Annette Stroyberg was a mind-blowingly beautiful actress that sadly lived in the shadow of bigger star Brigitte Bardot during her professional career. Annette’s correlation with French bombshell Brigitte in the eyes of the public was no accident, as the actress was actually advertised as being her successor by Brigitte’s own former husband, who divorced Brigitte to marry Annette. While Annette never attained the sex-symbol status of Brigitte Bardot during her lifetime, she was still quite the looker! Join Facts Verse as we take a look at Annette Stroyberg you won’t ever forget!
Annette Stroyberg Grew Up in Nazi-Occupied Denmark
Annette Stroyberg was born on the Dutch island of Fyn in December of 1936. When Annette was growing up on the island, the Third Reich occupied it. The future star’s father was a physician, but he would only be around for the first few years of her life. After her father passed away while she was still young, Annette and her lone sister moved to Copenhagen, which is the capital of Denmark. There, family took care of Annette and her sister until they were older.
Upon Annette’s coming of age, the young woman made the decision to head out to Paris and try her hand at becoming a model. With her bombshell good looks, she quickly began finding work. One of her most notable clients during these early days was none other than Guy Chanel, who used her to model his Chanel fashion line. As Annette got more comfortable modeling, it was only natural that she should start getting into other aspects of the entertainment industry.
In the mid-1950s, Annette Stroyberg met a man by the name of Roger Vadim. At the time, Roger was directing a film by the name of …And God Created Woman. Those who know their film history will recognize this movie as the film that popularized French bombshell Brigitte Bardot. At the time, Roger and Brigitte were married. However, after meeting Annette during the picture’s filming, Roger would leave Brigitte for her. The very same day that Roger’s divorce from Brigitte was finalized, Annette gave birth to their daughter. Roger and Annette would then marry in 1958. However, the marriage would only last for around three years.
Annette Couldn’t Fill the Shoes of Brigitte Bardot
Roger Vadim directed …And God Created Woman with the intention of making his then-wife Brigitte Bardot a sex symbol, and he was very successful in this goal! Roger would then attempt to do the same thing a few more times over the course of his career with his ensuing wives. Roger’s bid to make second wife Annette Stroyberg a Brigitte Bardot-level sex symbol came via his 1959 film adaptation of Les liaisons dangereuses. Sadly, Annette’s role in the film wasn’t received nearly as positively by the public as Brigitte’s role in …And God Created Woman had been. However, very little of this was Annette Stroyberg’s fault.
There were several factors conspiring against Annette Stroyberg when she debuted in her husband’s adaptation of Les liaisons dangereuses. For one thing, there was the ill will that stemmed form the fact that Roger Vadim had dumped Brigitte Bardot and was now trying to brand his new wife as her successor. Annette’s debut via her new husband’s picture saw her credited as Annette Vadim. Secondly, there was the fact that …And God Created Woman had been a comedy that didn’t demand all that much from it’s performers, whereas Les liaisons dangereuses was an adaptation of the classic French novel of the same name. There was too much pressure being put on Annette, and the result was a performance that failed to make her a star.
Although Annette Stroyberg’s debut under the name of Annette Vadim in her husband’s adaptation of Les liaisons dangereuses didn’t make her an overnight sex symbol the likes of Brigitte Bardot, it did prove the start of a long and illustrious career in the entertainment industry in it’s own right. Annette would go on to make only one more film with then-husband Roger Vadim before Roger did to her what he did to Brigitte before her. That second and final film was an exploitation feature by the name of Blood and Roses. In the film, Annette played a lesbian vampire. The film was released in 1960, and her and Roger divorced in 1961.
After divorcing from Annette Stroyberg, Roger went on to find other women to try and turn into sex symbols whose visage he could then coast off of. Meanwhile, Annette chose to stick around in the entertainment industry and rebrand under her maiden name. Finally, Annette Stroyberg was introduced to the public! Though Annette left the entertainment industry behind in the mid-1960s, she remained a notable public figure and continued living an interesting life until her death in 2005. If you’re enjoying this video so far, be sure to hit the like button to show your support! Also, subscribe to the channel if you’d like to be among the first to know when more Facts Verse videos are on their way!
