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- Actress
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Isabelle Yasmine Adjani was born in Gennevilliers, Hauts-de-Seine, a suburb of Paris, to Emma Augusta "Gusti" (Schweinberger) and Mohammed Adjani. Her father was a Kabyle Algerian, from Iferhounène, and her mother was a Bavarian German. She grew up speaking German fluently. After winning a school recitation contest, she began acting in amateur theater by the age of twelve. At the age of 14, she starred in her first motion picture, Le petit bougnat (1970).Adjani has appeared in 30 films since 1970. She holds the record for most César Award for Best Actress (5), which she won for Possession (1981), One Deadly Summer (1983)(aka "One Deadly Summer" ), Camille Claudel (1988), La reine Margot (1994)(aka "Queen Margot" ) and Skirt Day (2008) (aka "Skirt Day" ). She was also given a double Cannes Film Festival Best Actress Award in 1981. She also received two Academy Award nominations for Best Actress. She performs in French, English, Italian and German. Adjani was made a Chevalier de la Légion d'honneur in 2010.- Actress
- Additional Crew
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French actress Léa Seydoux was born in 1985 in Paris, France, toValérie Schlumberger,a philanthropist, andHenri Seydoux,a businessman. Her grandfather,Jérôme Seydoux,is chairman of Pathé, and her father is a great-grandson of businessman and inventor Marcel Schlumberger (her mother also descends from the Schlumberger family). Her parents are both of mixed French and Alsatian German descent, with more distant Venezuelan (Spanish, Basque) roots on her father's side.
Léa began her acting career in French cinema, appearing in films such as The Last Mistress (2007) and On War (2008). She first came to attention after she received her first César Award nomination for her performance inLa belle personne (2008),and won the Trophée Chopard, an award given to promising actors at the Cannes Film Festival. Since then, she has appeared in major Hollywood films includingQuentin Tarantino'sInglourious Basterds (2009),Ridley Scott'sRobin Hood (2010),Woody Allen'sMidnight in Paris (2011),andBrad Bird'sMission: Impossible - Ghost Protocol (2011).In French cinema, she was nominated for the César Award for Most Promising Actress for a second time for her role in Belle Épine (2010) and was nominated for the César Award for Best Actress for the film Farewell, My Queen (2012).
In 2013, Seydoux came to widespread attention when Seydoux and co-starAdèle Exarchopoulos,alongside directorAbdellatif Kechiche,were awarded the Palme d'Or at the Cannes Film Festival, for their involvement in the critically acclaimed film Blue Is the Warmest Colour (Blue Is the Warmest Color (2013)). As a special prize for their roles, Along withJane Campion,Seydoux and Exarchopoulos are the only women to have ever won a Palme d'Or.
That same year, she also received the Lumières Award for Best Actress for the film Grand Central and, in 2014, she was nominated for the BAFTA Rising Star Award and starred in the films Beauty and the Beast, The Grand Budapest Hotel and Saint Laurent. In 2015 she played Madeleine Swann in the 24th James Bond film Spectre.- Actress
- Soundtrack
Known for her performance in La Vie d'Adèle (Blue Is The Warmest Color) by Abdellatif Kechiche, that landed her both the Palme d'Or at the 2013 Cannes Film Festival and the César for Most Promising Actress that same year, Adèle Exarchopoulos has been on the French and International big screen regularly since then. Going forward with original projects, such as "Qui Vive" by Marianne Tardieu (2014) or "Les Anarchistes" by Elie Wajeman (2015), she took part in international projects like "The Last Face" by Sean Penn and "Noureev" by Ralph Fiennes before returning to Cannes in 2019 with "Sibyl", a psychological drama by Justine Triet. The past year marks another turning point in her career as she was in two critically acclaimed comedy projects: the successful TV show "La Flamme" by Jonathan Cohen and long awaited movie "Mandibules" by Quentin Dupieux. She will soon be seen in the big action drama "Bac Nord" by Cedric Jimenez as well as a few other projects including "Rien à Foutre" by Emmanuel Marre and "Les Cinq Diables" by Léa Mysius.- Actress
- Producer
Debicki was born in Paris to a Polish father and an Australian mother of Irish descent who were both dancers. When she was five, the family moved to Melbourne, where she grew up with two younger siblings. She became interested in ballet at an early age and trained as a dancer until deciding to switch to theatre. A student at Huntingtower School in Melbourne's east, Debicki achieved two perfect study scores in drama and English and was the school's dux when she graduated in 2007. In 2010, she completed a degree in drama at the University of Melbourne's Victorian College of the Arts. In August 2009, she was the recipient of a Richard Pratt Bursary for outstanding acting students in their second year of training.- Actress
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Emma Charlotte Duerre Watson was born in Paris, France, to British parents, Jacqueline Luesby and Chris Watson, both lawyers. She moved to Oxfordshire when she was five, where she attended the Dragon School. The same year, she was diagnosed with ADHD as she struggled to sit still. From the age of six, Emma knew that she wanted to be an actress and, for a number of years, she trained at the Oxford branch of Stagecoach Theatre Arts, a part-time theatre school where she studied singing, dancing and acting. By the age of ten, she had performed and taken the lead in various Stagecoach productions and school plays.
