Capucine was born Germaine Hélène Irène Lefebvre on 6 January 1928 in Saint-Raphaël, Var, France.

She attended school in Saumur, France, and earned Bachelor of Arts degree in foreign languages.

[4] Capucine made her film debut in Jean Cocteau's The Eagle with Two Heads (1948), in a small, unbilled role.

Back in Hollywood, she had second billing in Walk on the Wild Side (1962), produced by Feldman, in which she portrayed a redeemed hooker.

Co-star Laurence Harvey complained that Feldman cut his part to expand Capucine's role.

During filming, Capucine began a romance with Holden, which led to the end of her romantic relationship with Feldman; however, the producer remained loyal professionally.

[2] Capucine was one of several European stars in Sex Quartet (1966) for Columbia (originally The Queens),[19] then Feldman put her in The Honey Pot (1967), directed by Joseph L. Mankiewicz.

[22] Capucine had a supporting role in Fräulein Doktor (1968) and the lead in the Spanish thriller The Exquisite Cadaver (1969).

"[8] In 1968, she told an Italian magazine she wished she did not always have to be elegant, that she longed to play a "disheveled woman," but "since the directors know I was a model, it is obvious that they can't see me as anything else.

"[8] Dirk Bogarde suggested her for the role of Tadzio's mother in Death in Venice (1971), but Luchino Visconti turned her down, saying, "She has a horrible voice and too many teeth.

"[8] Capucine had a supporting role in the Western Red Sun (1971)[23] and guest-starred on Search (1972), her first TV series.

She appeared on television in Cinéma 16 and La pêche miraculeuse (1976), and had roles in The Con Artists (1976), Per amore (1976), Ecco noi per esempio (1977), Nest of Vipers (1978), From Hell to Victory (1979), Atrocious Tales of Love and Death (1979), Neapolitan Mystery (1979), Arabian Adventure (1979), Jaguar Lives!

[25] Capucine appears in episodes of Série noire; Voglia di cantare; Murder, She Wrote; Honor Thy Father; Sins; Delirium (1987); My First Forty Years (1987); Gila and Rik (1987); Una verità come un'altra (1989); Quartier nègre (1989); Blaues Blut (1990); and Il giudice istruttore.

[10] On 17 March 1990, at age 62, Capucine jumped to her death from her eighth-floor apartment in Lausanne, Vaud, Switzerland, where she had lived for 28 years, having reportedly suffered from illness and depression for some time.

Neighbours said she had led a reclusive life with her three cats, hardly ever leaving her apartment and spending most of her time reading.