Quotes from Catherine Deneuve

People don't know very much about me. They do not know what really goes on in my private life.

You suffer as an actor. It's difficult to be an actor and live a good life, especially today.

I think one of the few times I've been involved with real-life characters was the story of Marie Bonaparte. I think it's really difficult to become someone that really existed.

Being a film actor is very different from a theatre actor.

What I do is I come in the morning and get involved in the character, but I'm always very pleased to leave it at night and have my life.

To have a public life, you still have the right to a private life.

Sex is a big question mark. It is something people will talk about forever.

I live very normally, I go out with my friends, we go to the movies, I queue, we go to restaurants.

Lesbians and gays... they still have to fight, even inside. It's not that simple, even if they seem to be accepted.

I had mice that I kept as pets when I was very young, and I've always liked the way they look. Even rats. I'm not scared of them.

I am frivolous. Then I feel guilty.

When you're young, you try to meet that expectation that people have of you. It can be very stressful. But with time it's become less of problem.

You get involved with a character after spending a long time waiting, and this demands a lot of energy and concentration.

Directors have to push me. I have to be pushed up. Not all the time, but often.

I like all these little animals that run and eat and hide all the time. I like their faces, They seem to be scared and curious at the same time.

I think the clothes in Belle de Jour are very important to the style of the film. Even today, it is still timeless.

Most of the time I've worked with directors who write their own scripts. The story is more important to me than the part. The project of the film has always been more important to me.

Love is suffering. One side always loves more.

The only human being I could tell everything was my sister Françoise. She and I were so diametrically different; put together we would have been a fantastic woman.

I like some of the early silent films because I love to watch how actors had to play then. What would interest me today is to do a silent film.

I love to do very long and complicated scenes.

I was never a dangerous woman. I'm not the prissy blonde woman that could take your husband away.

Acting is also working with people who invite you into their dreams and trust you with their innermost being.

A woman has to be intelligent, have charm, a sense of humor, and be kind. It's the same qualities I require from a man.