A leading French stage actress whose cool intelligence and offbeat demeanor, at once sensuous and austere, Jeanne Moreau graced some of the finest films of the late 1950s and 60s, especially those of New Wave directors Louis Malle and Francois Truffaut. She came to prominence in Malle's "Ascenseur pour l'echafaud/Elevator to the Gallows" (1957) and "Les Amants/The Lovers" (1958), but it was her free-spirited performance as Catherine in Francois Truffaut's "Jules and Jim" (1961) that made her an international star. Moreau distinguished herself in the films of such directors as Michelangelo