atherine Kath born Rose Marie Lily Faess; 11 August 1920 – 17 November 2012 was a French prima ballerina at the Theatre du Chatelet in Paris, who became an actress after suffering from an injury which destroyed her chances of continuing her career.
Kath was born in Berck, Pas-de-Calais, France, where she also died, at age 92 in 2012, from undisclosed causes. She appeared in many international films and television programmes during her acting career. She met British filmmaker Jack Clayton in 1952, during the making of Moulin Rouge, in which she portrayed the can-can dancer La Goulue and on which Clayton was the assistant director. The couple married in 1953, following Clayton’s divorce from his first wife, Christine Norden, but the union was shortlived.
Filmography
Film
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1947 | Captain Blomet | ||
| 1948 | Le cavalier de Croix-Mort | Sandrine | |
| 1948 | The Cupboard Was Bare | L’actrice | |
| 1948 | Toute la famille était là | Rita Barbara | |
| 1949 | Thus Finishes the Night | Une voyageuse | |
| 1950 | Fugitive from Montreal | ||
| 1952 | Crimson Curtain | ||
| 1952 | Moulin Rouge | Louise Weber (La Goulue) | |
| 1953 | Inside a Girls’ Dormitory | Mlle. Claude Persal | |
| 1954 | Daughters of Destiny | La ribaude | Segment: “Jeanne” |
| 1954 | Oh No, Mam’zelle | Gimblette | |
| 1955 | Madonna of the Sleeping Cars | Irena | |
| 1956 | Peril for the Guy | Anita Fox | |
| 1956 | A Touch of the Sun | Lucienne | |
| 1956 | Anastasia | Maxime | |
| 1957 | Let’s Be Happy | Mrs. Fielding | |
| 1957 | These Dangerous Years | Mrs. Wyman | |
| 1957 | Seven Thunders | Mme. Parfait | |
| 1958 | The Man Who Wouldn’t Talk | Yvonne Delbeau | |
| 1959 | Subway in the Sky | Anna Grant | |
| 1961 | Fury at Smugglers’ Bay | Maman | |
| 1962 | Gigot | Colette | |
| 1963 | Aliki | Anna | |
| 1964 | Circus World | Hilda | |
| 1965 | The High Bright Sun | Mrs. Andros | |
| 1969 | The Assassination Bureau | Mme. Lucoville | |
| 1971 | Mary, Queen of Scots | Catherine de’ Medici | |
| 1977 | Marquis de Sade’s Justine | Mme. Laronde |
Television
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1956, 1966 | Armchair Theatre | Mila Kosky, Carole Millard | Episodes: “The Mother”, “The Three Barrelled Shotgun” |
| 1957 | The Benny Hill Show | Episode: “2.1” | |
| 1958 | Uncertain Mercy | Marya Borow | TV film |
| 1958 | Sunday Night Theatre | Nina | Episode: “The Uninvited” |
| 1958–59 | Television Playwright | Maria Venucci / Anna Rojas | Episodes: “The Marrying of Milly”, “The Dark Side of the Earth” |
| 1959 | Foreign Field | Cyprine | TV film |
| 1959 | Never Die | Odette Marceau | TV film |
| 1960 | BBC Sunday-Night Play | Sister Annelise | Episode: “The Small Victory” |
| 1961 | The Hunted | Giselle | TV film |
| 1967 | The Prisoner | Engadine | Episode: “A. B. and C.” |
| 1972 | Doomwatch | Lady Janette Holroyd | Episode: “Without the Bomb” |
| 1974 | QB VII | Mrs. Czerny | Episode: “Part 3” |
| 1975 | Shades of Greene | The Madam | Episode: “The Root of All Evil” |
| 1980 | Love in a Cold Climate | Old Countess | Episode: “Monsieur Le Duc” |
| 1984 | The Man Who Married a French Wife | Maman | TV film |
| 1986 | Just Good Friends | The Secretary | Episode: “The Wedding” |
| 1987 | Horizon | Pop Prior | Episode: “The Race for the Double Helix” |
| 1989 | The Pied Piper | French Woman on Train | TV film |