She graduated with a degree in philosophy from the Sorbonne and married the French playwright, actor and director Jean-Pierre Ronfard in 1953.
From 1953 to 1960, Cardinal taught philosophy at schools in Salonica, Lisbon, Vienna and Montreal.
[3] She published her debut novel, Écoutez la Mer (Listen to the Sea), in 1962.
During the 1960s, she wrote three more novels and ventured into film, appearing in Jean-Luc Godard's Deux Ou Trois Choses Que Je Sais D'elle[3] and playing Mouchette's mother in Robert Bresson's film Mouchette.
[4] In 1972, Cardinal published La Clé Sur La Porte (The Key of the Door), followed by Les Mots Pour Le Dire (The Words to Say It) in 1975; these two novels were best sellers and established her reputation.