WHEN Jacqueline Bisset won a Golden Globe last week her speech, which went
viral on the internet, was voted the most bizarre and memorable in the
history of the awards.
The British actress, a veteran of nearly 100 movies, said later she could
not even recall swearing.
She has been a star since the 1960s thanks to early roles with Frank
Sinatra in The Detective and Steve McQueen in Bullitt.
Jacqueline, 69, told GARTH PEARCE what she wishes she had known at 18.
“WHEN I see 18-year-olds today who have youth and beauty, I think: “I
hope you know what you’ve got.”
“I didn’t know and wish I had. I had no idea what I looked like and could not
enjoy it.
“So when I hear young girls complaining about things like their legs, I say:
“Shut up and get on with your life. Don’t worry, have fun and just go for
it.”
“I hate the ageing process. There is nothing to love about it. But I have
never had plastic surgery. At a certain point you have to live with what
you’ve got.
“Why do people panic? It is a fear of not being loved, of not being found
desirable or loveable.
“I also should have known at 18 how important it is to have a sense of humour.
It is not always easy but you have to laugh at the ridiculous. And there is
a lot of the ridiculous to laugh at. At 18 I felt a country bumpkin when I
was at the Lycee School in London.
“I wore black — black skirt, black stockings, black jumper.
“We lived in Tilehurst, an area of Reading in Berkshire, and I would travel to
school by train.
“I was never any good at acting in school productions. But a Latin teacher
told me I might make a good actress and that stuck in my mind. I actually
wanted to dance for a living. After I left school, I started doing some
modelling instead. Acting came more as an accident.
“I had a small part in a film called The Knack (1965) and the director Roman
Polanski saw me and cast me for a part in his film Cul-de-Sac (1966).
“I went to live in Los Angeles in 1967 because I had been offered movies. I
didn’t want to go there. The moment I arrived, I wanted to get the next
plane home.
“I was totally on my own and plonked by the film company in a hotel on a big
boulevard with no shops or anything around.
“All I could see were signs for topless night spots and used-car lots. I would
never think, nearly 50 years later, I would still have a home there.
“That certainly is a lesson for any 18-year-old. You can never tell how your
life is going to work out.
“I started my independent life living on the beach north of Malibu in a shack
which was apparently made from a packing case for a grand piano. I had a
musician boyfriend whose drums took up most of the space. It was one room
with a tiny kitchen.
“The Pacific Coast Highway was one side and the Pacific Ocean the other. I
loved it. I drove a VW Beetle, ate burgers, drank beer and lived a hippy
life. It all changed in 1969 when Sharon Tate, the wife of Roman Polanski,
was murdered by the Manson Family.
“It was a turning point and suddenly people started buying dogs and getting
protection. I knew Sharon. She was a lovely girl and we were all in shock.
“So I moved to a proper house with a couple of canvas chairs to sit on, a
little table, one lamp, a candle and a bed. Plus plastic plates.
“There has been no marriage for me and no kids. There have been a lot of long
relationships and a lot of dogs and cats, too.
“Many of my relationships have lasted exactly seven years (including actor
Michael Sarrazin, Russian dancer Alexander Godunov and film producer Victor
Drai) and I have accepted that’s the way it is.
“I never had a relationship with Sinatra. He used to call me The Kid and asked
me to go to one or two dinners.
“I went to a premiere with him and people jumped to conclusions. But he was
very protective of me and never came on to me sexually.
“I’ve been offered the chance to write a book about my life several times. But
I am still looking forward, not backwards.”