Simon and Schuster|location=New York|isbn=0-671-22174-4|page=230}}</ref><ref>Richards 234–8</ref>

Seberg and Gary later sued ''[[Newsweek]]'' for [[Defamation|libel]] and defamation, asking for $200,000 in damages. She contended that she had become so upset after reading the story that she went into premature labor, which resulted in the death of her daughter. A Paris court ordered ''Newsweek'' to pay the couple $10,800 in damages, and it ordered ''Newsweek'' to print the judgment in its publication and eight other newspapers.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=HchkAAAAIBAJ&pg=1627,3844237|title=Seberg awarded $20,000 in Newsweek libel suit|date=October 26, 1971|work=The Telegraph-Herald|page=18|access-date=2012-12-02}}</ref>

The Seberg investigation went far beyond the publication of defamatory articles. According to friends interviewed after her death, she experienced years of aggressive in-person [[surveillance]], amounting to constant stalking, as well as burglaries and other means of intimidation. Newspaper reports say Seberg was well aware of the surveillance. FBI files show that she was wiretapped, and in 1980, the ''[[Los Angeles Times]]'' published logs of her Swiss [[Wiretapping|wiretapped]] phone calls.<ref name="jfk.hood.edu" /> U.S. surveillance was deployed while she was residing in France and while traveling in Switzerland and Italy. The FBI files reveal that the agency contacted the FBI legal attachés in the U.S. embassies in Paris and Rome and provided files on Seberg to the [[Central Intelligence Agency|CIA]], [[United States Secret Service|Secret Service]] and [[military intelligence]] to assist in monitoring Seberg while she was abroad.

Two weeks after Seberg's death in 1979, the FBI admitted what it had done nine years previously.<ref name= tried>"[https://www.newspapers.com/image/621393524/ FBI Tried to Smear Actress Seberg]". ''The Sacramento Bee'' (Sacramento, California). September 15, 1979. p. A2.</ref><ref name= admits>{{cite news|last=Rawls|first=Wendell Jr|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1979/09/15/archives/fbi-admits-planting-a-rumor-to-discredit-jean-seberg-in-1970-former.html|title=F.B.I. Admits Planting a Rumor To Discredit Jean Seberg in 1970|work=The New York Times|date=September 15, 1979|access-date=July 12, 2020}}</ref> FBI records show that Hoover kept President [[Richard Nixon]] informed of FBI activities related to the Seberg case through Nixon's [[Domestic policy|domestic affairs]] chief [[John Ehrlichman]]. [[United States Attorney General|Attorney General]] [[John N. Mitchell|John Mitchell]] and [[United States Deputy Attorney General|Deputy Attorney General]] [[Richard Kleindienst]] were also kept informed of FBI activities related to Seberg.<ref name="jfk.hood.edu"/> At the time of the FBI's admission of its activities, Haber was no longer writing a column, having been fired in 1975 for often using unattributed information in her column.<ref>Fireman, Ken (October 3, 1979). "[https://www.newspapers.com/image/244244701 Seberg's Dream Became a Nightmare]". ''Knight-Ridder News Service''. Tallahassee Democrat (Tallahassee, Florida). p. C1, C2.</ref> Following the FBI's admission, Haber said she could not disclose the source of the information from her column and said, "If I were used by the FBI, I didn't know it. ... I am certainly shocked to learn that the FBI engaged in planting stories with news people."<ref name= tried/><ref name= admits/>  This point of view stands in stark contrast to historical analysts of FBI institutional behavior. Researchers Ward Churchill and Jim Vander Wall stated in their book, ''The Cointelpro Papers: Documents from the FBI's Secret Wars Against Domestic Dissent'', that "There is no indication that Richard Wallace Held [Special Agent-in-Charge of the San Francisco FBI Office 1985-1993] ever considered [Seberg-related FBI activities] to be anything other than an extremely successful COINTELPRO operation"<ref name="Churchill 1990">Churchill, Ward and Vander Wall, Jim, The Cointelpro Papers: Documents from the FBI's Secret Wars Against Domestic Dissent, South End Press, Boston, MA, 1990.</ref>

