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On July 13, 2022, actress Charlotte Valandrey died at the age of 53. Consecrated by the film “Red kiss”, she confessed her HIV status in 2005 and had received a heart transplant in 2003.
Consecrated by the film “Red Kiss” in 1985, actress Charlotte Valandrey died at the age of 53. She will be “buried in private in Pléneuf-Val André”, a Breton town that had inspired her artist name.
An HIV positive revealed in 2005
Before the age of 18, she learns that she has contracted HIV. She will only reveal her HIV status in 2005 in her autobiography “Love in the Blood” which will then be adapted into a TV movie. In an interview with the Express, she explained her approach: “Me, it frees me, I hope it will free people (…) The reflex, at the beginning, is to live hidden with HIV. Never say anything to anyone (…) But I can only rebuild myself by telling the truth. I was contaminated by loving: it is not a fault. I’m not guilty of arousing desire, not guilty of looking for love too soon. Guilty of nothing !”.
Professionally, she then went through a difficult period. She will bounce back on television playing from 1991 to 2000 in the series “Les Cordier, magistrate et cop” or in “Tomorrow belongs to us”.
The first HIV positive transplanted in France
Her treatment exhausted her heart and in 2003 she received a heart transplant. She was then the first HIV-positive person to be transplanted in France. In 2008, she suffered a heart attack. At the beginning of June, it indicated on social networks that she should have a new transplant. “My ♥️ has come to an end so I’m waiting for the one that will be my 3rd ? It can happen at any time. I need all your positive vibes. Of love, of kindness, of your prayers. Because the Warrior is less Warrior….?”.
She then announced on social networks that her second graft had arrived. She had to be operated on urgently on June 14, but this new graft did not save her.
The actress will be “buried in private in Pléneuf-Val André”, a Breton town which had inspired her artist name. A religious ceremony will take place in September in Paris.
A lifetime of commitment
“We learn with emotion of the death of Charlotte Valandrey, who has many times contributed alongside us to fight against HIV and the discrimination suffered by people living with it.“, reacted the support association for AIDS patients, Aides.
Charlotte Valandrey has “been a great and tireless witness to life with HIV and thus helped to advance the fight against stigma“, greeted the association Sidaction.
She was also actively involved in favor of organ donation and became the godmother of the “Greffe de vie” foundation.