Clare Peploe
Tanzanian British screenwriter and film director
About Clare Peploe
Lived 1941 – 2021 (aged 79). Clare Peploe was a British film director, screenwriter and film producer.
Biography Peploe was born in Tanzania but grew up in the United Kingdom and Italy. William Peploe, her father, worked as a British civil servant before becoming an art dealer and then director of London's Lefevre Gallery. Clotilde Brewster von Hildebrand, her mother, was an artist. Her younger brother was writer-director Mark Peploe.
Peploe debuted as a director with the short comic film Richard Roud's review in the Guardian Weekly praised her casting and direction of the actors; he hoped funding would become available for a feature film, but throughout her career she struggled to obtain funding, eventually realizing that being married to a famous filmmaker, Bernardo Bertolucci, was more of a hindrance than a help. It was based on an 18th-century French stage play by Pierre de Marivaux, and included Ben Kingsley and Mira Sorvino in its cast.
Peploe is credited with co-writing the 1970 cult film Zabriskie Point with Michelangelo Antonioni and others. Before marrying Bertolucci, Peploe worked as assistant director on his 1900 in 1976, although when she was directing her own films she banned him from her sets because he intimidated her crew. As a screenwriter, she collaborated frequently with him. Her brother Mark co-wrote Bertolucci's The Last Emperor (1987), for which the two men shared a screenwriting Oscar.
Peploe died in Rome on 23 June 2021, aged 79.
Works Screenwriter Zabriskie Point (1970) La Luna (1979) Rough Magic (1995) Besieged (1998) Triumph of Love (2001)
Director Couples and Robbers (1981) High Season (1987) Rough Magic (1995) Triumph of Love (2001)
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Important facts
Family & relationships
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Contemporaries
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Frequently asked questions
Who was Clare Peploe?
Tanzanian British screenwriter and film director
When was Clare Peploe born?
Clare Peploe was born on 20 October 1941 in Tanzania, Tanga.
When did Clare Peploe die?
Clare Peploe died on 23 June 2021 in Rome.
What was Clare Peploe's occupation?
Clare Peploe was a film director, screenwriter and film producer.
What nationality was Clare Peploe?
Clare Peploe was British.
Sources & further reading
Cite this page
APA: Biography.guide. (2026). Clare Peploe. https://biography.guide/clare-peploe/
MLA: "Clare Peploe." Biography.guide, https://biography.guide/clare-peploe/.
Chicago: "Clare Peploe." Biography.guide. https://biography.guide/clare-peploe/.
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