Acting legend Jean-Paul Belmondo is dead

"Cartouche" Acting legend Jean-Paul Belmondo is dead "Bébel" is what the French called their Belmondo. French actor Jean-Paul Belmondo is dead. This was reported by the AFP news agency, citing his lawyer. Belmondo was 88 years old. Legendary actor Jean-Paul Belmondo is dead. The French star died at 88 on Monday in Paris, AFP news agency reported, citing his lawyer Michel Godest. Belmondo made more than 80 films and played more than 40 theater roles. Belmondo, known as "Bébel" by his French fans, became best known as an anti-hero. In numerous works he played daredevils and gangsters. In the 1960s, he was considered a figurehead of "nouvelle vague" cinema and a symbol of rebellion and anarchism. He was part of a new generation of film stars who were no longer beautiful heroes. He had celebrated his breakthrough to cinema stardom as a 26-year-old with Jean-Luc Godard's Out of Breath. Later, they filmed the love triangle "A Woman is a Woman" together. By the 1970s at the latest, Belmondo had become a successful actor in action films and one of the biggest stars of European cinema. One of the biggest box office hits with Belmondo is "Adventures in Rio" by Philippe de Broca about a young soldier in search of his kidnapped girlfriend. Belmondo was born on April 9, 1933, in the chic Paris suburb of Neuilly-sur-Seine. His father Paul, whose family came from Sicily, was a well-known Parisian sculptor, his mother a dancer. As a child, Jean-Paul was considered particularly undisciplined. He changed schools several times and discovered boxing as a high school student. He competed in several fights before deciding to become an actor. The actor had been physically weak since suffering a stroke in 2001. "He had been very tired for some time," his lawyer said. "He died quietly." Belmondo has four children from different relationships.