Denise Darcel Profile

Denise Darcel

	(Denise Billecard)
8 September 25	is born in Paris, France, to Paul Billecard, a manufacturer and shipper of bakery goods, and his wife, Alice. She has four sisters: Alice, Janette, Helene, and Suzanne.
Early 40s	her father dies when the Nazis occupy their home
?	attends school in Paris and the University of Dijon
c. 45	is discovered behind the perfume counter of a Paris store
?	is "The Most Beautiful Girl of Paris" and "The Most Photographed Girl in France"
?	becomes a featured singer at La Comedie Francaise
?	is elected mascot of an American Army football team in France
?	marries Robert Atkinson
49	spends a balmy California night with two young Parisians but gets no love. This story will show up in Confidential magazine in November 1956.
17 October 50	marries millionaire and Washington real estate dealer Peter Crosby at St. Patrick’s Cathedral, New York
Autumn 51	divorces Crosby in Yautepec, Mexico
October 51	Rock Hudson is her dinner date
Early 50s	is romantically linked with actor Steve Cochran
July 55	steadily goes out again with Steve Cochran
14 April 61	marries Robert Gerard Atkinson of New York in Vero Beach, Florida. The ceremony is performed in the office of the county judge.
23 December 11	dies at age 87 in a Los Angeles hospital from complications of an emergency surgery to repair a ruptured aneurysm. Her fourth husband, George Simpson, Jr., died in 2003. She is survived by two sons, Craig and Chris.

Sources: Hollywood Players: The Forties by James Robert Parish, Silver Screen, Screenland, Picturegoer, Confidential, The New York Times
Recommended Books:
Links: Filmography