Capucine
French model and actress (1928-1990)
Germaine Hélène Irène Lefebvre (French: [ʒɛʀmɛn elɛn iʀɛn ləfɛvʀ], 6 January 1928 – 17 March 1990), known by her mononym stage name Capucine (French: [kapysin]), was a French fashion model and actress known for her comedic roles in The Pink Panther (1963) and What's New Pussycat? (1965). She appeared in 36 films and 17 television productions between 1948 and 1990.
Early life
Capucine was born Germaine Hélène Irène Lefebvre on 6 January 1928 in Saint-Raphaël, Var, France to Désirée Spitalier and Arthur Lefèbvre. She often misstated the date of her birth by claiming that she was born in 1931 or 1933, and most sources indicate those years. She attended school in Saumur, France, and earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in Foreign Languages.
In 1945, at age 17, while riding in a carriage in Paris, Lefebvre was noticed by a commercial photographer. Adopting the French name of a flower, "Capucine" (nasturtium, Tropaeolum), she became a fashion model, working for the fashion houses Givenchy and Christian Dior.
Capucine met Audrey Hepburn while modeling for Givenchy in Paris. They remained close friends for the rest of Capucine's life.
The public source identifies “Capucine” as french model and actress (1928-1990). This brief keeps that definition visible, then builds a research path around Capucine, French and model.
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A short description can identify a subject without explaining its stakes. For “Capucine”, the useful work is to connect “french model and actress (1928-1990)” to the records capable of establishing context and consequence.
Chronology provides the most reliable spine for this subject; interpretation should follow only after identities and dates are secure. The source revision retrieved here is dated Sep 16, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q256466. VIAF identifies the subject as 265178330. The Library of Congress control number is n95002985. 5 of 5 selected statements include explicit references; 1 carry qualifiers and 0 use preferred rank. The first chronological checks are 1928, 1990, 1963 and 1965.
A concise life account rarely captures disputed attribution, private networks or the changing language used to describe a career. The lead is largely declarative, so disagreement and counter-evidence require a deliberate search beyond the opening account. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.
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Three-step research path
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This entry incorporates text from “Capucine” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.