Novelist Frédérique Hébrard, queen of love stories successfully adapted for television, has died at the age of 96, her assistant told Agence France-Presse on Saturday. The author behind the ultra-popular series La Demoiselle d'Avignon or Le Château des Oliviers died "on September 7 at the end of the evening at her home in the Paris region", she said, confirming information from the daily Midi Libre.
Born on June 7, 1927 in Nîmes, Frédérique Hébrard is the daughter of the historian, novelist and academician André Chamson and the archivist Lucie Mazauric, left-wing Protestant parents strongly committed to the anti-fascist struggle and to the Popular Front. She began as an actress and met Louis Velle, with whom she had formed a close couple since 1949, until the latter's death in February 2023.
“Sudden abyss whose depth I barely measure... but a furiously consoling thought that she has, finally, rejoined her lifelong lover, and that they are having fun building new scenarios,” reacted the couple’s daughter , Catherine Velle. While Louis Velle continued his career as an actor, Frédérique Hébrard very quickly devoted himself to writing. And enjoyed great success with La Demoiselle d'Avignon (1971), the story of a modern princess who came to France as an au pair and in love with a diplomat. Adapted for television, the series was a hit and revealed actress Marthe Keller, who played the main role alongside Louis Velle.
Le Château des Oliviers (1993) is another big television success which notably obtains the 7 d’or for best series. In 1987, Frédérique Hébrard won the Grand Prix du roman from the Académie française for another fresco, Le Harem.
