French film icon Catherine Deneuve hospitalized

World renowned French actor Catherine Deneuve, 76, was admitted to hospital in Paris after falling ill overnight, French newspaper Le Parisien reported on Wednesday.

Deneuve, a legend of French cinema often described as the embodiment of French womanhood, was in a “serious state”, added the newspaper.

Nicknamed the Ice Maiden because of her exquisite, fragile beauty and detached manner, Deneuve became France’s leading screen actress and a top international star in the 1960s.