She studied piano and attended the Algerian Conservatory of Dramatic Arts before going to Paris, where she attended the Conservatory and made her stage debut in the early 50s. She began appearing in films in 1955 but came into international prominence only in the late 60s with composed, intelligent performances in such films as Luis Buñuel's Belle de Jour and Eric Rohmer's Ma Nuit chez Maud / My Night at Maud's. She is the widow of film director Jacques Becker and later married Marcel Bozzuffi.