In 1999, casting began for Harry Potter and the Sorcerers Stone (2001), the film adaptation of British author J.K. Rowling's bestselling novel. Casting agents found Emma through her Oxford theatre teacher. After eight consistent auditions, producer David Heyman told Emma and fellow applicants,Daniel RadcliffeandRupert Grint,that they had been cast for the roles of the three leads, Hermione Granger, Harry Potter and Ron Weasley. The release ofHarry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone (2001)was Emma's cinematic screen debut. The film broke records for opening-day sales and opening-weekend takings and was the highest-grossing film of 2001. Critics praised the film and the performances of the three leading young actors. The highly distributed British newspaper, 'The Daily Telegraph', called her performance "admirable". Later, Emma was nominated for five awards for her performance in the film, winning the Young Artist Award for Leading Young Actress in a Feature Film.
After the release of the first film of the highly successful franchise, Emma became one of the most well-known actresses in the world. She continued to play the role of Hermione Granger for nearly ten years, in all of the following Harry Potter films: Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone (2001),Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets (2002),Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban (2004),Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire (2005),Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix (2007),Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince (2009),Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 1 (2010),andHarry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2 (2011).Emma acquired two Critics' Choice Award nominations from the Broadcast Film Critics Association for her work in Harry Potter And The Prisoner Of Azkaban and Harry Potter And The Goblet Of Fire. The completion of the seventh and eight movies saw Emma receive nominations in 2011 for a Nickelodeon Kids' Choice Award, and for Best Actress at the Jameson Empire Awards. The Harry Potter franchise won the BAFTA for Outstanding British Contribution to Cinema in February 2011.
2011 saw Emma in Simon Curtis'sMy Week with Marilyn (2011),alongside a stellar cast of Oscar nominees including Michelle Williams as Marilyn Monroe and Kenneth Branagh as Sir Laurence Olivier, in addition to Eddie Redmayne, Dame Judi Dench, Dougray Scott, Zoe Wanamaker, Toby Jones and Dominic Cooper. Chronicling a week inMarilyn Monroe's life, the film featured Emma in the supporting role of Lucy, a costume assistant to Colin Clark (Redmayne). The film was released by The Weinstein Company and was nominated for a Golden Globe for Best Motion Picture - Comedy or Musical. In 2012 Emma was seen in Stephen Chbosky's adaptation of his coming-of-age novelThe Perks of Being a Wallflower (2012),starring oppositeLogan LermanandEzra Miller.This independent drama centered around Charlie (Lerman), an introverted freshman who is taken under the wings of two seniors (Watson and Miller) who welcome him to the real world. The film premiered at the 2012 Toronto International Film Festival and received rave reviews. The film won the People's Choice Award for Favourite Dramatic Movie and Emma also picked up the People's Choice Award for Favourite Dramatic Movie Actress. Emma was awarded a second time for this role with the Best Supporting Actress Award at the San Diego Film Critics Society Awards where the film also won the Best Ensemble Performance Award.
In summer 2013, Emma starred inSofia Coppola's American satirical black comedy crime film,The Bling Ring (2013),oppositeKatie ChangandIsrael Broussard.The film took inspiration from real events and followed a group of teenagers who, obsessed with fashion and fame, burgled the homes of celebrities in Los Angeles. The film opened the Un Certain Regard section of the 2013 Cannes Film Festival. Emma also appeared in a cameo role as herself in Seth Rogen's apocalypse comedy This Is The End (2013). The film tells the story about what happens to some of Hollywood's best loved celebrities when the apocalypse strikes during a party at James Franco's house.