===Possible Hollywood blacklisting===
At the peak of her career, Seberg suddenly stopped acting in [[Hollywood (film industry)|Hollywood]] films. Reportedly, she was not pleased with the roles that she had been offered, some of which, she claimed, bordered on pornography.<ref name="filmthreat.com">{{cite web|url=https://www.filmthreat.com/interviews/1181/|title=The Jean Seberg Enigma: Interview With Garry Mcgee|work=Film Threat|access-date=July 17, 2011}}</ref> She was not offered any great Hollywood roles, regardless of their size.<ref name="filmthreat.com"/> Experts on the FBI's actions in the COINTELPRO project suggest that Seberg was "[[Blacklist|effectively blacklisted]]"<ref>FBI Secrets: An Agent's Expose. by M. Wesley Swearinge</ref> from Hollywood films.

===Family reaction to FBI abuse of Seberg===
Seberg's father reacted strongly to the story of FBI abuses, stating that "if this is true, why in the dickens didn't they just shoot her, instead of having all this travail that's gone on. I have this flag in the corner, that I used to put out every morning, and I haven't put it out since."<ref name="60 Minutes">Archived at [https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/youtube/20211211/cYjpjWNcQeg Ghostarchive]{{cbignore}} and the [https://web.archive.org/web/20191120003312/https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cYjpjWNcQeg Wayback Machine]{{cbignore}}: {{Cite news|last=Mike|first=Wallace|date=1981|title= 1981 Special Report: "Jean Seberg"|work=CBS: Mike Wallace Presents|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cYjpjWNcQeg|access-date=2020-09-21}}{{cbignore}}</ref>

==Personal life==
On September 5, 1958, at the age of 19, Seberg married François Moreuil, a French lawyer (aged 23) in her native Marshalltown, having met him in France 15 months earlier.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.parismatch.com/People/Cinema/Romain-Gary-a-seduit-mon-epouse-Jean-Seberg-Par-Francois-Moreuil-148199|title="Romain Gary a séduit mon épouse Jean Seberg". Par François Moreuil|last=Adam-Affortit|first=Marie|date=February 28, 2011|work=[[Paris Match]]|access-date=November 8, 2015|language=fr}}</ref> They divorced in 1960. Moreuil had ambitions to work in film and directed his [[Family estrangement|estranged]] wife in ''Love Play''. He said that the marriage was "violent" and that Seberg "got married for all the wrong reasons."<ref name="sinner"/>

On living in France for a period of time, Seberg said in an interview:

<blockquote>I'm enjoying it to the fullest extent. I've been tremendously lucky to have gone through this experience at an age where I can still learn. That doesn't mean that I will stay here. I'm in Paris because my work has been here. I'm not an expatriate. I will go where the work is. The French life has its drawbacks. One of them is the formality. The system seems to be based on saving the maximum of yourself for those nearest you. Perhaps that is better than the other extreme in Hollywood, where people give so much of themselves in public life that they have nothing left over for their families. Still, it is hard for an American to get used to. Often I will get excited over a luncheon table only to have the hostess say discreetly that coffee will be served in the other room. ... I miss that casualness and friendliness of Americans, the kind that makes people smile. I also miss blue jeans, milk shakes, thick steaks and supermarkets.<ref name="sinner"/></blockquote>

