Who Is Gerard Depardieu? New Details On The Legendary French Actor Recently Charged With Rape
Rumors about him have been swirling for a while.
Denis Maskarenko / Shutterstock He's mostly known for his work in his native France. However, in 1990, he was suddenly known on American shores due to his work alongside Andie MacDowell in Green Card, a largely-forgotten romantic comedy.
Since then, he's worked off-and-on in the United States, though his work was mostly confined to his native France. And despite the questionable nature of some of his roles, he still earned the title of "acting legend," which is neither here nor there.
In 2018, however, he was charged with raping an actress who was in her early 20s at the time of the assault.
Though the charges were initially dismissed, they were recently refiled — and, as of this writing, they're "sticking" with the actor, and it's likely that he will stand trial.
Who is Gerard Depardieu?
Let's take a look.
He's had a very troubled family life.
To say that Gerard Depardieu has led a troubled family life would be an understatement.
His eldest son, Guillaume, died of pneumonia at the age of 37 — after facing a life filled with drug addiction and a motorcycle crash in 1995 that, ultimately, resulted in the amputation of one of his legs.
In 1992, while separated from his first wife and the mother of his two eldest children, he had a daughter with a model who was much younger than him.
He didn't divorce his first wife until 1996, after which he began a relationship with actress Carolyn Bouquet. Then, while still with Bouquet, he got another woman pregnant, and then left Bouquet for yet another woman named Clementine Igou — a woman who, incidentally, is not his third baby mama.
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This isn't the first time he's run into legal drama.
This is far from the first time that Depardieu has run afoul of the law.
In 2011, he was arrested after peeing in a bottle while on an international flight.
Just one year later, he was accused of assault and battery after punching a motorist in Paris — and just a few months after that incident, he got arrested for driving while intoxicated.
Gerard Depardieu is a supporter of controversial Russian president Vladimir Putin.
After creating a legal mess for himself in his native France, Gerard Depardieu announced that he was "handing back his French passport," and in 2013, controversial Russian president Vladimir Putin granted him Russian citizenship.
Since then, Depardieu has been an ardent supporter of the Putin regime, and has criticized Western media for their "lack of vision" when it comes to the Trump-supporting quasi-dictator.
He was initially charged with raping the actress in 2018.
Gerard Depardieu was initially charged with raping the actress — whose name has not been disclosed — in 2018.
According to reports, Depardieu is reportedly a friend of the actress's family, and the incident allegedly happened in his Paris home.
Though the charges were initially dropped, the case was reopened in 2019, and now, the actor faces serious criminal charges.
"A first probe of the rape accusations against Depardieu, 72, was dropped for lack of evidence but later reopened, leading to criminal charges filed in December, a judicial source told AFP on Tuesday," reported The Daily Mail.
The outlet also reported that Depardieu and the actress were supposed to be rehearsing scenes for a play they were due to star in, but that "there was nothing professional about the encounter."
Gerard Depardieu categorically denies the accusations.
In a statement through his attorney, Gerard Depardieu categorically denied the accusations.
He also called the accusations a "non-issue" and an "automatic decision" based on French law. However, his accuser made clear that she remains "at the disposal of the court" and stands by her accusations.
Sexual abuse of adults is common, and if you are a victim of sexual abuse, assault, and/or rape, you are not alone.
For more information and resources, visit RAINN.org or call 1-800-656-HOPE (4673).
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Bernadette Giacomazzo is an editor, writer, photographer, and publicist whose work has been featured in People, Teen Vogue, Us Weekly, The Los Angeles Times, The New York Post, and more.