In 2014, Emma was seen in Darren Aronofsky'sNoah (2014),oppositeRussell Crowe,Jennifer Connelly,Ray Winstone,Douglas Booth,Logan Lerman,andAnthony Hopkins.The film told the epic, biblical tale of Noah and the ark. Emma plays the role of Ila, a young woman who develops a close relationship with Noah's son, Shem (Booth). Noah made an outstanding $300m since its release in March. In 2015, Emma starred inRegression (2015),written and directed by Alejandro Amenábar and Occultum Luciferus. Also headlined by Oscar-nominated Ethan Hawke, and set in Minnesota in 1990, Regression tells the story of Detective Bruce Kenner (Hawke), who investigates the case of young Angela, played by Emma, who accuses her father of sexual abuse.
In 2012, Emma was honored with the Calvin Klein Emerging Star Award at the ELLE Women in Hollywood Awards. In 2013, Emma was awarded the Trailblazer Award at the MTV Movie Awards in April and was honored with the GQ Woman of the Year Award at the GQ Awards in September. Further to her acting career, Emma is a Goodwill Ambassador for the UN, promoting gender equality and the empowerment of women. Emma graduated from Brown University in May 2014.
In 2017, Emma starred in the live-action Disney fantasyBeauty and the Beast (2017),one of the biggest movies of all time in the U.S., and the dramatic thrillerThe Circle (2017).- Actress
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French actress and model Eva Gaëlle Green was born on July 6, 1980, in Paris, France. Her father,Walter Green,is a dentist who appeared in the 1966 filmAu hasard Balthazar (1966).Her mother,Marlène Jobert,is an actress turned children's book writer. Eva's mother was born in Algeria, of French, Spanish, and Sephardic Jewish heritage (during that time, Algeria was part of France), and Eva's father is of Swedish, French, and Breton descent. She has a fraternal twin sister, Joy. Eva left French school at 17. She switched to the American School in France for one year. She left the American School and studied acting at Saint Paul Drama School in Paris for three years, then had a 10-week polishing course at the Weber Douglas Academy of dramatic Art in London. She returned to Paris as an accomplished young actress, and played on stage in several theater productions: "La Jalousie en Trois Fax" and "Turcaret". There, she caught the eye of directorBernardo Bertolucci.Green followed a recommendation to work on her English. She studied for two months with an English coach before doingThe Dreamers (2003)withBernardo Bertolucci.During their work, Bertolucci described Green as being "so beautiful it's indecent".
Green won critical acclaim for her role inThe Dreamers (2003).After "The Dreamers", Green played the love interest of cult French gentleman-thief,Arsène Lupin (2004),oppositeRomain Duris.In 2005, she co-starred, oppositeOrlando BloomandLiam Neeson,inKingdom of Heaven (2005),produced and directed byRidley Scott.The film brought her a wider international exposure. She turned down the femme fatale role inThe Black Dahlia (2006),that went toHilary Swank,because she didn't want to end up typecast after her role in "The Dreamers". Instead, Eva accepted the prestigious role of "Vesper Lynd", one of three Bond girls, oppositeDaniel Craig,inCasino Royale (2006)and became the fifth French actress to play a James Bond girl, afterClaudine AugerinThunderball (1965),Corinne CléryinMoonraker (1979),Carole BouquetinFor Your Eyes Only (1981)andSophie MarceauinThe World Is Not Enough (1999).She achieved international recognition for the film, one of the highest-grossing Bond movies ever.
Since then, Green has starred in the filmsDark Shadows (2012),300: Rise of an Empire (2014),Sin City: A Dame to Kill For (2014),andMiss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children (2016).She also starred as Vanessa Ives in Showtime's horror dramaPenny Dreadful (2014).Her performance in the series earned her a nomination for Best Actress in a Television Series - Drama at the 73rd Golden Globe Awards.
