François-Marie Banier (born 27 June 1947) is a French novelist, playwright, artist, actor and photographer. He is particularly known for his photographs of celebrities and other public figures and for his friendships with members of high society. In a prominent legal case, in 2016 he was convicted of 'abuse of weakness' of the elderly billionaire Liliane Bettencourt. Banier was born in Paris, France. He grew up in a middle-class family in the 16th arrondissement of Paris. He has claimed he had been "completely incomprehensible to [his] parent…