Claude-Jeanne Malca Gensac, shortened to Claude Gensac (March 1, 1927 - December 27, 2016) was a French actress and voice actress.
She made her debut on stage in 1947, and she ended up best known for often starring alongside French comedy giant Louis de Funès (ten films in total), including seven times as his screen wife (and contrary to urban legends, they were not married in Real Life) in The '60s and The '70s, including Oscar, Les Grandes Vacances and the Gendarme de Saint-Tropez series (starting with the third film in the latter). She also did dubbing work, including four films where she dubbed Sophia Loren.
She regained some notice in the 2000s with roles such as the one she had alongside Catherine Deneuve in Elle s'en va in 2013 and in Sólveig Anspach's Lulu femme nue in 2015, which earned her a nomination for the César Award for Best Supporting actress one year before her passing at age 89. She's still the oldest performer to have been nominated at the César Awards.
Selected film roles:
- Oscar (1967) as Germaine Barnier
- Les Grandes Vacances (1967) as Isabelle Bosquier
- The Gendarme de Saint-Tropez series as Josépha Cruchot, née Le François
- Le Gendarme se marie (1968)
- Le Gendarme en balade (1970)
- Le Gendarme et les Gendarmettes (1982)
- Hibernatus (1969) as Edmée Fournier de Tartas
- Jo (1971) as Sylvie Brisebard
- The Wing or the Thigh (1976) as Marguerite
- The Miser (1980) as Frosine
- La Soupe aux choux (1981) as Amélie Poulangeard
Selected French dubbing roles:
- El Cid (1961) as Jimena
- Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs (1962 redub) as the Evil Queen
- Kid Galahad (1962 remake) as Dolly Fletcher
- The Pink Panther (1963) as Simone Clouseau
- A Countess from Hong Kong (1967) as Natascha
- The Graduate (1967) as Mrs. Braddock
- Airport (1970) as Cindy Bakersfeld
- Legends of the Fall (1994) as Isabel Ludlow
Tropes & Trivia in her works:
- Those Two Actors: She played in ten films with Louis de Funès, and she was his wife in seven of them.
- Ugly Guy, Hot Wife: Each time she was paired with Louis de Funès as wife and husband in a movie.
- What Could Have Been: De Funès wanted her to play his wife once more in The Mad Adventures of Rabbi Jacob, but director Gérard Oury refused and cast Suzy Delair instead.