Since her school years, Green has been a cosmopolitan multilingual and multicultural person. Yet, since her father always lived in France with them and her mother, she and her twin sister can't speak Swedish. She developed a wide scope of interests beyond her acting profession and became an aspiring art connoisseur and an avid museum visitor. Her other activities, outside of acting, include playing and composing music, cooking at home, walking her terrier, and collecting art. She shares time between her two residencies, one is in Paris, France, and one in London, England.- Actress
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Emmanuelle Seigneris the daughter of a well known photographer and her mother is a journalist. She was born in Paris, France on June 22, 1966. Her grandfather wasLouis Seigner,chairman of the Comédie Française and who also appeared in several movies. Emmanuelle was raised at a convent school. At age fourteen she became a model. Her mysterious beauty made her an international cover-model.Jean-Luc Godardgave her a part in his crime movieDétective (1985),starringJohnny HallydayandNathalie Baye.In 1986 Emmanuelle played the part of Zanon a young girl in the movieCours privé (1986) (byPierre Granier-Deferre). She metRoman Polanskiand married him. He gave her a part in the thrillerFrantic (1988)withHarrison Ford.Four years later Polanski gave her the leading part in the movieBitter Moon (1992).- Actress
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Mélanie Laurent was born in Paris, France. She is the daughter of Annick, a ballet teacher, and Pierre, a voice actor, who is most recognized for the French version of The Simpsons (1989).She has a younger brother, Mathieu, and has both Sephardi Jewish (from Tunisia) and Ashkenazi Jewish (from Poland) ancestry. In 1998, Laurent was visiting the set of Astérix & Obélix contre César (1999) with a friend when she caught the attention of Gérard Depardieu.He offered her a role in his next film Un pont entre deux rives (1999). She only played a small role, but it was enough to further Mélanie's interest in acting.- Actress
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Academy Award-winning actress Marion Cotillard was born on September 30, 1975 in Paris. Cotillard is the daughter ofJean-Claude Cotillard,an actor, playwright and director, andNiseema Theillaud,an actress and drama teacher. Her father's family is from Brittany.
Raised in Orléans, France, she made her acting debut as a child with a role in one of her father's plays. She studied drama at the Conservatoire d'Art Dramatique in Orléans. After small appearances and performances in theater, Cotillard had occasional and minor roles in TV series such asHighlander (1992)andExtrême limite (1994),but her career as a film actress began in the mid-1990s. While still a teenager, Cotillard made her cinema debut at the age of 18 in the filmL'histoire du garçon qui voulait qu'on l'embrasse (1994),and had small but noticeable roles in films such asArnaud Desplechin'sMy Sex Life... Or How I Got Into an Argument (1996)andColine Serreau's comedyLa belle verte (1996).
In 1996, she had her first lead role in the TV filmChloé (1996),playing the title role - a teenage runaway who is forced into prostitution. Cotillard co-starred oppositeAnna Karina,the muse of the Nouvelle Vague.
In 1997, she won her first film award at the Festival Rencontres Cinématographiques d'Istres in France, for her performance as the young imprisoned Nathalie in the short filmAffaire classée (1997).Her first prominent screen role was Lilly Bertineau inGérard Pirès's box-office hitTaxi (1998),a role which she reprised in two sequels:Taxi 2 (2000)andTaxi 3 (2003),this role earned her first César award nomination (France's equivalent to the Oscar) for Most Promising Actress in 1999.
In 1999, Cotillard starred as Julie Bonzon in the Swiss war dramaLa guerre dans le Haut Pays (1998).For her performance in the film, she won the Best Actress award at the Autrans Film Festival in France. In 2001, Marion starred inLes jolies choses (2001)as the twin sisters Marie and Lucie, and was nominated for her second César award for Most Promising Actress.
Cotillard's breakthrough in France came in 2003, when she starred inYann Samuell's dark romantic comedyJeux d'enfants (2003),in which she played Sophie Kowalsky, the daughter of Polish immigrants who lives a love-hate relationship with her childhood friend. The film was a box-office hit in France, became a cult film abroad and led Cotillard to bigger projects.
Her first Hollywood movie wasTim Burton'sBig Fish (2003),in which she played Joséphine, the wife of William Bloom (played byBilly Crudup). A few years later, Marion starred inRidley Scott'sA Good Year (2006)playing Fanny Chenal, a French café owner who falls in love withRussell Crowe's character. In 2004, she won the Chopard Thophy of Female Revelation at the Cannes Film Festival. In 2005, Cotillard won the César award for Best Supporting Actress for her performance of Tina Lombardi inJean-Pierre Jeunet'sA Very Long Engagement (2004).
In 2007, Cotillard received international recognition for her iconic portrayal ofÉdith PiafinLa Môme (2007).DirectorOlivier Dahancast Cotillard to play the legendary French singer because to him, her eyes were like those of "Piaf". The fact that she can sing also helped Cotillard land the role of "Piaf", although most of the singing in the film is that of Piaf's. The role won Cotillard the Academy Award for Best Actress along with a César, a Lumière Award, a BAFTA Award, and a Golden Globe. That made her only the second actress to win an acting Oscar performing in a language other than English next toSophia Loren(La ciociara (1960)). Only two male performers (Roberto BenigniforLife Is Beautiful (1997)andRobert De NiroforThe Godfather: Part II (1974)) have won an Oscar for solely non-English parts.Trevor Nunncalled her portrayal of "Piaf" "one of the greatest performances on film ever". At the Berlin International Film Festival, where the film premiered, Cotillard was given a 15-minute standing ovation. When she won the César,Alain Delonpresented the award and announced the winner as "La Môme Marion" (The Kid Marion), he also praised her at the stage saying: "Marion, I give you this César. I think this César is for a great great actress, and I know what I'm talking about".
