Beautiful Leslie Caron (83) was the French ingénue who conquered Hollywood in 1951 when she appeared aged 19 as the female lead in cult musical An American In Paris. Having starred in films such Daddy Long Legs, Gigi, The L-Shaped Room, and Father Goose, her career led her to win two Bafta awards and a Golden Globe for Best Leading Actress, an Emmy award in 2006 for her performance in Law & Order: Special Victims Unit, as well as two nominations for Best Actress at the Oscars. One of the very few ballerinas and actresses to have danced alongside Gene Kelly, Fred Astaire, Mikhail Baryshnikov, and Rudolf Nureyev, she has been by far the most successful French actress in Hollywood. Having sold her Burgundy hotel and restaurant, which she restored and managed for 15 years, she moved to London in 2010, to be closer to her children and grandchildren from her previous marriage to theatre legend Sir Peter Hall. The still stunning actress received Chic-Londres in her Chelsea apartment to talk about buying a tie with Fred Astaire, not being a femme fatale and loving the English.

How would you define yourself in a few words? I believe that I’m a rather nice person. I’m also an overachiever- I always think that I haven’t done enough and when I undertake something, I often go too far. I put my career on hold for 15 years in order to rebuild an auberge, just because I wanted to do something else than being a pawn, which is what an actress is, really. It was a great success, but also a bit mad. I’m also naturally very shy- Jean Renoir, who was my mentor, always used to tell me that shyness was a flaw, not a quality- he was all for communication! read more

To her legions of fans, Danai Gurira (36) is primarily known as “Michonne”, the formidable sabre-swinging she-warrior and prime annihilator of zombies in post-apocalyptic horror TV drama The Walking Dead, the cult show developed by Frank Darabont (The Shawshank Redemption) and the most watched TV series in America. Danai Gurira is however much more than that: the American-born, Zimbabwean-raised actress, who studied psychology and drama in New York University, is also an award-winning playwright and a women’s rights campaigner. An awestruck Chic-Londres caught up with her in London, where she was one of the guest speakers at the recent Global Summit to end sexual violence in conflict organised by Angelina Jolie and William Hague.

You’ve written a play about Black women suffering from HIV and founded a charity to promote art education in Africa: what motivated you to become a campaigner?

I grew up as a Zimbabwean girl, and while I was lucky enough to be raised in a middle class family and to have a protected childhood, between the States and Zimbabwe, I never saw any difference between me and the other African girls. I’ve always felt that they are me, and that I am them, and that it’s my duty to make sure hat their voices are heard.

What do you think of the work so far accomplished by Angelina Jolie?

I deeply admire both Angelina and her partner, Brad Pitt, who’s also been present for the summit. To me, they represent the best that Hollywood can produce: true activists who use their fame and their power to do some good- definitely something to aspire to. read more

Dubbed “the high priestess of French lady wisdom” by USA Today, the New York-based -but quintessentially French- Mireille Guiliano (67) gave up a successful career at luxury group LVMH in 2004 to publish French Women Don’t Get Fat, an immediate bestseller which reached No 1 in the New York times List and was translated in 39 countries. More has success followed since with other books extolling the virtues of French women’s lifestyle. Her latest, French Women Don’t Get Facelifts: The Secret of Aging with Style & Attitude, offers non-nonsense advice on how to look after oneself while enjoying life’s pleasures. Chic-Londres met with the delightful Mireille on her latest visit to London this January, to talk diet (or lack of), style and why she won’t have Botox.

What made you give up a successful career at Veuve Clicquot to write books? It all happened by chance, really. I often gave fashion and nutrition advice to my friends and one husband whose wife I helped suggested I should write a book. He put me in touch with an agent, who loved the idea and found a publisher straight away. For a few months, I combined writing with managing Veuve Clicquot in the states but quickly realised I couldn’t do both, so decided to switch career and concentrate on writing. read more

He might not be as well known to non French audiences as his co-stars Gérard Depardieu (Obelix and Asterix) and Jean Reno (Les Visiteurs), but in France, actor Christian Clavier (61) is a bit of a legend. The only French actor -alongside actor Bourvil- to have featured in more than three films reaching over ten millions entries each at the French box office, he is famous for his cult roles in some of the most popular comedies in his country. A London resident for the past year, he is playing at the Soho Theatre from 13th to 22nd of June, in Address Unknown, a stage adaptation of the text published in 1938 by Kathrine Kressman Taylor. This call to arms against nazism takes the form of an exchange of letters dated 1932 to 1934 between an American Jew and his German friend. Chic-Londres met Christain Clavier in May at the French Institute to discuss his career and latest project.

What has attracted you in this play? It broaches some very tragic events, and is full of suspense and intrigue, which makes it very pleasant to watch, despite its rather dramatic subject. I also like the fact that this book was written by an FBI agent, who knew a lot about what was actually happening in Germany at the time of the events she relates. And while her book was successful enough to be adapted on screen in 1944, it then fall into oblivion, until it was recently adapted on stage in France, where it has been very successful. The fact that I produced this play in collaboration with an English theatre also gives the audience the possibility to see it both in French with French actors and in English with English actors, which I think is an interesting experiment. read more

Since his appearance in La Haine (Hate) in 1993, Vincent Cassel has made a name for himself as one of the most talented and versatile actors of his generation, having switched effortlessly from independent productions like the Mesrine and controversial Irreversible to big budget blockbusters such as Oceans’ Twelve and Thirtheen. To mark the release of his new film Black Swan, where he stars alongside Natalie Portman, Chic-Londres has decided to retrieve its exclusive 2009 London interview with the French star.

You have been honoured by the British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTA) which described you as the “golden boy” of French cinema, how do you feel about that? I am not sure I deserve to be described as a “golden boy”, although I am obviously delighted – especially considering how important the Academy is in Britain. I really didn’t expect it to happen, particularly since I am the first Frenchman at this event, which makes it all the more flattering. I knew I had some kind of following in the UK, but the fact that I have been recognised in such a formal way is very reassuring. I need reassurance just like everybody else. read more