Denise Pelletier

Denise Pelletier, OC (May 22, 1923 – May 24, 1976) was a Canadian actress whose career spanned stage, film, radio, and television across several decades. Born in Saint-Jovite, Quebec, she was the daughter of Albert Pelletier, a literary critic, and Marie-Reine Vaugeois. Her brother, Gilles Pelletier, was also an actor. Pelletier received her education at Congrégation Notre-Dame, and after leaving school she discovered an advertisement for acting courses offered by the Montreal Repertory Theatre. She enrolled and was quickly cast in a role, going on to perform in classical plays at the theatre while also taking part in radio soap operas.

Pelletier made her film debut in 1943 in À la croisée des chemins, one of the first Québécois films. She continued building her screen presence with the 1947 production Les Parents terribles, and was among the few Canadian performers of her era working in both English and French. In 1951 she met Jean Gascon at Théâtre du Nouveau Monde, and that same year she began appearing on Broadway, where her credits included Ti-Coq, the comedy Le Malade Imaginaire, and Le Mariage Force. Her Broadway career extended through 1958.

When television arrived in Canada in 1952, Pelletier took on one of her most recognized roles, playing Cécile in Les Plouffes. Despite her preference for the stage, she was named Miss Radio Television in 1955. She later starred opposite Jean Duceppe in De Neuf à Cinq in 1968, and during the 1970s appeared in Mont-Joye and Michel Tremblay's Trois Petits Tours.

In 1970, Pelletier was awarded the Order of Canada. Her final performance came in 1975 at the Stratford Festival in The Divine Sarah. Before the production could be brought to Montreal, she died on May 24, 1976, two days after her fifty-third birthday, during a heart operation. The Quebec government subsequently established the Prix Denise-Pelletier in recognition of her contributions to the performing arts.