Born in Paris on 24.6.1930, he studied literature and was a contributing editor of "Cahiers du Cinéma" from 1953-57. In 1957, he and Eric Rohmer wrote a book about Alfred Hitchcock. He made his debut as a director in 1958 with the nouvelle vague work, "Le beau Serge". He received the Golden Bear in 1959 for "Les cousins". Alongside adventure films and psychological dramas, he has regularly made thrillers in which he criticises the French middleclass.

Claude Chabrol died in Paris, September 12, 2010.