Acknowledged as a cultural and cinematic leading man of the 20th century, Delon emerged as one of the foremost European actors of the mid s to early s, and became an international sex symbol. Delon received many film and entertainment awards throughout his career. In , he became a member of France's Legion of Honour. In addition to his acting career, Delon also recorded the spoken part in the popular song " Paroles, paroles ", a duet with Dalida as the main singing voice. He acquired Swiss citizenship in Their known genealogy goes back to Jean Delon, born in the fifteenth century.
Delon's maternal grandfather, Alfred Louis Arnold β , was born in Paris and was a rider of the French army, gendarme. He married Maria Minard β , a model for Jeanne Lanvin. When Delon was four years old his parents divorced in He was then entrusted to a foster family, called Nero, who lived "Rue de la Terasse" which would remain for him a childhood wound that never healed.
The father of this family was a prison guard in Fresnes Prison , Val-de-Marne. Delon, who lived next door, heard the salvo that executed the wartime collaborator Pierre Laval in the prison courtyard in , the details of which he was told. While living with the foster family, Delon became passionate about bicycle racing and hoped to become a bicycle racer like Fausto Coppi. When his foster parents died, Delon was sent back to his birth parents, who took shared custody of him.
He developed his passion for music there. He joined the school choir and was also chosen to sing as a soloist. Due to the lack of attention from his parents, Delon became unruly, constantly misbehaving in the classroom and getting into fights with other children.
He was expelled from the school after he beat up one of his classmates. The priests recommended he be sent to Saint Gabriel de Bagneaux. During his four years there, Delon constantly misbehaved and was disrespectful to his teachers. He then stole the director's motorcycle which resulted in him being expelled again. Delon was expelled from a few more schools until the age of 13, when he entered Saint Nicolas d'Igny Institute.
