Sylvia Maria Kristel (September 28, 1952 – October 17, 2012) was a Dutch actress and model who appeared in over 50 films.
But she is best remembered as the eponymous character in 5 of the 7 Emmanuelle films, originating the role in 1974.
Born in Utrecht, the Netherlands, Kristel was the elder daughter of an innkeeper, Jean-Nicholas Kristel, and his wife Pietje Hendrika Lamme.
In her 2006 autobiography, she stated that she was sexually abused by an elderly hotel guest when she was nine years old, an experience she otherwise refused to discuss. Her parents divorced when she was 14, after her father abandoned the family for another woman.
Kristel began modeling when she was 17. In 1971, before becoming famous, she auditioned for the female lead in the Last Tango in Paris (1972) but lost out to Maria Schneider.
In 1973, she won the Miss TV Europe contest.
She spoke Dutch, English, German, and Italian fluently, as well as other languages to a lesser extent.
Kristel gained international attention in 1974 for playing the title character in the softcore film Emmanuelle, one of the most successful French films ever produced.
After the success of Emmanuelle, she played roles that capitalized on that sexually provocative image, starring in an adaptation of Lady Chatterley’s Lover (1981), and a nudity-filled biopic of the WWI spy in Mata Hari (1985).
During the 1970s, she worked on lesser known films by prominent French directors including Claude Chabrol and Roger Vadim.
She also starred next to Joe Dallesandro in Walerian Borowczyk’s La Marge (1976), a success at the French box office.
She was cast in the part of Stella in Roman Polanski’s The Tenant (1976). but after one day of shooting she was replaced by Isabelle Adjani.
In 1977, she was invited to star as Hattie in Louis Malle’s controversial erotic drama Pretty Baby (1978) but the role eventually went to Susan Sarandon instead.
Several years later, the director wanted to cast Kristel as Ingrid in Damage (1992), but the actress was unavailable at the time.
Sergio Leone wanted her to play the role of Carol in the movie Once Upon a Time in America (1984); the producers did not agree and the role went to Tuesday Weld.
In 1982, she was turned down by Tony Scott for the role of Miriam in The Hunger (1983); Catherine Deneuve ended up playing the part.
She was considered for the role of Lois Lane in Superman (1978), which went to Margot Kidder.
Wished to be Bond Girl
Sylvia unsuccessfully applied for the role of Bond Girl in The Spy Who Loved Me (1977), Moonraker (1979), For Your Eyes Only (1981) and Octopussy (1983).
Roles Rejected
She rejected the female roles in The Story of Adele H. (1975), King Kong (1976), Logan’s Run (1976), Caligula (1979), Body Heat (1981), Blade Runner (1982), Scarface (1983), Dune (1984), Body Double (1984) and Blue Velvet (1986).
Her Emmanuelle typecasting image followed her to the US, where she played Nicole Mallow, a maid who seduces teenaged boy in the sex comedy Private Lessons (1981).
Another mainstream film was a brief comic turn in the Get Smart revival film The Nude Bomb in 1980.
Although Private Lessons was one of the highest-grossing indies of 1981, Kristel saw none of the profits.
In May 1990, she appeared in the TV series My Riviera, filmed at her home in Saint-Tropez.
Her friend Gérard Depardieu wanted to secure her comeback and unsuccessfully tried to persuade the producers of 1492: Conquest of Paradise to cast her as Queen Isabel.
In 2001, she played a small role in Forgive Me, Dutch filmmaker Cyrus Frisch’s debut.
In May 2006, Kristel received an award at the Tribeca Film Fest, New York, for directing the animated short film “Topor and Me,” written by Ruud Den Dryver.
After hiatus of eight years, she appeared in Two Sunny Days (2010), and then, in her last acting role, as Eva de Leeuw in the Italian TV film The Swing Girls.
In September 2006, Kristel’s autobiography Nue (Nude) was published in France. The writing was translated into English as Undressing Emmanuelle: A Memoir, by Fourth Estate. In it, she described turbulent personal life blighted by addictions to drugs and alcohol, and her quest for a father figure, which resulted in destructive relationships with older men.
She had a relationship with Belgian author Hugo Claus, more than two decades her senior. Their union produced in 1975 her only child, a son named Arthur.
She left her husband for British actor Ian McShane, whom she had met on the set of The Fifth Musketeer (1979). He had promised to help launch her American career, but their affair led to no significant break.
She began using cocaine about two years into their relationship. This proved her downfall, although at the time she thought of it as a “supervitamin, a fashionable substance, without danger, but expensive, far more exciting than drowning in alcohol – a fuel necessary to stay in the swing.”
In the documentary Hunting Emmanuelle, she described how she made poor decisions due to cocaine addiction. One mistake was selling her interest in Private Lessons to her agent for $150,000; the film grossed more than $26 million domestically.
After McShane, she married twice, first to Alan Turner, an American businessman, for five months. She later married film producer Philippe Blot. She spent a decade with Belgian radio producer Fred De Vree, until his death in 2004.
Her authorized biography, written by Dutch journalist Suzanne Rethans, was published in 2019. Titled Begeerd en Verguisd (Desired and Vilified), it has not yet been translated into English.
A heavy cigarette smoker from age 11, she was diagnosed with throat cancer in 2001, and underwent chemotherapy and surgery after the disease spread to her lungs.
On June 12, 2012, she suffered a stroke and was hospitalized in critical condition. Four months later, she died in her sleep at age 60 from esophageal and lung cancer.