Cotillard has worked much more frequently in English-language movies following her Academy Award recognition. In 2009, she acted oppositeJohnny DeppinMichael Mann'sPublic Enemies (2009),and later that year played Luisa Contini inRob Marshall's musicalNine (2009)and received a Golden Globe nomination for her performance. Time magazine ranked her as the fifth best performance by a female in 2009. The following year, she took on the main antagonist role, Mal, inChristopher Nolan'sInception (2010),and in 2011 she had memorable parts inMidnight in Paris (2011)andContagion (2011)and reteamed with Christopher Nolan inThe Dark Knight Rises (2012).
In 2011 and 2012 respectively, Cotillard appeared on the top of Le Figaro's list of the highest paid actors in France, it was the first time in nine years that a female topped the list. Cotillard was also the highest paid foreign actress in Hollywood.
In 2012, Cotillard received wide-spread critical acclaim for her role as the legless orca trainer Stéphanie inDe rouille et d'os (2012).The film was a box office hit in France and received a ten-minute standing ovation at the end of its screening at the 65th Cannes Film Festival. Cotillard won the Globe de Cristal (France's equivalent to the Golden Globe), the Étoile d'Or award and was nominated for the Golden Globes, SAG, BAFTA, Critics' Choice and César Awards for her performance in the film.Cate Blanchettwrote an op-ed for Variety praising Cotillard's performance in "Rust and Bone", the two actresses competed for the Academy Awards for Best Actress in 2008, Cate was nominated for her performance inElizabeth: The Golden Age (2007)and Marion for her performance inLa Môme (2007)and Cotillard won the Oscar.
She had her first leading role in an American movie in 2013, inJames Gray'sThe Immigrant (2013),in which she played Ewa Cybulska, a Polish immigrant who wants to experience the American dream. Cotillard received wide-spread acclaim for her performance in the film at the 66th Cannes Film Festival, where the film premiered, and also won several critics awards. In 2014, Cotillard played Sandra in the Belgian filmDeux jours, une nuit (2014)by the Dardenne brothers. Her performance was unanimously praised at the 67th Cannes Film Festival, earned several critics awards, Cotillard won her first European Award for Best Actress and also received her second Oscar nomination and her sixth César award nomination.
In 2015, she played Lady Macbeth oppositeMichael FassbenderinJustin Kurzel'sMacbeth (2015)and voiced two animated movies:Le Petit Prince (2015)in which she voiced The Rose, andAvril et le monde truqué (2015),in which she voiced the lead role, Avril. Her 2016 includedNicole Garcia'sMal de pierres (2016),Xavier Dolan'sJuste la fin du monde (2016),Justin Kurzel'sAssassin's Creed (2016),in which she worked again with her Macbeth co-star Michael Fassbender; andRobert Zemeckis'sAllied (2016),withBrad Pitt.- Alexa most recently starred as "Special Agent Gaines" on FBI: MOST WANTED on CBS, alongside Dylan McDermott. She also starred in Amazon's Emmy-award winning drama series, THE MAN IN THE HIGH CASTLE. Her other television work includes Marvel's THE PUNISHER and Frank Darabont's MOB CITY.
