Alain Delon

Delon in 2007, photo by PrPhotos

Birth Name: Alain Fabien Maurice Marcel Delon

Date of Birth: 8 November, 1935

Place of Birth: Sceaux, France

Date of Death: 18 August, 2024

Place of Death: Douchy, France

Ethnicity: French, Breton, one quarter Corsican Italian, approximately one quarter German/Swiss-German

Alain Delon was a French actor, film producer, screenwriter, director, and singer. A prominent international leading man and sex symbol beginning in the 1960s, he was known for his look and style. His roles included the films Send a Woman When the Devil Fails, Christine (1958), Women Are Weak, Purple Noon (1960), Rocco and His Brothers, The Joy of Living, Famous Love Affairs, L’Eclisse, The Devil and the Ten Commandments, The Leopard (1963), The Black Tulip, Once a Thief, Le Samouraï (1967), Spirits of the Dead, The Girl on a Motorcycle, La Piscine, Borsalino, Le Cercle Rouge, The Love Mates, Un flic, Monsieur Klein, Boomerang (1976), which he co-wrote; The Concorde… Airport ’79, Three Men to Kill, Le choc, both of which he also co-wrote; Swann in Love, Notre histoire, Parole de flic, The Passage (1986), Let Sleeping Cops Lie, Dancing Machine, the latter four of which he co-wrote; One Hundred and One Nights, Day and Night (1997), and Asterix at the Olympic Games. He also directed the films Pour la peau d’un flic and Le Battant, both of which he also starred in and co-wrote. He was known for his duet, “Paroles, paroles,” with Dalida.

Alain was born in Sceaux, Seine, now Hauts-de-Seine, Île-de-France, a suburb of Paris, to Édith Marie Suzanne (Arnold), a pharmacy assistant and theatre usher, and François Fabien Delon, a projectionist, who was director of the cinema Le Régina in Bourg-la-Reine. Alain’s father was of half French and half Corsican Italian descent. Alain’s mother had German/Swiss-German and French/Breton ancestry. After his parents’ divorce, he was partly raised in L’Haÿ-les-Roses and Bourg-la-Reine. Before his acting career, Alain joined the French Navy to serve in the First Indochina War. Alain became a Swiss citizen in 1999.

Alain had a son, photographer, actor, and writer Christian Aaron Boulogne, with his former partner, German actress, singer, and model Nico; a son, actor Anthony Delon, with his former wife, French model and actress Nathalie Delon/Nathalie Barthélemy; and two children, actors Anouchka Delon and Alain-Fabien Delon, with his former partner, Dutch model Rosalie van Breemen. His granddaughter is actress Alyson Le Borges.

Alain’s paternal grandfather was Jean-Marcel Delon (the son of Fabien Delon and Marianne/Marie-Anne Adélaïde Delon). Jean-Marcel was born in Figeac, Lot, Languedoc-Roussillon Midi-Pyrénées, France. Fabien was born in Saint-Vincent-Lespinasse, Tarn-et-Garonne, the son of Jean Delon and Marguerite Ortalon. He was a civil engineer, who was given the Legion of Honour in 1892. Alain’s great-grandmother Marianne was the daughter of Antoine Victor Delon and Jeanne Soulié.

Alain’s paternal grandmother was Marie-Antoinette Evangelista (the daughter of François Evangelista and Lucie Romani). Marie-Antoinette was born on Prunelli-di-Fiumorbo, Haute-Corse, Corsica, and was of Corsican Italian background. François was the son of Jean Tulius Evangelista and Maire Lucie Doria Semidei.

Alain’s maternal grandfather was Alfred Louis Arnold (the son of Jost/Just Aloïs Arnold and Odile Marie Adèle Liennemann/Lienemann). Alfred was born in Paris, Île-de-France, France, and was of mostly German and Swiss-German, and some French, origin. He was a gendarme in the French Army. Jost was born in Bürglen, Uri, Switzerland, the son of Aloïs Justin Arnold and Maria/Marie Anna/Anne Walker. Odile was the daughter of Louis Liennemann/Lienemann and Marie Guerre/Gaire.

Alain’s maternal grandmother was Maria Minard (the daughter of Louis Minard and Marie/Maire Louise Amélie Le Gal/Gall). Alain’s grandmother Maria was born in Paris, and was a model for Jeanne Lanvin. Alain’s great-grandmother Marie Louise was born in Guilers, Finistere, Brittany, the daughter of Jean Le Gall and Marie Jacquette Carre.

Sources: Genealogies of Alain Delon – http://www.gatinaisgeneal.org
https://www.geni.com

Genealogy of Alain’s father (focusing on his own father’s side) – http://gw.geneanet.org