**Josette Day** (born Josette Dagory, 1914-1978) was a French actress whose film career is inextricably linked to roles of great grace and delicacy.

She is universally recognized for her iconic role as Belle in Jean Cocteau's fantasy masterpiece, *La Belle et la Bête* (1946). Her performance perfectly embodied the purity, innocence, and inner strength of the protagonist, defining a lasting image of her elegance.

Her collaboration with Cocteau continued with *Les Parents Terribles* (1948), where she demonstrated greater dramatic intensity. Day had begun her career very young, appearing in numerous films since childhood, often in roles of virtuous young women or young women of refined beauty. Her regal bearing and ethereal presence made her a distinctive figure in French cinema of the era.

She retired from the screen in the late 1950s, leaving a legacy of memorable roles, particularly that of the legendary Belle.