Simone Simon

Delicately pretty French actress whose first stab at a Hollywood career (1936-38) proved inconclusive but who returned for another try, bolstered by her domestic success in Jean Renoir's "La Bete Humaine" (1938). Simon enjoyed better fortune the second time around, distinguishing herself as a vixen from hell (literally) in William Dieterle's "The Devil and Daniel Webster" (1941) and in the atmospheric thrillers, "Cat People" (1942) and "Curse of the Cat People" (1944). She continued to appear in international productions--notably Max Ophuls's stylish erotic comedy, "La Ronde" (1950)--through the mid-1950s.