Despite extended stays in the United States, Seberg remained in Paris for the rest of her life. In 1961 she met French aviator, [[French Resistance|resistance member]], novelist and diplomat [[Romain Gary]], who was 24 years her senior and married to author [[Lesley Blanch]]. Seberg gave birth to their son, Alexandre Diego Gary, in [[Barcelona]] on July 17, 1962.<ref>Ralph Schoolcraft: ''Romain Gary: The Man Who Sold His Shadow'', Chapter 3, p. 69. [https://archive.org/details/romaingarymanwho00scho/page/69 On-line] (retrieved August 10, 2012)</ref> The child's birth and first year of life were hidden, even from close friends and relatives. Gary's divorce from Blanch took place on September 5, 1962, and he married Seberg secretly on October 6, 1962, in [[Corsica]].<ref>"Le "oui" secret de jean Seberg et Romain Gary", ''[[Le Monde]]'', August 15, 2014.</ref>

During her marriage to Gary, Seberg lived in Paris, [[Greece]], [[Southern France]] and [[Majorca]].<ref>"What makes Jean Seberg Run?", ''[[Tri-City Herald]]'', June 21, 1970, p. 8</ref> She filed for divorce in September 1968, and the divorce was finalized on July 1, 1970. As of 2009, their son resides in Spain, where he runs a bookstore and oversees his father's literary and real-estate holdings.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://docublogger.typepad.com/seberg/2009/05/where-is-jean-sebergs-son-alexandre-diego.html|title=Where in the World is Alexandre Diego?|website=Movie Star|access-date=October 14, 2017}}</ref>

Seberg reportedly had affairs with co-stars [[Warren Beatty]] (''[[Lilith (film)|Lilith]]''), [[Clint Eastwood]] (''[[Paint Your Wagon (film)|Paint Your Wagon]]'') and [[Fabio Testi]] (''[[Gang War in Naples]]''), as well as filmmaker [[Ricardo Franco (director)|Ricardo Franco]].<ref>{{cite book|last=Curti|first=Roberto|title=Italian Crime Filmography, 1968–1980|publisher=[[McFarland & Company]]|isbn=978-0-7864-6976-5|year=2013}}</ref><ref name="lanacion">{{Cite web|language=es|url=https://www.nacion.com/archivo/pagina-negra-jean-seberg-buenos-dias-tristeza/HEWEJGGIZZCPFFXLOEPKISTN5A/story/|access-date=June 1, 2022|date=June 24, 2012|title=Página negra Jean Seberg: ¡Buenos días tristeza!|website=[[La Nación (newspaper)|La Nación]]}}</ref><ref>Richards, p. 192</ref> Novelist [[Carlos Fuentes]] also claimed to have had an affair with her.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.chicagotribune.com/news/ct-xpm-1995-12-17-9512170022-story.html|title=Affairs of Love and Death|website=[[Chicago Tribune]]|date=December 17, 1995 }}</ref>

While filming ''[[Macho Callahan]]'' in [[Durango|Durango, Mexico]], in the winter of 1969–70, Seberg became romantically involved with a student [[revolutionary]] named Carlos Ornelas Navarra. She gave birth to their daughter, Nina Hart Gary, by [[Caesarean section]] on August 23, 1970. The baby died two days later on August 25, 1970. Ex-husband Gary assumed responsibility for the pregnancy, but Seberg acknowledged that Navarra was the father.<ref>Richards 234–8</ref> Nina is buried at [[Riverside Cemetery (Marshalltown, Iowa)|Riverside Cemetery]] in Marshalltown.

On March 12, 1972, Seberg married director [[Dennis Berry (director)|Dennis Berry]]. The couple separated in May 1976, but never divorced.<ref>{{cite book|author=Paul Donnelley|title=Fade to Black: A Book of Movie Obituaries|year=2000|publisher=Omnibus|isbn=978-0-7119-7984-0|page=530}}</ref> Seberg subsequently dated aspiring French filmmaker Jean-Claude Messager, who later spoke to CBS's [[Mike Wallace]] for a 1981 profile of the actress.<ref name="60 Minutes"/>

