Roger Vadim

French director who began directing in 1961 and has worked in TV, ballet and films. Before directing he was a stage actor from 1944-1947, an assistant to Marc Allegret and a reporter and photographer for, "Paris Match," from 1947-1956. He earned praise as a producer, writer and theater director in a career that spanned half a century, 26 movies with striking leading ladies. He pursued beauty on and off-screen.

Vadim was married five times to beautiful women, including Brigitte Bardot on 19 December 1952, Annette Stroyberg on 17 June 1956, Jane Fonda on 18 May 1967, to Catherine Schneider on 13 December 1975, and to Marie-Christine Barrault, a noted actress, on 12 December 1990. He had a child with Catherine Deneuve, a long time companion, in between marriages.

After a long struggle with cancer, Vadim died on 11 February 2000, Paris.