Movie Stars: Sylvia Kristel, Originated Part in Soft Porn Film Series, “Emmanuelle”
Sylvia Maria Kristel (September 28, 1952 – October 17, 2012) was a Dutch actress and model who appeared in over 50 films.
But she is best remembered as the eponymous character in 5 of the 7 Emmanuelle films, originating the role in 1974.
Born in Utrecht, the Netherlands, Kristel was the elder daughter of an innkeeper, Jean-Nicholas Kristel, and his wife Pietje Hendrika Lamme.
In her 2006 autobiography, she stated that she was sexually abused by an elderly hotel guest when she was nine years old, an experience she otherwise refused to discuss. Her parents divorced when she was 14, after her father abandoned the family for another woman.
Kristel began modeling when she was 17. In 1971, before becoming famous, she auditioned for the female lead in the Last Tango in Paris (1972) but lost out to Maria Schneider.
In 1973, she won the Miss TV Europe contest.
She spoke Dutch, English, German, and Italian fluently, as well as other languages to a lesser extent.
Kristel gained international attention in 1974 for playing the title character in the softcore film Emmanuelle, one of the most successful French films ever produced.
After the success of Emmanuelle, she played roles that capitalized on that sexually provocative image, starring in an adaptation of Lady Chatterley’s Lover (1981), and a nudity-filled biopic of the WWI spy in Mata Hari (1985).
During the 1970s, she worked on lesser known films by prominent French directors including Claude Chabrol and Roger Vadim.
She also starred next to Joe Dallesandro in Walerian Borowczyk’s La Marge (1976), a success at the French box office.
She was cast in the part of Stella in Roman Polanski’s The Tenant (1976). but after one day of shooting she was replaced by Isabelle Adjani.
In 1977, she was invited to star as Hattie in Louis Malle’s controversial erotic drama Pretty Baby (1978) but the role eventually went to Susan Sarandon instead.
Several years later, the director wanted to cast Kristel as Ingrid in Damage (1992), but the actress was unavailable at the time.
Sergio Leone wanted her to play the role of Carol in the movie Once Upon a Time in America (1984); the producers did not agree and the role went to Tuesday Weld.
In 1982, she was turned down by Tony Scott for the role of Miriam in The Hunger (1983); Catherine Deneuve ended up playing the part.
She was considered for the role of Lois Lane in Superman (1978), which went to Margot Kidder.
Wished to be Bond Girl
Sylvia unsuccessfully applied for the role of Bond Girl in The Spy Who Loved Me (1977), Moonraker (1979), For Your Eyes Only (1981) and Octopussy (1983).
Roles Rejected
She rejected the female roles in The Story of Adele H. (1975), King Kong (1976), Logan’s Run (1976), Caligula (1979), Body Heat (1981), Blade Runner (1982), Scarface (1983), Dune (1984), Body Double (1984) and Blue Velvet (1986).
Her Emmanuelle typecasting image followed her to the US, where she played Nicole Mallow, a maid who seduces teenaged boy in the sex comedy Private Lessons (1981).
Another mainstream film was a brief comic turn in the Get Smart revival film The Nude Bomb in 1980.
Although Private Lessons was one of the highest-grossing indies of 1981, Kristel saw none of the profits.
In May 1990, she appeared in the TV series My Riviera, filmed at her home in Saint-Tropez.
Her friend Gérard Depardieu wanted to secure her comeback and unsuccessfully tried to persuade the producers of 1492: Conquest of Paradise to cast her as Queen Isabel.
In 2001, she played a small role in Forgive Me, Dutch filmmaker Cyrus Frisch’s debut.
In May 2006, Kristel received an award at the Tribeca Film Fest, New York, for directing the animated short film “Topor and Me,” written by Ruud Den Dryver.
After hiatus of eight years, she appeared in Two Sunny Days (2010), and then, in her last acting role, as Eva de Leeuw in the Italian TV film The Swing Girls.
In September 2006, Kristel’s autobiography Nue (Nude) was published in France. The writing was translated into English as Undressing Emmanuelle: A Memoir, by Fourth Estate. In it, she described turbulent personal life blighted by addictions to drugs and alcohol, and her quest for a father figure, which resulted in destructive relationships with older men.
She had a relationship with Belgian author Hugo Claus, more than two decades her senior. Their union produced in 1975 her only child, a son named Arthur.
She left her husband for British actor Ian McShane, whom she had met on the set of The Fifth Musketeer (1979). He had promised to help launch her American career, but their affair led to no significant break.
She began using cocaine about two years into their relationship. This proved her downfall, although at the time she thought of it as a “supervitamin, a fashionable substance, without danger, but expensive, far more exciting than drowning in alcohol – a fuel necessary to stay in the swing.”
In the documentary Hunting Emmanuelle, she described how she made poor decisions due to cocaine addiction. One mistake was selling her interest in Private Lessons to her agent for $150,000; the film grossed more than $26 million domestically.
After McShane, she married twice, first to Alan Turner, an American businessman, for five months. She later married film producer Philippe Blot. She spent a decade with Belgian radio producer Fred De Vree, until his death in 2004.
Her authorized biography, written by Dutch journalist Suzanne Rethans, was published in 2019. Titled Begeerd en Verguisd (Desired and Vilified), it has not yet been translated into English.
A heavy cigarette smoker from age 11, she was diagnosed with throat cancer in 2001, and underwent chemotherapy and surgery after the disease spread to her lungs.
On June 12, 2012, she suffered a stroke and was hospitalized in critical condition. Four months later, she died in her sleep at age 60 from esophageal and lung cancer.