By Gerard Essomba
Marpessa Dawn (1934-2008) was an American-born French actress. She is best remembered for playing the lead female role in the film Black Orpheus, which won the Palme d'or at the 1959 Cannes Film Festival and the 1960 Oscar for Best Foreign Language Film. The Cameroonian Gérard Essomba, who met her while he was a young actor in France in the 1960s, was deeply moved by the beauty, charm, and kindheartedness of this African-American woman with an incredible and stirring life. Also writer, he would later write a short story recounting both that period and their relationship, but also his lasting memories of her so many years afterwards.
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