- Born
- Birth nameGhislaine Elizabeth Marie Thérèse Perreau-Saussine
- A major little talent, this French-American moppet star of the late '40s and early '50s was able to parlay her precocious popularity into a modest young adult career, but then left it for family. She has nevertheless maintained on its fringe for decades.
Gigi Perreau was born on February 6, 1941, in Los Angeles to a French father, who fled his native country at the onset of WWII, and an American mother. Her beginnings in acting started way back to the tender age of 2-1/2 when her mother was approached by a talent agent who represented child actors and who took an initial interest in her 5-year-old brother Gerald. But Gigi grabbed a little attention for herself. When producer/director Mervyn LeRoy discovered little Gigi could speak French as well as English at such a precious age, he cast her as Greer Garson's daughter in Madame Curie (1943). Gigi went on to play Gloria DeHaven as a toddler in Two Girls and a Sailor (1944) and a child to Bette Davis in the classic soaper Mr. Skeffington (1944).
MGM signed her up and Gigi spent several years there where, among other roles, she played the daughter of Katharine Hepburn in the composer Schumann biopic Song of Love (1947) and a child to Lana Turner in Green Dolphin Street (1947). Gigi earned her best reviews when Universal-International picked up her option. She positively bloomed as a top juvenile player and received an award from the Screen Children's Guild while appeared in top quality films, both light-hearted and tear-stained.
At Universal, Gigi was quite endearing as Claudette Colbert's lively daughter in the domestic comedy Family Honeymoon (1948); quite touching in the melodrama My Foolish Heart (1949) starring Susan Hayward; and quite earnest in the lead role of a child who witnesses a murder in the film noir Shadow on the Wall (1950) starring Ann Sothern. She had a standout role as Piper Laurie's kid sister and a Charleston partner to Charles Coburn in the Roaring 20's comedy Has Anybody Seen My Gal (1952) and got to monkey around with a monkey in the comedy Bonzo Goes to College (1952).
In the mid '50s, things started tapering off for the former pigtailed child star as she tried to adjust through the awkward teenage years. Appearances in such lowbudget exploitation as The Cool and the Crazy (1958), Girls Town (1959), and Hell on Wheels (1967) pretty much tell the story.
Developing into a lovely-looking young adult, she also graced the small screen. She co-starred in two short-lived series: the sitcom The Betty Hutton Show (1959) and the detective drama Follow the Sun (1961). She also guested on such shows as "Whirlybirds," "The Donna Reed Show," The Detective," "Hawaiian Eye," "Surfside 6," "Laramie," "Rawhide," "The Rebel," "The Roaring 20s," "The Rifleman," "Perry Mason," "Gunsmoke," "Gomer Pyle," "My Three Sons," "Ironside," "The Brady Bunch," and "Adam-12."
At age 20, Gigi married and had a son and a daughter; a second marriage produced another son and daughter. Rarely seen on film or TV since the late '60s, Gigi has continued on as a stage director and college prep drama teacher. Brother Gerald (aka Peter Miles) equipped himself quite well as a child actor performing in The Red Pony (1949), The Good Humor Man (1950), and Quo Vadis (1951). Gigi appeared with him in the movies Enchantment (1948) and Roseanna McCoy (1949) and played his sister on The Betty Hutton Show (1959). Gigi's two younger sisters, Janine Perreau and Lauren Perreau, also dabbled in film and TV as youngsters, but to a much lesser degree.- IMDb Mini Biography By: Gary Brumburgh / gr-home@pacbell.net
- SpousesGene De Ruelle(May 22, 1970 - 1998) (divorced, 2 children)Emilio Frank Gallo(October 1, 1960 - March 1, 1967) (divorced, 2 children)
- ChildrenGina Gallo ParisRobert Anthony Gallo
- ParentsRobert Perreau-SaussineEleanor Child Perreau-Saussine
- RelativesJanine Perreau(Sibling)Lauren Perreau(Sibling)Peter Miles(Sibling)
- Appeared with Donna Reed in Green Dolphin Street (1947), The Donna Reed Show (1958) ("Mary's Campaign"), and later served on the Board of Directors of the Donna Reed Foundation.
- After a decade on Broadway, Gigi has taught drama for several years at her alma mater, Immaculate Heart High School. IHHS is a college preparatory Catholic all-girls school in Hollywood, CA.
- Vice-President of the Drama Teachers Association of Southern California and also served on the Board of Directors for the Will Geer Theatricum Botanicum.
- She and her brother, Peter Miles, once managed a popular Los Angeles art gallery.
- Interviewed in "Growing Up on the Set: Interviews with 39 Former Child Actors of Classic Film and Television", by Tom Goldrup and Jim Goldrup (McFarland, 2002).
- [in an interview while a child star] I'm going to be an actress until I die.
- [on her star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame] I was at the groundbreaking ceremonies, with my gold shovel. My goddaughter, who lives in the Hollywood Hills, occasionally goes down there - and has to clean it! It was taken up when they were putting in the Metro - the subway system. Now it's back, so when tourists go to Gower, then walk to Vine, they have to pass over my star!
- [on Wild Heritage (1958)] There was a lot of publicity about it, saying it was the first "grown-up" picture for two former child stars, Gary Gray and myself. Also, there was a lot of publicity on the fact Gary and I were getting our first screen kisses!
- [on Will Rogers Jr.] He was a simple man who was not confident with acting. It was not his thing.
- [on Maureen O'Sullivan] I loved her, a delightful person. I used to go to her home in Beverly Hills and play. Her son, Michael, who was a couple of years older, was very nice...and very good-looking. It was crush time.
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