In 1979, while still legally married to her estranged husband Berry, Seberg went through [[Nikah urfi|"a form of marriage"]] to a 19-year-old Algerian named Ahmed Hasni.<ref>Richards, p. 367</ref> Hasni persuaded her to sell her second apartment on the Rue du Bac, and he kept the proceeds (reportedly 11 million [[French franc|franc]]s in cash), announcing that he would use the money to open a [[Barcelona]] restaurant.<ref>Richards, p. 368</ref> The couple departed for Spain, but she was soon back in Paris alone, and went into hiding from Hasni, who she claimed had grievously [[domestic violence|abused]] her.<ref>Richards, p.369</ref>

==Death==
[[File:Tombe Jean Seberg, Cimetière du Montparnasse (1).jpg|thumb|left|Grave of Jean Seberg|275x275px]]
On August 30, 1979, Seberg disappeared from her Paris apartment. Hasni told police that the couple had gone to see ''[[Womanlight]]'' and when he awoke the next morning, Seberg was gone.<ref name="pittsburg">{{cite news|url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=7Z5RAAAAIBAJ&pg=6956,1534506|title=Police Rule Out Violence In Death of Actress Seberg|date=September 10, 1979|work=Pittsburgh Post-Gazette|page=21|access-date=December 2, 2012}}</ref> After Seberg went missing, Hasni told police that he had known that she was suicidal for some time. He claimed that she had attempted suicide in July 1979 by jumping in front of a Paris [[Rapid transit|subway train]].<ref>{{cite news|url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=5wFlAAAAIBAJ&pg=897,4749074|title=Forgive me, Seberg wrote in suicide note to her son|date=September 10, 1979|work=Edmonton Journal|page=A2|access-date=December 2, 2012}}</ref>

On September 8, nine days after her disappearance, Seberg's decomposing body was found wrapped in a blanket in the back seat of her [[Renault]], parked close to her apartment in the [[16th arrondissement of Paris|16th arrondissement]]. Police found a bottle of [[barbiturates]], an empty [[mineral water]] bottle, and a note written in French by Seberg addressed to her son. It read in part, "Forgive me. I can no longer live with my nerves."<ref>{{cite news|url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=9PUhAAAAIBAJ&pg=4957,4713117|title=The Life and Death of Jean Seberg|last=Raith|first=Mark Alan|date=July 19, 1981|work=Reading Eagle|page=36|access-date=December 2, 2012}}</ref> In 1979, her death was ruled a probable suicide by Paris police,<ref name="Coates-Smith"/> but the following year additional charges were filed against persons unknown for "non-assistance of a person in danger."<ref name=montreal>{{cite news|url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=2FQ0AAAAIBAJ&pg=5605,1267220|title=Charges filed in Seberg death|date=June 23, 1980|work=The Montreal Gazette|page=41|access-date=December 2, 2012}}</ref>

[[Romain Gary]], Seberg's second husband, called a press conference shortly after her death at which he blamed the FBI's campaign against Seberg for her deteriorating [[mental health]]. Gary claimed that Seberg "became [[Psychosis|psychotic]]" after the media had reported the false story—planted by the FBI—that she was pregnant with a Black Panther's child in 1970; Seberg had said in an interview that the story was such a shock to her that she went into early labour, leading to the [[stillbirth]] of her child.{{efn|Though in an  interview Seberg referred to this 1970 pregnancy as ending in a stillbirth and Romain Gary also stated the pregnancy ended in a stillbirth, that is not the case. Both Seberg and Gary were referring to Seberg's daughter Nina Hart Gary. She was born by [[Caesarean section|Caesarean]] on August 23, 1970, weighed under four pounds, and died two days later.<ref>Richards, p. 263</ref>}} Gary stated that Seberg had repeatedly attempted suicide on the anniversary of the child's death, August&nbsp;25.<ref name="lakeland"/>

Seberg is interred at the [[Montparnasse Cemetery]] in Paris.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.landrucimetieres.fr/spip/spip.php?article996|title=SEBERG Jean (1938–1979) – Cimetières de France et d'ailleurs|website=www.landrucimetieres.fr|accessdate=November 19, 2023}}</ref>

