'DANGEROUS' WOMEN

An Occasional Series

JEAN SEBERG

Jean Seberg was an actor and starred in films like Jean-Luc Godard’s ‘Breathless' (À Bout de Souffle) she was actively interested in the civil rights movement and became involved with groups like the Black Panther Party.

with Jean-Paul Belmondo in À Bout de Souffle

filming Bernard Shaw's St Joan

 As a result of her activities, the FBI targeted her for 'neutralisation'  under the FBI’s COINTELPRO program. During this time, Seberg was stalked and harassed on a daily basis by FBI agents, repeated break-ins of her apartments were made by the FBI, she was wiretapped, she was blacklisted by Hollywood due to FBI pressure, and the FBI began circulating fraudulent and defamatory articles about her through the American press (falsely claiming that Seberg, a married white woman, was having an affair with a Black Panther Party leader. Seberg, who was pregnant at the time, was put under such public duress that she went into premature labour and her child died two days later resulting in Seberg slipping into a fierce depression). 

The eventual outcome of years of constant intimidation and harassment, which had long-term effects on Seberg’s mental health and well-being, was Seberg’s suicide.

just because you're paranoid doesn't mean they're not out to get you

 (The FBI admitted to its campaign against Seberg in 1979 weeks after her death.)