Alexa's film work includes supporting roles in DEFIANCE alongside Daniel Craig, THE CHRONICLES OF RIDDICK opposite Vin Diesel and Judi Dench, FEAST OF LOVE opposite Morgan Freeman, THE MIST with Marcia Gay Harden, and CLASH OF THE TITANS opposite Sam Worthington, Liam Neeson, and Ralph Fiennes. - Writer
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Luc Bessonspent the first years of his life following his parents, scuba diving instructors, around the world. His early life was entirely aquatic. He already showed amazing creativity as a youth, writing early drafts ofLe grand bleu (1988)andThe Fifth Element (1997),as an adolescent bored in school. He planned on becoming a marine biologist specializing in dolphins until a diving accident at age 17 which rendered him unable to dive any longer. He moved back to Paris, where he was born, and only at age 18 did he first have an urban life or television. He realized that film was a medium which he could combine all his interests in various arts together, so he began taking odd jobs on various films. He moved to America for three years, then returned to France and formed Les Films de Loups - his own production company, which later changed its name to Les Films de Dauphins. He is now able to dive again.- Actress
The daughter of actress Geneviève Sorya,in 1948 she played the part of Juliette in Les amants de Vérone (1949). During the 1950s and 1960s she made various films, including Les amants de Montparnasse (1958) andLa dolce vita (1960),but only Lola (1961), Jacques Demy,and Un homme et une femme (1966) Claude Lelouchsaw major success. With the latter she had, but did not use, the chance to establish herself in the United States. Therefore she only participated in second-row productions in Europe and the United States.- Actress
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Sophie Marceau was born Sophie Danièle Sylvie Maupu in Paris, France, to Simone (Morisset), a shop assistant, and Benoît Maupu, a truck driver. She grew up far from the studio spotlights. When she was 14 she was living in the Paris suburb of Gentilly with her father. She learned from friends that director Claude Pinoteauwas looking for new faces for a movie about teenagers called La boum (1980).She auditioned for the role, got it, and the film was a success. She played in La boum 2 (1982),then bought back her contract with Gaumont when she was 16 years old for one million French francs. She is a critically acclaimed actress, having received the Cesar for Best Feminine Hope for "La Boum 2" in 1983. She was elected Romantic actress forChouans! (1988)at the Festival International du Film Romantique (International Festival of Romantic Movie) of Cabourg in 1988, and was awarded the Moliere of the Best Theatrical Revelation for "Eurydice et Pygmalion" in 1994.- Actress
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Juliette Binoche was born in Paris, France, to Monique Yvette Stalens, a director, teacher, and actress, and Jean-Marie Binoche, a sculptor, director, and actor. Her mother was born in Czestochowa, Poland, of French, Walloon Belgian, and Polish descent, while her father is French. Juliette was only 23 when she first attracted the attention of international film critics with The Unbearable Lightness of Being (1988). Roger Ebert,Chicago Sun-Times film critic with an international following of his books on film and TV reviews, wrote that she was "almost ethereal in her beauty and innocence". That innocence was gone by the time Binoche completed Louis Malle's Damage (1992)(aka "Fatale" ). In an interview after the film was released, Binoche said: "Malle was trying direct and wanted something more sophisticated". A year later, Krzysztof Kieslowski's Trois couleurs: Bleu (1993) was added to her film credits. After a sabbatical from film-making to become a mother in 1994, Binoche was selected as the heroine of France's most expensive ($35 million) movie ever: Le hussard sur le toit (1995). More recently, she has made The English Patient (1996), for which she won an Oscar for 'Best supporting actress' and Chocolat (2000).- Actor
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Blue-eyed Vincent Cassel was born in Paris to a leading actor father,Jean-Pierre Cassel,and a journalist mother, Sabine Litique. Often labeled as a tough guy because of his roles, eclectic choices and talent have made of him a star of European cinema. First inLa Haine (1995),the young actor, actually coming from upper classes, succeeded to express the despair of a social class living in the suburbs of towns. This veracity in his play comes from the fact that he was in fact since years in connection with many hip-hop artists from the rising generation, (his own brother was leader of a legendary french rap group). Then the success ofLes rivières pourpres (2000),where he plays a young French cop alongsideJean Reno,made of him "the man to count on." He never hid his taste for rap music, break dance, Capoeira, Brasil and his endless energy, but Vincent is also a family man, married toMonica Bellucci,his Italian co-star from L'appartement (1996)(aka The Apartment); and recently a father.- Director
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Roman Polanski is a Polish film director, producer, writer and actor. Having made films in Poland, Britain, France and the USA, he is considered one of the few truly international filmmakers. Roman Polanski was born in Paris in 1933.
His parents returned to Poland from France in 1936, three years before World War II began. On Germany's invasion in 1939, as a family of mostly Jewish heritage, they were all sent to the Krakow ghetto. His parents were then captured and sent to two different concentration camps: His father to Mauthausen-Gusen in Austria, where he survived the war, and his mother to Auschwitz where she was murdered. Roman witnessed his father's capture and then, at only 7, managed to escape the ghetto and survive the war, at first wandering through the Polish countryside and pretending to be a Roman-Catholic kid visiting his relatives. Although this saved his life, he was severely mistreated suffering nearly fatal beating which left him with a fractured skull.
