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France's Mylene Demongeot Dies after 70 Years of Screen Stardom

Mylene Demongeot starred in big-grossing comedies from the 1960s right up to 2022. AFP/File
Mylene Demongeot starred in big-grossing comedies from the 1960s right up to 2022. AFP/File
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France's Mylene Demongeot Dies after 70 Years of Screen Stardom

Mylene Demongeot starred in big-grossing comedies from the 1960s right up to 2022. AFP/File
Mylene Demongeot starred in big-grossing comedies from the 1960s right up to 2022. AFP/File

French actress Mylene Demongeot, a box office star from the 1950s right up to the present day, who also appeared in several British productions, died on Thursday at the age of 87.

Her 70-year career included turns as Milady de Winter in the 1961 version of "The Three Musketeers" and alongside David Niven in Otto Preminger's "Bonjour Tristesse" in 1958, AFP said.

In France, she was best known for comedies, especially two trilogies that appeared half a century apart -- the "Fantomas" films in the 1960s and "Camping" franchise in recent years.

She also appeared in more serious fare, and was nominated for a BAFTA for best newcomer for her part in 1957's "The Crucible", adapted by Jean-Paul Sartre from the famous play by Arthur Miller.

She stayed popular to the end, starring in "Retirement Home" alongside Gerard Depardieu, one of the biggest box office hits of 2022 in France.

Demongeot was often compared to her contemporary Brigitte Bardot in her early years, and was similarly a passionate advocate of environmental and animal charities.

She died in a Paris hospital, with no cause of death immediately given.

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Music Review: Gwen Stefani’s ‘Bouquet’ Is a Romantic Return to Mellow Rock — With an Ageless Voice

Recording artist Gwen Stefani watches during the first half of an NFL football game between the Arizona Cardinals and the New York Jets , Sunday, Nov. 10, 2024, in Glendale, Ariz. (AP)
Recording artist Gwen Stefani watches during the first half of an NFL football game between the Arizona Cardinals and the New York Jets , Sunday, Nov. 10, 2024, in Glendale, Ariz. (AP)
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Music Review: Gwen Stefani’s ‘Bouquet’ Is a Romantic Return to Mellow Rock — With an Ageless Voice

Recording artist Gwen Stefani watches during the first half of an NFL football game between the Arizona Cardinals and the New York Jets , Sunday, Nov. 10, 2024, in Glendale, Ariz. (AP)
Recording artist Gwen Stefani watches during the first half of an NFL football game between the Arizona Cardinals and the New York Jets , Sunday, Nov. 10, 2024, in Glendale, Ariz. (AP)

Words and phrases like "nostalgia" or "back to her roots" come to mind when listening to Gwen Stefani’s fifth studio album, "Bouquet" — and it is in no way negative.

Across 10-tracks, the powerhouse singer leans into the mellow rock of her youth — think Hall & Oates, Chicago, Fleetwood Mac — with dashes of country vibes here and there. Her voice is ageless, unaltered and distinctive, immediately recalling the early aughts when No Doubt still existed, and Stefani was still a bit of a ska girl.

Thematically, however, the songs are about a woman who’s been through the ringer — but life gave her a reprieve in her second act, and she found stability, lots of flowers and no mo’ drama. In that way, "Bouquet" is a not so furtive ode to husband Blake Shelton — who she met and fell in love with while they were both coaches on the singing reality competition show, "The Voice." At the time, they were both going through divorces to Gavin Rossdale and Miranda Lambert, respectively.

On "Bouquet," the Stefani-Shelton romance arrives through yacht rock sounds and flowery language in songs with titles like "Marigolds,Late to Bloom" and "Empty Vase." When the album reaches its end, it is with a duet with Shelton on "Purple Irises."

If the album tells a story of her relationship, it starts with the opener "Somebody Else's." Stefani starts off the proceedings by listing her previous romantic entanglement and bad choices. "I don’t know what a heart like mine/Was doin’ in a love like that, ah," she sings. "I don’t know what a woman like me/Was doin’ with a man like you, ooh."

It's a direct counter to the title track, where the focus appears to be back on Shelton: "We met when my heart was broken/Thank God that yours was, too," she shares. "So lucky that you were goin'/ Through what I was goin' through."

In "Late to Bloom," she decries the fact that they met so late in life.

A nice bass progression, a clever turn of the phrase and a great voice are what it takes to get this album going. Add a cohesive theme, a pleasant vibe and a charismatic star —- and that's coming up roses.