- Wilhelmina Wiggins Fernandez, Diva, France, 1980. The title role was a black opera singer. Not many of them to the pound. Jean-Jacques Beineix and his casting director Dominique Besnehard went off the opera to see, listen and adore one such one. Hendricks! Her Swedish husband and agent (most disagreable, said Besnehard) scoffed at their suggestion of a mere… film!! “You’re dreaming – you’d need to talk to us two or three years before the event.” The Paris Opera administrator came to the rescue, recommending the young Fernandez. OK, she had a slight tooth problem but Besnehard knew everyone – and his best pal Marlene Jobert’s husband happened to be a dentist. Problem solved.
Birth year: Death year: Other name: Casting Calls: 1