Local people usually ignored the cinemas where German films were shown, but Polanski seemed little concerned by the propaganda and often went to the movies. As the war progressed, Poland became increasingly war-torn and he lived his life as a tramp, hiding in barns and forests, eating whatever he could steal or find. Still under 12 years old, he encountered some Nazi soldiers who forced him to hold targets while they shot at them. At the war's end in 1945, he reunited with his father who sent him to a technical school, but young Polanski seemed to have already chosen another career. In the 1950s, he took up acting, appearing inAndrzej Wajda'sPokolenie (1955)before studying at the Lodz Film School. His early shorts such asDwaj ludzie z szafa (1958),Le gros et le maigre (1961)andSsaki (1962),showed his taste for black humor and interest in bizarre human relationships. His feature debut,Nóz w wodzie (1962),was one of the first Polish post-war films not associated with the war theme. It was also the first movie from Poland to get an Oscar nomination for best foreign film. Though already a major Polish filmmaker, Polanski chose to leave the country and headed to France. While down-and-out in Paris, he befriended young scriptwriter,Gérard Brach,who eventually became his long-time collaborator. The next two films,Repulsion (1965)andCul-de-sac (1966),made in England and co-written by Brach, won respectively Silver and then Golden Bear awards at the Berlin International Film Festival. In 1968, Polanski went to Hollywood, where he made the psychological thriller,Rosemary's Baby (1968).However, after the brutal murder of his wife,Sharon Tate,by the Manson Family in 1969, the director decided to return to Europe. In 1974, he again made a US release - it wasChinatown (1974).
It seemed the beginning of a promising Hollywood career, but after his conviction for the sodomy of a 13-year old girl, Polanski fled from he USA to avoid prison. AfterTess (1979),which was awarded several Oscars and Cesars, his works in 1980s and 1990s became intermittent and rarely approached the caliber of his earlier films. It wasn't untilThe Pianist (2002)that Polanski came back to full form. For that movie, he won nearly all the most important film awards, including the Oscar for Best Director, Cannes Film Festival's Palme d'Or, the BAFTA and Cesar Award.
He still likes to act in the films of other directors, sometimes with interesting results, as inUna pura formalità (1994).- Actress
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Cherry Jones was born on 21 November 1956 in Paris, Tennessee, USA. She is an actress, known forThe Village (2004),Signs (2002)andThe Perfect Storm (2000).She has been married toSophie Hubersince 2015.- Actor
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Stanley Weber was born on 13 July 1986 in Paris, France. He is an actor and producer, known forNot Another Happy Ending (2013),L'origine de la violence (2016)andPoirot (1989).- Actress
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Elodie Yung was born in Paris, France, of Cambodian and French descent. She grew up in Seine-saint-Denis, in Le Bourget, where she practiced karate and obtained her black belt. She graduated from University of La Sorbonne in Paris and has a law degree. She then decided to study acting at London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art in London.- Actress
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Catherine Fabienne Deneuve was born October 22, 1943 in Paris, France, to actor parentsRenée SimonotandMaurice Dorléac.She made her movie debut in 1957, when she was barely a teenager and continued with small parts in minor films, untilRoger Vadimgave her a meatier role inLe vice et la vertu (1963).Her breakthrough came with the excellent musicalLes parapluies de Cherbourg (1964),in which she gave an unforgettable performance as a romantic middle-class girl who falls in love with a young soldier but gets imprisoned in a loveless marriage with another man; the director was the giftedJacques Demy,who also cast Deneuve in the less successfulLes demoiselles de Rochefort (1967).She then played a schizophrenic killer inRoman Polanski'sRepulsion (1965)and a married woman who works as a part-time prostitute every afternoon inLuis Buñuel's masterpieceBelle De Jour (1967).She also worked with Buñuel inTristana (1970)and gave a great performance forFrançois TruffautinLa sirène du Mississipi (1969),a kind of apotheosis of her "frigid femme fatale" persona. In the seventies she didn't find parts of that caliber, but her magnificent work in Truffaut'sLe dernier métro (1980)as a stage actress in Nazi-occupied Paris revived her career. She was also very good in the epic dramaIndochine (1992),for which she earned her first Academy Award nomination (Best Actress). Although the elegant and always radiant Deneuve has never appeared on stage, she is universally hailed as one of the "grandes dames" of French cinema, joining a list that includes such illustrious talents asSimone Signoret,Jeanne Moreau,Isabelle Huppert,Isabelle Adjaniand the youngerJuliette Binoche.- Gaïa Weiss is a French actress known for her roles in TV shows 'Vikings', 'Marie-Antoinette', or multi awarded sci-fi feature film 'Meander'. Born in Paris to a Polish mother and French father, and later raised between Paris and London, Gaïa is strong from her multi-cultural background. She discovered her love for the stage at the age of 4 with ballet, and went on to take drama classes at 7 years old. She later trained at the Cours Florent in Paris, followed by the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Arts.