==Aftermath==
According to FBI documents obtained via the [[Freedom of Information Act (United States)|Freedom of Information Act]],<ref>[http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/thedailymirror/files/1979_0914_cover.jpg "FBI Admits Spreading Lies About Jean Seberg"] ''Los Angeles Times'', September 14, 1979.</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/thedailymirror/2009/03/the-jean-seberg.html|work=Los Angeles Times|title=The Jean Seberg Affair Revisited|date=March 22, 2009}}</ref> six days after the discovery of Seberg's body, the FBI released documents admitting its defamation of Seberg, while making statements attempting to distance the agency from the practices of the [[J. Edgar Hoover|Hoover]] era. The FBI's campaign against Seberg was further explored by ''[[Time (magazine)|Time]]'' magazine in a front-page article titled "The FBI vs. Jean Seberg."<ref>[https://content.time.com/time/subscriber/article/0,33009,947393-2,00.html Nation: The FBI vs. Jean Seberg], time.com, September 24, 1979.</ref>

Media attention surrounding the FBI's abuse of Seberg led to an examination of the case by the [[Church Committee]] of the U.S. Senate, which noted that despite the FBI's claims of reform, "COINTELPRO activities may continue today under the rubric of investigation."<ref>Cointelpro: The FBI's Covert Action Programs Against American Citizens, Select Committee to Study Governmental Operations With Respect to Intelligence Activities. United States Senate, April 23, 1976.</ref><ref name="Bellows, Jim 2011">Bellows, Jim. ''The Last Editor'', Andrews McMeel Publishing (May 2011).<!-- ISSN/ISBN needed --></ref>

In his autobiography, ''Los Angeles Times'' editor [[Jim Bellows]] describes events leading up to the Seberg articles, expressing regret that he had not vetted the articles sufficiently.<ref name="Bellows, Jim 2011"/> He echoed this sentiment in subsequent interviews.<ref>Kevin Roderick, [http://www.laobserved.com/archive/2009/03/bellows_jean_seberg_and_t.php "Bellows, Jean Seberg and the FBI"], ''LA Observed'', March 13, 2009.</ref>

In June 1980, Paris police filed charges against "persons unknown" in connection with Seberg's death. Police stated that Seberg had such a high amount of alcohol in her system at the time of her death that it would have rendered her [[coma]]tose and unable to enter her car without assistance, and no alcohol was found in the car. Police theorized that someone was present at the time of Seberg's death and failed to seek medical care.<ref name=montreal />

In December 1980, Seberg's former husband Romain Gary died by suicide. His suicide note, addressed to his publisher, indicated that he had not killed himself over the loss of Seberg, but because he could no longer produce literary works.<ref name="lakeland" />

== In popular culture ==
''The Talent Scout'' by Romain Gary (1961) features a recognizable portrait of Seberg.

In 1983, a musical based on Seberg's life called ''[[Jean Seberg (musical)|Jean Seberg]],'' by librettist [[Julian Barry]], composer [[Marvin Hamlisch]] and lyricist [[Christopher Adler (lyricist)|Christopher Adler]], was presented at the [[Royal National Theatre|National Theatre]] in London.

In 1986, pop singer [[Madonna (entertainer)|Madonna]] recreated Seberg's iconic ''Breathless'' look in her music video for "[[Papa Don't Preach]]," sporting a pixie blonde haircut, French striped jersey shirt and black [[Capri pants|capri]] pants in the style of Seberg's character in ''Breathless''.

