French actor Pierre Deny, who was best known internationally for his role in Netflix hit Emily in Paris, has died at the age of 69.
“It is with deep emotion that we announce the passing of Pierre Deny this Monday (May 25) following a sudden and severe case of ALS (Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis),” his daughters said in a statement released to newswire AFP.
Born in 1956, Deny started out in theatre in the 1980s before moving into TV.
He was a familiar face on French TV for his roles in more than 60 mainstream shows such as Under the Sun, Une Femme d’Honneur, Cinq Soeurs as well as long-running soaps Plus Belle La Vie and Tomorrow Is Ours, appearing in more than 300 episodes of the latter as the character Renaud Dumaze.
More recently, he broke out internationally in the role of Louis de Leon in in Emily in Paris, the CEO head of the luxury fashion conglomerate JVMA, alongside Lily Collins and Philippine Leroy-Beaulieu.
ALS, which is also known as Charcot Disease or Lou Gehrig Disease, is a progressive neurodegenerative condition which has struck down several high-profile sports and entertainment figures, with other recent victims including Eric Dane and Kenneth Mitchell.