Kim Novak, 92, accepted the Icon Award at the Deauville American Film Festival in France on Saturday evening, appearing radiant in a white gown and a flowing embellished sheer shawl as festival organizers honored her long career.
Novak, who received the recognition at a star-studded ceremony, wore her hair in a blonde bob and kept accessories to a minimum. The appearance followed her recent return to the spotlight at the Venice Film Festival, where she was presented with the Golden Lion for lifetime achievement days earlier.
Both awards come amid renewed attention to Novak’s life and work after the release of the documentary Kim Novak’s Vertigo, in which she reflects on her rise to stardom and a childhood she has described as poverty-stricken. The film revisits her most famous role in Alfred Hitchcock’s Vertigo and traces her trajectory through Hollywood in the 1950s and 1960s.
Novak rose to prominence in the 1950s and remains widely associated with Vertigo, the Hitchcock thriller in which she co-starred and which has become a touchstone of American cinema. Festival organizers cited her contributions to film when conferring the Icon Award in Deauville and the Golden Lion in Venice.
The Deauville festival, which spotlights American cinema in France, has a history of honoring veteran performers and filmmakers. Novak’s weekend appearances marked a series of high-profile public engagements that have revisited both her screen legacy and personal history through the new documentary.
Representatives for Novak did not immediately provide additional comment on the awards or on plans related to further screenings of the documentary. Festival statements said the Icon Award recognized a career that has had continuing cultural resonance decades after Novak’s initial rise to fame.