Who is Berthe Jourdan?: Louis Jourdan’s Wife

By | September 7, 2023
Who is Berthe Jourdan?: Louis Jourdan's Wife

Berthe Jourdan, formerly Berthe “Quique” Frédérique Takar, is a French woman famous for marrying French film and TV actor Louis Jourdan. Louis Jourdan and Berthe were wed on March 11, 1946, in Paris, France. Berthe Jourdan was born on September 12, 1921. Soon after getting married, on April 4, 1946, they left Paris for the United States aboard the S.S. Wooster Victory, with Louis going under the name Louis Gendre.

Berthe, who often found it challenging to keep up, liked Louis’s severe and intellectual personality. He could ponder and practice his cooking, which he excelled at despite Berthe’s admission that she dislikes cooking. They only had one kid. Louis officially altered the family name to the well-known Jourdan in 1957. They adhere to the typical French marital dynamic, where the husband takes on the role of family head, Berthe highlighted.

Berthe and Louis were committed to one another during their protracted marriage, despite the difficulties that inevitably develop after three decades. They retired and made Los Angeles, California, their new home. Berthe died at their Beverly Hills home on June 13, 2014, at 92. 

Career

Berthe Jourdan’s professional trajectory has not been discovered to the general public. Therefore, it is still being determined what she was doing for a living. Berthe Jourdan reportedly wants to keep life that part of her life private. Berthe Jourdan’s job, however, could be centred on the movie business, given that her husband, Loius Jourdan, worked in the field.

How many children did Berthe Jourdan had with Louis Jourdan?

Berthe Jourdan and Louis Jourdan produced one child, a son named Louis Henry Jourdan Jr. When Louis was born in 1951, he was given the name “Louis Henry George Gendre.” A few years later, his father changed his last name to Jourdan legally. Louis went to Hollywood High School and participated on the swim team there. 

In a piece titled “The Most Beautiful Boy in the World,” Louis’ former classmate Jennifer Ward Dudley discussed what it was like to be the best friend of an actor’s son. She mentioned that the Good Shepard Church in Little Santa Monica, a Catholic church, was attended by her family and the Jourdans. 

A passage from a paper Louis Jourdan authored about their family dynamics that highlighted the distinct mood in their house was previously shared by Louis Jourdan’s mother. Louis made light of his father’s ongoing role-playing and his mother’s propensity for listening while standing on her head.

Louis Henry Jourdan Jr. had a tragically short life. On May 13, 1981, he died at the age of 29 from what may have been a heroin overdose. Given the circumstances of his death, several biographers now believe it may have been an accidental overdose after it was previously suspected to be a suicide. According to the New York Times obituary, Louis Henry Jourdan Jr. suffered from drug-related problems. He had even been convicted of marijuana possession when he was just 18 years old.

Louis Jourdan: Berthe Jourdan’s Husband

Berthe Jourdan’s husband, Louis Jourdan, was a French film and television actor (born Louis Robert Gendre; June 19 1921 – February 14 2015). In various Hollywood movies, including The Paradine Case (1947) by Alfred Hitchcock, Letter from an Unknown Woman (1948), Gigi (1958), The Best of Everything (1959), The V.I.P.s(1963), and Octopussy (1983), he was noted for his dapper performances. In the 1977 B.B.C. television series Count Dracula, he portrayed Dracula. 

Berthe Jourdan’s husband, Louis Robert Gendre, one of three boys born to hotelier Henry Gendre and Yvonne (née Jourdan), was given the name Jourdan when he was born in Marseille, France, in 1921. He had his education in France, Turkey, and the U.K.and attended the École Dramatique to study acting. He started performing professionally, and the director Marc Allégret saw him there. He engaged him to serve as a French assistant camera operator on Entrée des Artistes (The Curtain Rises).

Then, in 1939, Allegret hired Louis Jourdan with Charles Boyer in Le Corsaire, which ought to have been his debut film. The Second World War stopped production, and it was never restarted. Her husband resided in Los Angeles after quitting acting in 1992. He was pleased to be named a Chevalier de la Légion d’honneur in July 2010, together with pals Sidney Poitier and Kirk Douglas.

Berthe Jourdan’s husband, Louis Jourdan, has two stars at 6153 and 6445 Hollywood Boulevard on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. Louis Jourdan died on February 14, 2015, at 93, in his Beverly Hills residence. His remains were interred in Los Angeles’ Westwood Village Memorial Park Cemetery.