“Emily in Paris” Actor Pierre Deny Dies at 69 After ALS Battle
Emily in Paris is closing out its run with a heavy heart. Pierre Deny, the French actor who played powerful fashion CEO Louis de Léon in Seasons 3 and 4 of the Netflix series, died Monday, May 25, after a battle with ALS. He was 69.
Deny's daughters confirmed his death in a statement to French news agency AFP and broadcaster TF1. "It is with deep emotion that we announce the passing of Pierre Deny, which occurred this Monday following a sudden and severe case of ALS (amyotrophic lateral sclerosis), also known as Charcot's Disease," they said.
The news arrived less than a week after Netflix announced that Emily in Paris would end after its upcoming sixth season, which began filming in Greece last week.
Who Pierre Deny Was
Deny was a fixture of French television and theater for more than four decades. He got his start on stage in the 1980s before transitioning into a long and steady television career. He was known to French audiences through his roles in Sous le Soleil (Under the Sun), Une Femme d'Honneur, Plus Belle La Vie, and the long-running drama Demain Nous Appartient (Tomorrow Is Ours), in which he played Dr. Dumaze for seven years alongside actress Luce Mouchel.
On Emily in Paris, Deny played Louis de Léon — the imposing CEO of the luxury fashion conglomerate JVMA and the father of Nicolas (Paul Forman), Mindy's love interest. He appeared in Seasons 3 and 4 of the show as a recurring presence in the world of Parisian haute couture that surrounds Emily's marketing career.
Tributes From Co-Stars and Friends
Tributes came quickly from the French entertainment world. Bulgarian-French singer and actress Sylvie Vartan posted a message on Instagram writing that she had "just learned with great sadness of the passing of Pierre Deny," describing him as "a generous actor and a sensitive and funny man" and recalling shared moments on stage in a play by Isabelle Mergault.
Luce Mouchel, his longtime Tomorrow Is Ours co-star, wrote a deeply personal tribute on Instagram. "Pierre, seven years of filming together, taking the train together, having lunch at the canteen together, sometimes confiding, inviting each other from time to time," she wrote. "A short decade of shared life that should not have ended so quickly and so brutally. I'm thinking of your daughters and their exceptional courage."
Netflix had not issued a formal statement as of publication.
A Show Marked by Loss
Deny's death is the second tragedy to touch the Emily in Paris production in less than a year. In August 2025, Italian third assistant director Diego Borella, 47, collapsed and died of a sudden heart attack on the set in Venice while the crew was preparing for the final shot of the day. Production was briefly suspended before resuming days later.
The sixth and final season — which creator Darren Star has described as a "farewell to remember" — is now filming in Greece. Netflix marked the end of the series on Instagram with the words "From bonjour to au revoir."
Pierre Deny was 69 years old. He is survived by his daughters.
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