The life of Gérard Depardieu (76) is a scandal in itself. Just reading his extensive biography is enough. However, the star of the adventures of Astérix and Obélix has been under scrutiny since two women accused him of allegedly assaulting them in September 2021 during the filming of the movie The Green Curtains.
A few days ago, he stated in court, "I am vulgar, I am rude, I am foul-mouthed." But also: "I don't see why I would touch a woman. I am not a groper on the subway, I've been told that exists, but I don't know about those things. There are many vices I am unaware of. From there to putting my hand on her butt, come on!" He repeated over and over that he had not done anything as serious as sexual assault. On May 13, Gérard Depardieu will find out if the justice system declares him innocent or guilty of a crime for which the prosecutor is asking for 18 months of prison.
The Prosecutor asks for an 18-month sentence for Gérard Depardieu for sexual assault
Gérard Depardieu's accusers detail their allegations against the actor: "Suddenly, he put his hand on my butt"
Depardieu's past is full of drunkenness, street fights, abuses towards paparazzi, and insults to colleagues, but also of deep sorrows like the death of his firstborn Guillaume in 2008 at the age of 37. He was the son of actress Élizabeth Depardieu (83) who had another daughter named Julie (51) with the French star. Gérard has two other daughters from two other relationships, Roxanne (33) and Jean (18).
Guillaume had followed in his parents' footsteps achieving fame as a teenager with the movie Tous les matins du monde (1991) and won the César for Best New Actor for The Apprentices (1995). His reputation as an actor was on the rise along with his serious issues with alcohol, drugs, violence, and his love for extreme speed that led him to drive up to 320 km/h. For the latter, he was imprisoned several times.
The truth is that at 13, Guillaume was already showing promise. He ran away from home to live with two prostitutes and started flirting with alcohol. At 17, he ended up in jail for robbing with a gas pistol the down jackets of several people. About this experience, the young man confessed, "I learned to be profoundly antisocial. They turned me into a beast." Subsequently, in 1993, he was sentenced to three years for heroin trafficking, but was released after a year and a half.
In 1995, there was a turning point in his life when the accidental fall of a suitcase caused a serious motorcycle accident that he was involved in. He underwent 17 surgeries and later suffered a knee infection contracted in the hospital that made his life unbearable. Therefore, his leg was amputated.
As he grew older, his outbursts of anger increased. In our country, we witnessed what happened at the Gijón Film Festival in 1999 where he destroyed the hotel room, tried to attack the festival director, and even won the award for best actor, which he did not collect because he had been expelled.
Likewise, some directors had to halt filming due to Guillaume's hard drug use, for which he had to be involuntarily admitted. One night, he fled from the center in the middle of the night by hanging a sheet from the third-floor window. In 1993, he was again sentenced to three years in prison, two of which were suspended and subject to probation.
In 1996, Guillaume fell in love with Clotilde Courau (56), with whom he had an intense love story that the actress still remembers with some nostalgia today. Currently, she is divorced from Manuel Filiberto of Savoy (52), who is in love with the Mexican millionaire Adriana Abascal (54). In 1999, Guillaume married Élise Ventre - who passed away in 2020 - the mother of his only daughter Louise, who is 24 years old. They divorced in 2001.
The great tragedy struck in 2008. While filming in Romania for The Childhood of Icarus, he contracted a severe pneumonia combined with golden staph. He was immediately repatriated to the Garches hospital in Paris, where he died three days later, specifically on October 13. A premature death that deeply saddened many members of the French film industry.