Berthe Jourdan, also known as Quique Jourdan, was the wife of the famous French actor Louis Jourdan, who starred in movies such as Gigi and Three Coins in the Fountain. She was born in Paris, France, on September 12, 1921, and married Louis Jourdan on March 11, 1946. They had one son, Louis Henry Jourdan, who was born on October 6, 1951.
A Tragic Loss
Berthe Jourdan’s life was marked by a tragic loss when her son, Louis Henry Jourdan, died of a drug overdose on May 12, 1981, at the age of 29. He had suffered from a drug use problem and a manic depressive condition for several years, which left him unable to work. He took his own life by consuming a bottle of medication that was not prescribed for him. He left no note, but his death was ruled a suicide by the police. His parents found him dead in his bed at their Bel-Air mansion. According to UPI, they took the death “very hard”. He was their only child and he lived with his parents.
A Long and Loving Marriage
Despite the tragedy, Berthe Jourdan and Louis Jourdan remained married for 68 years, until her death on June 13, 2014, at the age of 92. She died in Los Angeles, California, where they had lived since 1946. She was buried next to her son at the Westwood Village Memorial Park Cemetery.
Berthe Jourdan was a devoted wife and mother, who supported her husband’s career and made a good home for him. She had no talent or ambitions of her own, and was content with being an “old fashioned” housewife. She once said, “I want an old fashioned house with an old fashioned fence and an old fashioned millionaire. It’s the luckiest thing in the world for Louis that he married a wife with no talent and no ambitions.” She also described her relationship with her husband as follows: “I’m not the type to swoon, but Louis is so serious, so straight, so honest, that maybe I was swooned by that. He looks for an intellectual challenge in everything. This I admire, although I cannot always follow him. So I make for him a good home, and I make myself a good wife, and I let him alone when he wants to think. I even let him alone when he wants to cook. He can cook like Escoffier when he is in the mood, while as for me, I hate to cook. It works out very well.”
Louis Jourdan died less than a year after his wife, on February 14, 2015, at the age of 93. He had been suffering from poor health and was heartbroken by the loss of his wife and son. He was also buried at the Westwood Village Memorial Park Cemetery, next to his wife and son.
