Denise Filiatrault

Birthday: 1931-05-16
Birthplace: Montréal, Québec, Canada
Gender: Female
Owned By: Unowned

Denise Filiatrault (born May 16, 1931) is a Canadian actress and director.

She attained star status on TV in the 1960s, co-starring with Dominique Michel in the Radio-Canada television series Moi et l'autre (1967–71) and in many editions of Radio-Canada's annual New Year's special, Bye Bye. She had further success in Chez Denise (1978–1982), Le 101, avenue des Pins (1984–85) and Denise... aujourd'hui (1990–91).

In addition to her television career, Filiatrault also performed in films and on stage, notably in works by Michel Tremblay. She was known to perform both comic and dramatic roles, such as Gilles Carle's The Death of a Lumberjack (La Mort d'un bûcheron) in 1973, André Brassard's film version of Tremblay's Once Upon a Time in the East (Il était une fois dans l'Est) in 1974, Denys Arcand's Gina in 1975, Claude Fournier's Far from You Sweetheart (Je suis loin de toi mignonne) in 1976, Fantastica in 1980 and Carle's The Plouffe Family (Les Plouffe) in 1981, playing the tormented Cécile.

Following Les Plouffe, Filiatrault took a break from film, concentrating more in writing and directing for theatre and summer comedy. Filiatrault then decided to take the leap to directing cinema by adapting Tremblay's novel C't'à ton tour, Laura Cadieux into the 1998 film It's Your Turn, Laura Cadieux, presenting the world of overweight women yearning for love and affection. Filiatrault opted for a simple yet effective style that showcased the talents of the film's strong female leads. This dramatic comedy scored such success that Filiatrault wrote and directed the 1999 sequel Laura Cadieux II (Laura Cadieux... la suite), in which she further developed the characters and their world.

In 2002, she produced a new comedy fantasy, Alice's Odyssey (L'Odyssée d'Alice Tremblay), which received a lukewarm response from critics and moviegoers. In 2003, taking advantage of the success of her motion picture characters, Filiatrault produced a television miniseries for TVA, Le Petit monde de Laura Cadieux (2003), before tackling a new film Bittersweet Memories (Ma vie en cinémascope) (2004), a dramatic biography of 1930s-1950s singer Alys Robi (played by Pascale Bussières).

As artistic director of the Théâtre du Rideau Vert, she and the theatre were criticized in January 2015 by a coalition of Montreal arts groups for a year-end production in which a Caucasian actor portrayed hockey player P.K. Subban in blackface. Filiatrault responded that she was "shocked, outraged, and humiliated" by the reaction, saying that she had been in show business for 60 years and was the first person to hire a black Quebecer on television.

Credits

Year Title Character
2024-07-11 Sisters and Neighbors! Madame Tremblay
2019-07-10 Compulsive Liar Chauffeure Uber
2017-04-14 It's the Heart That Dies Last Mme Lapierre
2012-05-18 Laurence Anyways Restaurant Manager
1993-01-01 Alisée Nora
1991-09-27 Nelligan Mère supérieure
1990-09-27 The Horse Trader’s Daughter
1988-12-16 Les Tisserands du pouvoir 2, la révolte
1988-10-21 Les Tisserands du pouvoir Emma Leclair
1985-01-02 The Razor's Edge Mother
1984-08-29 The Crime of Ovide Plouffe Soeur d'Ovide
1983-04-06 Effraction La barmaid de l'établissement de nuit
1981-04-07 The Plouffe Family Cécile
1980-05-07 Fantastica Emma
1979-08-21 Bye, See You Monday The airline lady
1977-06-16 15 Nov
1977-02-11 The Late Blossom Marguerite Lapointe-Beaulieu
1976-11-03 Je suis loin de toi mignonne Florence
1976-10-27 Mado Lucienne
1975-01-23 Gina Actress
1974-10-10 Les beaux dimanches Angéline
1974-05-26 Once Upon a Time in the East Hélène
1974-04-02 Bedmania Fabienne
1974-03-07 Par le sang des autres Geneviève Barthélemy
1973-01-25 The Death of a Lumberjack Blanche Bellefeuille
1973-01-01 Backyard Theatre