She called him "Sean Sean" and spent all her summers with him in Andalusia.
Sean Connery, before being James Bond, was above all his “adored grandfather”.
Journalist Stéphanie Renouvin agreed to tell us about the actor, who had married his grandmother even before his birth.
This giant of the cinema, who died in the night from Friday to Saturday at the age of 90 in the Bahamas, where he had settled, was for her “an extraordinary man, very funny.
He was curious and intelligent, with an exceptional aura ”.
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"He was a very whole person," says the 43-year-old host, who works on RTL2 and W9.
He had the courage of his opinions and was very upright.
He did not hesitate to denounce what bothered him in Hollywood.
Brave, he was also courageous when he chose to stop the James Bond series.
“He was tired of his character,” explains his granddaughter.
He had grown up in poverty and got out of it thanks to his seductive physique.
But at one point, he wanted to move on, not to be locked into this role anymore.
"
Love at first sight on the golf green
Sean Connery is also a love of fifty years for his wife, the French artist-painter Micheline Roquebrune, the grandmother of Stéphanie, aged 90.
“They met in Morocco at a golf competition,” says the host, who last saw the couple last year.
My grandmother won on the women's side, and he won on the men's side.
"
Each then leaves his spouse.
They are both 40 years old.
“They liked to discuss, get enthusiastic, they were very curious, they started to debate together from breakfast.
My grandmother often told us about Sean's voice, which she adored, and his hands.
"
The couple, despite the notoriety of the actor, lead a very simple life.
“Often, he would get behind the wheel of the 4L and take us, with my sister and my cousins, to eat ice cream in the port of Marbella,” recalls the journalist.
He refused bodyguards.
"
"He was a wonderful storyteller"
Social evenings bored him deeply.
“He much preferred family dinners.
I remember all those jet-set parties in Marbella that he canceled at the last minute!
"At home, among his family, he puts on a jazz record, Ella Fitzgerald or Bobby Darin performing" Mack The Knife ", his favorite song.
And starts to dance.
Breakfast, lunch, dinner: all meals are taken together.
And at the table, it's Sean Connery we listen to.
“When he said something, you could hear the flies flying.
He was a wonderful storyteller with a masterful presence ”.
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Petite, Stéphanie, has a very strong bond with the actor.
"When he asked me what I wanted to do later, my grandmother gave me a kick under the table so that I would answer:
actress
, that was what he wanted for me", she laughs today. hui.
In 2000, Sean Connery was knighted by the queen in a traditional Scottish kilt.
Reuters
His roles, he works them thoroughly.
“He spent entire days locked in his office reading scripts,” says his little girl.
At such times, it was important not to disturb him ”.
The Parisian still remembers when, as a child, she attended the screening of "Highlander".
"The scene where his head is cut off, it traumatized me," she smiles today.
It took me months to recover!
"
The actor was also passionate about sports, especially tennis and golf.
And continued to hit the little white ball until very recently.
He also read the newspapers and always kept an eye on the politics of his homeland, Scotland.
Here again, his opinions were decided.
And he campaigned loud and clear for the independence of his country.
“We would like to organize a ceremony there, a little later,” sighs Stéphanie Renouvin, very sad not to be able to go to the Bahamas, because of the health situation.
"These are his roots and this country he still carried in his heart".
