Jean-Paul Rappeneau obituary — Jean-Paul Rappeneau, the French director whose Cyrano de Bergerac won the César for Best Film and Best Director and became one of the most successful French films of its era, died on 1 September 2026. He was 94.
Compiled from published reports. Last updated 2 September 2026.
Quick answers
When did Jean-Paul Rappeneau die?
He died on 1 September 2026, aged 94.
What was Jean-Paul Rappeneau’s cause of death?
No cause of death has been made public. This page will be updated if one is announced.
What was Jean-Paul Rappeneau best known for?
Directing Cyrano de Bergerac (1990), starring Gérard Depardieu, which won the César Awards for Best Film and Best Director in 1991.
Writing before directing
He was born on 8 April 1932 in Auxerre, in the Yonne. He began not behind the camera but at the typewriter, working as an assistant and screenwriter alongside Louis Malle on Zazie dans le métro (1960) and Vie privée (1961).
He directed his first feature, A Matter of Resistance, in 1965. From 1975 onward he wrote only for his own films — a deliberate narrowing that helps explain a filmography of eight features across fifty years.
The films
- A Matter of Resistance (1965)
- The Married Couple of the Year Two (1971)
- Lovers Like Us (1975)
- All Fired Up (1982)
- Cyrano de Bergerac (1990)
- The Horseman on the Roof (1995)
- Bon Voyage (2003)
- Families (2015)
Cyrano de Bergerac is the one that endures. His adaptation of Rostand’s play, with Gérard Depardieu in the title role, won international awards and took the Césars for Best Film and Best Director in 1991.
A note from Memories Mortuary
Memories Mortuary had no involvement in Jean-Paul Rappeneau’s funeral arrangements. This obituary is published as a tribute, compiled from published reports. Obituaries for the families we serve are published separately.
Sources for this Jean-Paul Rappeneau obituary
- Death and date — Wikipedia, Deaths in September 2026: en.wikipedia.org
- Biography, filmography and awards — Wikipedia: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jean-Paul_Rappeneau
- Photograph — Wikimedia Commons, File:Rappeneau.jpg, public domain: commons.wikimedia.org
No cause of death had been made public at the time of writing. Verified against the sources above on 2 September 2026.
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