In 1991, actress [[Jodie Foster]], a fan of Seberg's performance in ''Breathless'', purchased the film rights to ''Played Out: The Jean Seberg Story'', [[David Richards (writer)|David Richards]]' biography of Seberg.<ref>{{cite magazine|url=https://www.ew.com/ew/article/0,,315555,00.html|magazine=[[Entertainment Weekly]]|title=Flashes: September 20, 1991|date=September 20, 1991|access-date=July 12, 2010|archive-date=December 22, 2009|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091222142557/http://www.ew.com/ew/article/0,,315555,00.html|url-status=dead}}</ref> Foster was set to produce and star in the film, but the project was canceled two years later.{{citation needed|date=October 2017}}

In 1995, [[Mark Rappaport]] created a documentary about Seberg, ''[[From the Journals of Jean Seberg]]''. [[Mary Beth Hurt]] played Seberg in a voiceover. Hurt was born in Marshalltown, Iowa in 1948, attended the same high school as Seberg and was babysat by Seberg.{{citation needed|date=October 2017}}

The plot of the 1998 film ''[[Black Tears (1998 film)|Black Tears]]'', starring [[Ariadna Gil]], is reportedly inspired by Seberg's reported affair with [[Ricardo Franco (director)|Ricardo Franco]].<ref name="lanacion" /><ref>{{Cite news|url=https://elpais.com/diario/1999/02/20/cultura/919465211_850215.html|website=[[El País]]|date=February 20, 1999|first=M. José|last=Díaz de Tuesta|title=El equipo de "Lágrimas negras" expresa su fidelidad a Ricardo Franco|access-date=June 1, 2022|language=es}}</ref>

The 2000 short film ''[[Je t'aime John Wayne]]'' is a tribute parody of ''Breathless'', with Seberg played by [[Camilla Rutherford]].<ref>{{Cite web |title=Je T'Aime John Wayne |url=https://letterboxd.com/film/je-taime-john-wayne/ |access-date=2022-09-08 |website=letterboxd.com |type=Review by DC Merryweather}}</ref>

In 2004, French author [[Alain Absire]] published ''Jean S.'', a fictionalized biography. Seberg's son Alexandre Diego Gary brought a lawsuit, unsuccessfully attempting to stop publication.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.lexpress.fr/culture/livre/jean-s_809633.html|title=Le tombeau de Jean Seberg|work=L'Express|date=November 2004}}</ref>

Also from 2004, Seberg is recalled in the [[Divine Comedy (band)|Divine Comedy]] song "[[Absent Friends (album)|Absent Friends]]": "Little Jean Seberg seemed / So full of life / But in those eyes such troubled dreams / Poor little Jean".

Since 2011, Seberg's hometown of Marshalltown, Iowa, has held an annual Jean Seberg International Film Festival.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.iavalley.edu/mcc/mcc-news/JSIFFOverview.html|title=Jean Seberg International Film Festival is Nov. 10–13, 2011|publisher=iavalley.edu|access-date=December 2, 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120706223706/http://www.iavalley.edu/mcc/mcc-news/JSIFFOverview.html|archive-date=July 6, 2012}}</ref>

In 2019, [[Amazon (company)|Amazon]] released an original film based on Seberg's life called ''[[Seberg]]'' that focuses on her battle against the FBI, with the title role played by [[Kristen Stewart]].

The character of Anny Vikland in [[William Boyd (writer)|William Boyd]]'s 2020 novel ''Trio'' strongly resembles Seberg's in details of her life and death.<ref>William Boyd, Trio (Viking: 2020).</ref>

In 2022, [[Kacey Rohl]] portrayed Seberg in ''[[White Dog (2022 film)|White Dog]]'' (''Chien blanc''), a film adaptation by [[Anaïs Barbeau-Lavalette]] of Gary's 1970 book.<ref name=demers>Maxime Demers, [https://www.journaldemontreal.com/2022/11/02/chien-blanc-le-gout-du-risque "«Chien blanc»: le goût du risque d'Anaïs Barbeau-Lavalette"]. ''[[Le Journal de Montréal]]'', November 2, 2022.</ref>