Annette Stroyberg Had Many Notable Affairs
After divorcing from Roger Vadim, Annette Stroyberg travelled to Italy and tried her hand at being an actress there. Sadly, the films that she appeared in during her time in the country weren’t even as successful as her prior features with her first husband had been. By the mid-1960s, Annette decided that it was time to consider her career in the entertainment industry a bust. Her very last film was Lo scippo, which was released in 1965. As Annette faded away from the entertainment industry, she was becoming more notable for her numerous high-profile romantic affairs than she was for any of her actual works. Annette was said to have had romantic relationships with such notable figures as Warren Beatty, Omar Sharif, and French actor Alain Delon. She was also said to have had an affair with her costar on the 1962 feature Anima nera, which was directed by Roberto Rossellini. That costar was popular actor Vittorio Gassman, who was known for hooking up with his female leads.
After leaving the entertainment industry behind in the mid-1960s, Annette Stroyberg remained a notable socialite. In 1967, she married a famed Moroccan figure by the name of Guy Senouf. Instead of being known for his role in the entertainment industry like Annette was, Guy was known for being a sugar king. Annette married guy in 1967, and she subsequently spent the majority of her time living with her new husband in his extravagant African home. However, it has been said that she also spent quite a bit of time travelling back overseas to Paris. Annette and Guy Senouf weren’t married for all that long, but they did have a son over the course of their marriage. That son was named Yan.
By the mid-1970s, Annette was single yet again and looking for another husband. She found another extravagantly wealthy husband in the form of Gregory Callimanopulos, who was a notable shipping magnate that hailed from Greece. Together, Annette and Gregory settled down in America and had a son together, with that son being named Peri. Of all the four marriages that Annette had over the course of her lifetime, her third was the longest by far, After marrying third husband Gregory in 1974, Annette remained with the shipping magnate until the early 1990s. Annette and Gregory divorced in 1992, after which point she returned to Europe.
There Was No Bad Blood Between Annette and Brigitte
Annette Stroyberg married one final time after divorcing from her third husband and moving to Europe. This fourth husband was a man by the name of Christian Lillelund, who was a lawyer. The two marred in 2001, though they wouldn’t be together for very long before fate tore them apart. Unlike Annette’s first three marriages, it was death that put an end to her fourth and final one. The actress passed away from cancer in December of 2005. At the time of her passing, she was 69 years old. Her fourth husband, as well as her three children from her previous marriages, survived her.
Given that first husband Roger Vadim essentially used Annette Stroyberg to try and find success in the entertainment industry for himself before throwing her aside, one might think that the actress would’ve held a grudge against the man. However, it seems that this wasn’t the case! Roger Vadim passed away in February of 2000. All five of the wives that the man had held over the course of his lifetime were in attendance. This included Annette Stroyberg and Brigitte Bardot, as well as Jane Fonda. The latter actress was Roger Vadim’s wife after Annette. Roger married Jane in 1965, and made her a star with the 1968 film Barbarella. By the time of his 2000 death, Roger had moved on from Jane Fonda and remarried twice more.
Of Roger Vadim’s first three wives, Annette Stroyberg is sadly the one who found the least success in the entertainment industry. Both Brigitte Bardot and Jane Fonda became big-time sex symbols thanks to their roles in their respective Roger Vadim-directed features, but Annette was more of an unsung sex symbol during her career. Still, it can’t be denied that Annette’s beauty was just as grand as any of Roger’s other wives, and that pictures of the actress and model during her prime remain stunning to look at.
Annette Stroyberg’s husband sold her to the public as being the next Brigitte Bardot, but she sadly couldn’t fit the bill. Now it’s time to hear from you: did you know that Annette Stroyberg was initially sold to the public as the successor to sex symbol Brigitte Bardot, and that the actress was born and raised in Nazi-occupied Denmark? As always, like this video to show your support, and subscribe and hit the notification bell if you’d like to be among the first to know when more Facts Verse videos are on their way!
