Secrets of "Emmanuelle": the triumph, life and death of Sylvia Kristel

Dutch model and aspiring actress Sylvia Maria Kristel became a star in one day. The premiere of the erotic film "Emmanuelle" lifted her to the pinnacle of fame and put her on the same level with venerable actresses who have been going to success for many years. But the glory of Sylvia was fleeting and was soon forgotten about. How was the fate of this actress, who opened such a genre as erotica?

(Caution! Nude).

Almost every owner of a VCR had a video cassette with the film "Emmanul" and its sequels, and the title melody of the film Mélodie d'amour chantait le cœur d'Emmanuelle was replicated on reels, cassettes and diligently written out in the form of chords in the cherished notebooks of courtyard guitarists. Millions knew in the face of Sylvia Christel, but who she was and how she got into the sensational picture was a mystery to everyone.

Sylvia Maria Christel was born on September 28, 1952 in the Netherlands, in the city of Utrecht. Her family was very strict and religious, so the girl was sent to study at a Catholic boarding school with an excellent reputation. The restrictions that surrounded Sylvia from an early age turned her into a rebel in her teens, who wanted to live by her own rules.

Even at school, Sylvia realized that she attracted men and she liked it. Therefore, barely graduating from a Catholic boarding school, the girl went to a modeling agency for a casting. She approached, and her life spun in a kaleidoscope of photo shoots, shows and fashion parties.

In 1973, the aspiring model received the title of "Miss Television Europe" and her photos began to appear not only in Dutch, but also in German, Italian and even French glossies. Soon the girl was offered her first role in a movie, though not a particularly high-budget one. The picture was called "Nude behind the fence" and that's all you need to know about this film.

But the role in an unremarkable playful Dutch film was a good start for Christel. She was noticed by a young director, Just Jaquin, who needed a young and uncomplexed actress for his first serious film, Emmanuelle. They say that Sylvia, barely entering the room where the auditions were held, slipped out of the dress and found herself completely naked in front of the director and his assistants - she decided not to wear underwear that day. She was immediately approved for the role.

But the relaxed and outrageous Sylvia still had certain boundaries that were not easy for her to cross. Sex scenes were very difficult for her - the girl had to drink a glass of champagne before filming to overcome shame. She was also worried that the picture turned out to be much tougher than she expected.

In the 70s, not a single famous actress wanted to act in a film like Emmanuelle. The appearance in the film, which was considered semi-pornographic, and even with a little-known director, could cost even a star a further career. After the film's release in 1974, it was not shown in French cinemas for several months because critics thought it was too explicit.

But when the rental certificate was received, grandiose queues formed at the box office of cinema halls. The fact that the film was not released for a long time was an excellent advertisement, and the fees of the first days were amazing. Christelle woke up as a star the very next day after the premiere.

Since the film "went", a trilogy was shot, and then three more films, although the logical chain of the plot was cut off after the third part. But who cares - the adventures of Emmanuelle were not watched at all for the sake of a harmonious plot or beautiful dialogues, but for the sake of the charms of Sylvia Kristel and her co-stars in the film.

The theme of a sexy French woman with a special look at sexual relations was exploited for 19 years, until she completely exhausted herself. In addition to "Emmanuelle" Christel starred in other films. She tried to conquer Hollywood and in 1979 made her debut across the ocean in two films at once - Airport 79 and The Revealing Bomb.

Then there were the paintings "Lady Chatterley's Lover" (1981), "Private Lessons" (1981) and "Mata Hari" (1985). Unfortunately, none of these works of the actress repeated the success of "Emmanuelle". For Christelle, a stable role of a sex bomb was entrenched, which turned out to be impossible to break.

The personal life of the actress was not too successful either. Even during the filming of the first part of "Emmanuelle", she met the Belgian children's writer Hugo Klaus. In 1975, Sylvia gave birth to his son Arthur, whom she did not care for at all.

While the actress was filming in France in the endless continuations of the erotic film saga, her son studied and lived in an elite boarding school in Holland, where he was sent at the age of 6. Christelle visited him at the weekend, but took him home very rarely. Later, she admits in an interview that she is very sorry that she was so distant from her son.

Having matured, Arthur tried to start a career in cinema, but after three failed roles he left this idea. He got a job in the coffee shop of his aunt Marianna, Sylvia's younger sister, and worked there as an ordinary barista. He had a strained relationship with his mother and they warmed up only shortly before Christelle's death. Now Arthur works as a bartender in one of the restaurants in Amsterdam and does not really like to talk to journalists about his mother.

The novel with the writer was stormy, but short-lived. After him, Sylvia met with British actor Ian McShane, a famous heartthrob, and then married director Philip Blo. This marriage was one of the biggest mistakes in Christelle's life. Blo began to shoot her in his films, but three of his films in a row, one after another, failed miserably at the box office.

To avoid bankruptcy, her husband persuaded Sylvia to sell all her property and pawn her jewelry. The marriage broke up and Christelle left him penniless and without even having a roof over her head. After the actress had several more novels, including a scandalous one with French President Valerie Giscard d'Estaing, who was 26 years older than her. There is information that it was thanks to Christel's powerful lover that "Emmanuelle" lasted a record 11 years in the French box office!

Having stopped acting in films, Sylvia completely immersed herself in her hobby - painting. The woman painted pictures that were well bought, while the fame of the artist played an important role in this. Another source of income for Kristel was various TV shows on which the actress tirelessly shared her memories of filming in Emmanuelle.

In 2006, the woman wrote the autobiographical book "Naked" and dedicated it to her son Arthur. The last years of her life, Sylvia Kristel was very ill - many years of experience as a smoker of cigarettes without a filter affected. According to the actress herself, she started smoking while still in a boarding school, at the age of 11 years.

First, the actress was diagnosed with throat cancer, and later - liver metastases. In June 2012, after another session of chemotherapy, Christel suffered a stroke from which she never recovered. The star of the film "Emmanuelle" left this world quietly, in a dream, on the night of October 17-18, 2012. She was 60 years old.