==Filmography==
{| class="wikitable sortable"
|-
! Year
! Title
! Role
! Language
! class="unsortable" | Notes
|-
| 1957
| ''[[Saint Joan (1957 film)|Saint Joan]]''
| [[St. Joan of Arc]]
| English
| 
|-
| 1958
| ''[[Bonjour Tristesse (1958 film)|Bonjour Tristesse]]''
| Cecile
| English
| 
|-
| 1959
| ''[[The Mouse That Roared (film)|The Mouse That Roared]]''
| Helen Kokintz
| English
| 
|-
| rowspan=2 | 1960
| ''[[Breathless (1960 film)|Breathless]]''
| Patricia Franchini
| French<br />English
| 
|-
| ''[[Let No Man Write My Epitaph]]''
| Barbara Holloway
| English
| 
|-
| rowspan=3 | 1961
| ''[[Time Out for Love]]''
| Ann
| French
| 
|-
| ''[[Love Play]]''
| Kate Hoover
| French
| 
|-
| ''[[Five Day Lover]]''
| Claire
| French
|
|-
| 1962
| ''[[Congo vivo]]''
| Annette
| Italian
|
|-
| 1963
| ''[[In the French Style]]''
| Christina James
| English
| 
|-
| rowspan=3 | 1964
| ''[[The World's Most Beautiful Swindlers]]''
| Patricia Leacock
| French
| (segment "Le Grand Escroq")<br />(scenes deleted)<ref>This episodic film was originally a collaboration of five directors. Despite being directed by [[Jean-Luc Godard]] and shot by [[Raoul Coutard]], Seberg's 20-minute episode was cut from the final release (McGee, p.110). It was resurrected and partly shown in ''From the Journals of Jean Seberg'' (1995)</ref>
|-
| ''[[Backfire (1964 film)|Backfire]]''
| Olga Celan
| French
| 
|-
| ''[[Lilith (film)|Lilith]]''
| Lilith Arthur
| English
| 
|-
| 1965
| ''[[Diamonds Are Brittle]]''
| Bettina Ralton
| French
| 
|-
| rowspan=3 | 1966
| ''[[Moment to Moment]]''
| Kay Stanton
| English
| 
|-
| ''[[A Fine Madness]]''
| Lydia West
| English
|
|-
| ''[[Line of Demarcation (film)|Line of Demarcation]]''
| Mary, comtesse de Damville
| French
| 
|-
| rowspan=2 | 1967
| ''[[The Looters]]''
| Colleen O'Hara
| French
| Alternate title: ''Revolt in the Caribbean''
|-
| ''[[The Road to Corinth]]''
| Shanny
| French
| Alternate title: ''Who's Got the Black Box?''
|-
| rowspan=2 | 1968
| ''[[Birds in Peru]]''
| Adriana
| French
|
|-
| ''The Girls''
|
| English
| Documentary
|-
| rowspan=2 | 1969
| ''[[Pendulum (1969 film)|Pendulum]]''
| Adele Matthews
| English
| 
|-
| ''[[Paint Your Wagon (film)|Paint Your Wagon]]''
| Elizabeth
| English
| 
|-
| rowspan=3 | 1970
| ''[[Airport (1970 film)|Airport]]''
| Tanya Livingston
| English
| 
|-
| ''[[Dead of Summer (film)|Dead of Summer]]''
| Joyce Grasse
| Italian
| 
|-
| ''[[Macho Callahan]]''
| Alexandra Mountford
| English
| 
|-
| rowspan=4 | 1972
| ''[[Kill! Kill! Kill! Kill!]]''
| Emily Hamilton
| English
|
|-
| ''[[This Kind of Love (film)|This Kind of Love]]''
| Giovanna
| Italian
| 
|-
| ''[[Gang War in Naples]]''
| Luisa
| Italian
| 
|-
| ''[[The Assassination (film)|The Assassination]]''
| Edith Lemoine
| French
| Alternate title: ''The French Conspiracy''
|-
| 1973
| ''[[The Corruption of Chris Miller]]''
| Ruth Miller
| Spanish
| 
|-
| rowspan=3 | 1974
| ''[[Les hautes solitudes]]''
|
| —
| Silent film without named characters
|-
| ''[[Mousey]]''
| Laura Anderson / Richardson
| English
| Television film
|-
| ''Ballad for the Kid'' (Short film)
| La star
| French
| Director, writer, producer
|-
| rowspan=2 | 1975
| ''[[White Horses of Summer]]''
| Lea Kingsburg
| Italian
|
|-
| ''[[The Big Delirium]]''
| Emily
| French
| 
|-
| 1976
| ''[[Die Wildente|The Wild Duck]]''
| Gina Ekdal
| German
| (Final film role)
|-
|-
|}

