Renowned French actor Alain Delon has passed away peacefully at his home in Douchy. He was 88 years old. His children, Anouchka, Anthony, and Alain-Fabien announced the heartbreaking news through a press release on Sunday.

He had been in declining health in the last few years and experienced a stroke in 2019. Responding to the news through X, French President Emmanuel Macron said, “Alain Delon has played legendary roles and made the world dream. Melancholic, popular, secretive, he was more than a star.”

Macron also described Demon as a “French monument.”

Delon appeared in some of Europe's most celebrated films in the 1960s and the 1970s. His collaborations with directors like Luchino Visconti, René Clément, Michelangelo Antonioni, and Jean-Pierre Melville solidified his status as a cinematic icon. From the charismatic antihero in Purple Noon to the ambitious gangster in The Leopard, Delon's performances were imbued with a raw intensity that captivated audiences worldwide.

Delon’s career spanned both art house and mainstream cinema, and his impact on French culture is undeniable. With about 100 films to his credit, many of which he also produced, he remains an enduring symbol of French cinema. Despite his immense contributions, formal recognition was relatively scarce, with the exception of an honorary Golden Bear at the 1995 Berlin Film Festival and an honorary Palme d'Or at the 2019 Cannes Film Festival.