Capucine became a fashion model at the age of 17, adopting the name Capucine (French for nasturtium), and eventually working for Givenchy in Paris.

She made her film debut at age 18 in Rendez-vous de juillet. In 1950 she was married for seven months to French actor Pierre Trabaud. After making several movies for Hollywood, of declining quality, and after ending a two-year romance with the married William Holden, she moved to Europe where she made films in several languages, including French and Italian. She also had a close friendship with Dirk Bogarde who, despite his own sexual ambivalence, seriously considered marrying her (though this has been dismissed by his family recently as a smokescreen for his homosexuality). Capucine struggled throughout her life with bipolar disorder, and committed suicide at the age of 59 in Lausanne, Switzerland, by jumping from her eighth-floor apartment window.

The actress once said, "I used to think I needed a man to define myself. Not any more." Whether this statement was an acknowledgment that Capucine was lesbian is not known, though the actress did talk in interviews late in life about her preference for women.

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