== Awards and nominations ==

=== British Academy Film Awards ===
{| class="wikitable"
!'''Year'''
!Category
!'''Film'''
!'''Result'''
|-
|1962
|[[BAFTA Award for Best Actress in a Leading Role|Best Film Actress in a Leading Role]]
|[[Breathless (1960 film)|Breathless]]
|Nominated
|}

=== Golden Globe Awards ===
{| class="wikitable"
!'''Year'''
!Category
!'''Film'''
!'''Result'''
|-
|1965
|[[Golden Globe Award for Best Actress – Motion Picture Drama|Best Actress – Motion Picture Drama]]
|[[Lilith (film)|Lilith]]
|Nominated
|}

==See also==
* {{Portal-inline|Biography}}
* {{Portal-inline|Film}}
* [[List of solved missing person cases: pre-2000|List of solved missing person cases]]
* {{Portal-inline|United States}}

== Notes==
{{Notelist}}

== References ==
{{reflist}}
== Sources ==
*Reemes, Dana M. 1988. ''Directed by Jack Arnold.'' [[McFarland & Company]], [[Jefferson, North Carolina]] 1988. {{ISBN|978-0899503318}}

==Further reading==
* [[Bellos, David]] (2010). ''Romain Gary: A Tall Story''. London: Harvill Secker. {{ISBN|978 1843431701}}.
* Coates-Smith, Michael, and McGee, Garry (2012). ''The Films of Jean Seberg''. Jefferson, NC: McFarland. {{ISBN|978-0-7864-6652-8}}.
* Guichard, Maurice (2008). ''Jean Seberg: Portrait francais''. Paris: Editions Jacob-Duvernet. {{ISBN|978 2 84724 194 5}}. {{in lang|fr}}
* McGee, Garry (2008). ''Jean Seberg – Breathless''. Albany, GA: BearManor Media. {{ISBN|1-59393-127-1}}.
* Moreuil, Francois (2010). ''Flash Back''. Chaintreaux: Editions France-Empire Monde .{{ISBN|978-2-7048-1097-0}}. {{in lang|fr}}
* [[Michael Munn|Munn, Michael]] (1992). ''Clint Eastwood: Hollywood's Loner''. London: Robson Books. {{ISBN|0-86051-790-X}}.
* [[David Richards (writer)|Richards, David]] (1981). ''Played Out: The Jean Seberg Story''. Random House. {{ISBN|0-394-51132-8}}.

==External links==
{{Commons category}}
* {{AFI person | 80614-Jean-Seberg }}
* {{IMDb name|781029}}
* {{Tcmdb name}}
* [https://hrc.contentdm.oclc.org/digital/collection/p15878coll90/id/40/ 1958 Mike Wallace interview] January 4, 1958
* [http://www.saintjean.co.uk/ Website dedicated to Jean Seberg]
* [http://www.jeansebergmovie.com/ Movie Star: The Secret Lives of Jean Seberg] Documentary Film
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20180802162827/http://fbidocs.com/jean-seberg FBI Docs] Jean Seberg FBI File

{{Authority control}}

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