Michèle Bernier: a Career that Resists Age
At 66 years old, she is far from thinking of retiring. On the contrary, Michèle Bernier is currently filming the ninth season of the series La Stagiaire for France 3. Her humorous show Vive demain !, which she played in 2019 at the Théâtre des Variétés, will be broadcast on Saturday, June 17th, 2023 on C8. In this one-woman show directed by Marie Pascale Osterrieth, the actress evokes love, as always, but also her life as a woman, mother and grandmother. In a relationship with Bruno Gaccio from 1982 to 1997, she effectively had Charlotte – known for playing in Demain nous appartient – in 1987 and Enzo, more discreet, in 1997… the family has since grown! In October 2017, Charlotte Gaccio gave birth to twins, Zoé and Roméo.
Breaking Beauty Standards
Her relationship with others and with herself are at the heart of the show. Interviewed by a magazine, Michèle Bernier recalls that she has a special place in the French audiovisual landscape since she has never really fit into the boxes. “I would still like to think that I am a pleasant and likable woman, even if I don’t fit into a size 36! Being thin or slim to be happy is a false idea of happiness, she assures. We have been twisted in the mind with this, while making women feel guilty and complexed.”
A Career that Resists Age
Michèle Bernier has been touching the public since the beginning of the 1980s. She had, at the time, joined the Théâtre de Bouvard. If she sometimes wants to regain her 18 years, and has difficulty “realizing that one day we age”, the actress notes that the passing of time does not have such a negative impact on her career. A boon. “I was lucky. Since I was never seen as a glamorous woman who made boys turn their heads, I feel like I’m aging less in the job, she explains. It’s harder for beauty standards, who were told at 50 that men will no longer fight for them! But we quickly go from roles of adolescent mothers to… those of grandmothers! Between the two, there are few scenarios written for women. But for men, it doesn’t matter!”
