Anna Karina (born Hanne Karin Bayer; 22 September 1940 - 14 December 2019) was a Danish-French actress, singer, model, writer, and filmmaker. She became one of the defining screen presences of the French New Wave, particularly through her work with Jean-Luc Godard, but her career also included collaborations with directors such as Jacques Rivette, Luchino Visconti, Rainer Werner Fassbinder, Tony Richardson, and Raul Ruiz.
Born in Solbjerg, Denmark, Karina began singing and modeling as a teenager. She moved to France at the age of 17 and found work in Paris as a model and cabaret performer. Her striking features and distinctive style soon brought her to the attention of the fashion and film industries. Godard first noticed her in a Palmolive advertisement and considered her for a small role in Breathless (1960), but Karina declined after learning that the part involved nudity.
Their professional relationship began with The Little Soldier (Le Petit Soldat, 1960), although the film was not released until 1963 because of its controversial treatment of the Algerian War. Karina then appeared in A Woman Is a Woman (Une femme est une femme, 1961), a playful musical comedy in which she combined acting, singing, and dancing. Her performance as Angela earned her the Silver Bear for Best Actress at the Berlin International Film Festival and established her as a major new talent.
Karina and Godard continued their collaboration through a remarkable series of films. In My Life to Live (Vivre sa vie, 1962), she played Nana, a young woman whose life moves toward prostitution. The film used Karina's expressive face and quiet intensity as central elements of its visual design. She also appeared in Band of Outsiders (Bande a part, 1964), including its celebrated cafe dance sequence; Alphaville (1965), in which she played a woman struggling to understand the meaning of love; Pierrot le Fou (1965); and Made in U.S.A. (1966). These films made Karina an enduring symbol of the New Wave, although her performances were more varied than the familiar description of her as Godard's muse suggests.
Outside Godard's cinema, Karina took on demanding and diverse roles. She played the persecuted Suzanne Simonin in Rivette's The Nun (La Religieuse, 1966), appeared opposite Marcello Mastroianni in Visconti's The Stranger (1967), and worked in international productions including Justine (1969), Laughter in the Dark (1969), and The Magus (1968). Later credits included Andre Delvaux's Rendezvous at Bray (1971), Franco Brusati's Bread and Chocolate (1974), Fassbinder's Chinese Roulette (1976), and Ruiz's Treasure Island (1985).
Music remained an important part of Karina's artistic identity. She sang songs written by Serge Gainsbourg for the television musical Anna (1967), including Sous le soleil exactement and Roller Girl. She also performed in later films and recorded Une Histoire d'Amour with Philippe Katerine.
Karina expanded her work behind the camera with Vivre ensemble (1973), a low-budget drama that she wrote, directed, produced, and starred in. She later directed, wrote, and starred in the French-Canadian musical road movie Victoria (2008). She also published novels and continued acting and making occasional musical appearances. Although her association with Godard remained the dominant reference point in discussions of her career, Anna Karina's work as a performer, singer, writer, and director revealed an artist whose creative life extended well beyond the films that first made her famous.