Gaïa is the niece of political journalist Andrzej Koraszewski. - Actress
- Music Department
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Isabelle Huppert was born March 16, 1953, in Paris, France, but spent her childhood in Ville d'Avray. Encouraged by her motherAnnick Huppert(who was a teacher of English), she followed the Conservatory of Versailles and won an acting prize for her work inAlfred de Musset's "Un caprice". She then studied at the Conservatoire d'Art Dramatique and followed an illustrious theatrical career, which includesIvan Turgenev's "A Month in the Country",Euripides' "Medea" (title role) etc. She made her movie debut inLe Prussien (1971)and soon became one of the top actresses of her generation, giving fine performances in important films, likeClaude Goretta'sLa dentellière (1977),as a simple-minded girl who falls in love with - and is betrayed by - a student,Jean-Luc Godard'sSauve qui peut (la vie) (1980),as a prostitute, andMaurice Pialat'sLoulou (1980),as an upper-class woman who is physically attracted by a young vagabond. She made an inconsequential US debut inOtto Preminger'sRosebud (1975)before playing a brothel madam inMichael Cimino's disastrousHeaven's Gate (1980),but she fared better inCurtis Hanson'sThe Bedroom Window (1987)(as an adulteress who witnesses an attack). Huppert has an extremely productive collaboration withClaude Chabrol,who cast her in several movies, includingViolette Nozière (1978),in which she played a woman who murders her parents, andUne affaire de femmes (1988),in which she gave an excellent performance as a shameless abortionist, the last woman to be executed in France. More recent good films includePatricia Mazuy'sSaint-Cyr (2000)andMichael Haneke's controversialThe Piano Teacher (2001),as a sexually repressed piano teacher.- Actress
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Julie Delpy was born in Paris, France, in 1969 to Albert Delpyand Marie Pillet,both actors.
She was first featured in Jean-Luc Godard's Détective (1985)at the age of fourteen. She has starred in many American and European productions since then, including Disney's The Three Musketeers (1993), Killing Zoe (1993), Trois couleurs: Blanc (1994), and the "Before" series, alongside Ethan Hawke: Before Sunrise (1995), Before Sunset (2004),and Before Midnight (2013).
She graduated from NYU's film school, and wrote and directed the short filmBlah Blah Blah (1995),which screened at the Sundance Film Festival. She is a resident of Los Angeles.- Actress
- Soundtrack
Nora Arnezeder was born in Paris, France to an Austrian father and an Egyptian mother. While she was still in high school, she studied acting, dancing and singing at the renowned drama school Cours Florent in Paris. Nora's first major role was in 2008 in Paris 36 (French title: Faubourg 36) which was directed by Christophe Barratier and for which she won the Lumières Award as well as the Étoile d' Or award. In this film, Nora Arnezeder performed the song "Loin de Paname" which was nominated for Best Original Song at the 82nd Academy Awards. In 2012, Nora Arnezeder appeared in the film Safe House with Ryan Reynolds and Denzel Washington. In the same year, she appeared in the role of Celia in The Words, opposite Bradley Cooper and Ben Barnes. The film was presented at the Sundance Film Festival.
Nora Arnezeder also acted in the horror slasher film Maniac alongside Elijah Wood.
In 2013, Nora Arnezeder was the leading actress in the internationally praised costume drama Angélique by Ariel Zeitoun.
In November 2014, Nora Arnezeder was cast in the CBS series Zoo, based on the novel by James Patterson and Michael Ledwidge. Zoo premiered in June 2015.
Recently, Nora Arnezeder participated in the series Mozart in the Jungle playing Anna Maria, the wife of the main character, Rodrigo (Gael Garcia Bernal). The show won two Golden Globes.- Actress
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Virginie Ledoyen was born Virginie Fernandez on 15 November 1976 in Aubervilliers, near Paris. At the age of 2, she was already shooting advertisements for television. At 9, she started going to the École des Enfants du Spectacle, and made her film debut at 10 in Exploits of a Young Don Juan (1986). She was then nominated for the César (the French equivalent of an Oscar) for most promising actress in 1993, 1994 and 1995.
Her international breakthrough was in 1999, when she became ambassador for the cosmetics L'Oréal; this led to her casting in The Beach (2000),with Leonardo DiCaprio.