Marion Cotillard

Marion Cotillard (born 30 September 1975) is a French actress, singer-songwriter, musician, environmentalist and spokesperson for Greenpeace. She is the recipient of an Academy Award, a BAFTA Award, a Golden Globe Award, two César Awards, a European Award and a Lumières Award. She has appeared in more than 50 feature films, had her first English-language role in the TV series Highlander in 1993, made her film debut at the age of 18 in The Story of a Boy Who Wanted to Be Kissed (1994), her first leading role in the TV film Chloé (1996), and made her breakthrough in France playing Lilly Bertineau in the action-comedy Taxi (1998), which earned her a César Award nomination for Most Promising Actress. Cotillard made her Hollywood debut with the role of Joséphine Bloom in Big Fish (2003), and has received international acclaim and awards for her performances in films such as Tina Lombardi in A Very Long Engagement (2004), for which she won her first César Award for Best Supporting Actress; for her portrayal of the French singer Édith Piaf in the biopic La Vie en Rose (2007), Cotillard achieved worldwide recognition and won her second César Award, a BAFTA Award, a Golden Globe Award, a Lumières Award and the Academy Award for Best Actress, becoming the first and (as of 2016) only actor to win an Academy Award for a performance in the French language, and also the second actress and one of only six actors to have won this award for a part spoken in a foreign language. Cotillard has alternated between French and English-language roles in mainstream and art-house productions, and is also known for being the face of Lady Dior handbags since 2008. Her performance of Luisa Contini in the musical Nine (2009), earned her a second Golden Globe nomination. She also played Fanny Chenal in A Good Year (2006), Billie Frechette in Public Enemies (2009), Mal in Inception (2010), Adriana in Midnight in Paris (2011), Dr. Leonora Orantes in Contagion(2011), Miranda Tate in The Dark Knight Rises (2012) and Lady Macbeth in Macbeth (2015). In 2012, she received widespread critical acclaim for her performance as the double amputee orca trainer Stéphanie in Rust and Bone (2012), and was nominated for the Golden Globes, BAFTAs, Critics' Choice, Screen Actors Guild and the César Awards. In 2014, Cotillard was highly acclaimed and awarded for her lead performances in The Immigrant (2013) and Two Days, One Night(2014), receiving a second Academy Award nomination for Best Actress for the latter, which was also her second nomination for a French-language film and the first time an actor was nominated for a Belgian film. She became one of only six actors to receive multiple Academy Award nominations for foreign-language performances. Her other notable films include La Belle Verte (1996), Furia (1999), War in the Highlands (1999), Lisa (2001), Pretty Things (2001), Love Me If You Dare (2003), Innocence (2004), Toi et Moi (2006), Dikkenek (2006), The Little Prince (2015) and April and the Extraordinary World (2015). Cotillard was made a Knight of the Order of Arts and Letters in France in 2010 and promoted to Officer in 2016. In 2014, she was named "The Most Bankable French Actress of the 21st Century", her films accumulating more than 37 million ticket sales in France from 2001 to 2014, and named "the great silent film actress of our time" by The Daily Telegraph's Robbie Collin, for her ability to show emotions only with her eyes and facial expressions, although she has never appeared in a silent film. In 2016, she received France's highest honor and was made a Knight of the Legion of Honour. In 2016, Cotillard plays Gabrielle in From the Land of the Moon, Marianne Beausejour in Allied, Catherine in It's Only the End of the World and Dr. Sophia Rikkin in Assassin's Creed. Early life Cotillard was born in Paris, and grew up around Orléans, in an artistically inclined, "bustling, creative household". Her father, Jean-Claude Cotillard, is an actor, teacher, former mime, and 2006 Molière Award-winning director. He is of Breton descent. Cotillard's mother, Niseema Theillaud, who has Kabyle ancestry, is also an actress and drama teacher. Her two younger brothers are twins: Quentin and Guillaume. Guillaume is a screenwriter and director. Cotillard began acting during her childhood, appearing on stage in one of her father's plays. Career Early work in French cinema (1993–2002) After small appearances and performances in theater, Cotillard had occasional, minor roles in television series such as Highlander - where she had her first English-speaking role at the age of 17, appearing as Lori Bellian in the episode "Nowhere to Run", she also had an uncredited role in the episode "Saving Grace", in which she appeared giving birth in one scene. Her career as a film actress began in the mid-1990s, with small but noticeable roles in films like Philippe Harel's The Story of a Boy Who Wanted to Be Kissed, which was her feature film debut at the age of 18; in Arnaud Desplechin's My Sex Life... or How I Got Into an Argument, and the comedy La Belle Verte, directed by Coline Serreau. In 1996, Cotillard had her first leading role in the TV film Chloé, directed by Dennis Berry, with Cotillard playing the title role, a teenage runaway who is forced into prostitution, co-starring Anna Karina. In 1998, she appeared in Gérard Pirès' action comedy Taxi, playing Lilly Bertineau, the girlfriend of delivery boy Daniel, played by Samy Naceri. The film was a hit in France and she was nominated for a César Award for Most Promising Actress. Cotillard reprised the role in two sequels: Taxi 2 and Taxi 3. She then ventured into science fiction with Alexandre Aja's post-apocalyptic romantic drama, Furia in 1999. That same year, Cotillard starred in the Swiss war drama film War in the Highlands (La Guerre dans le Haut Pays), for which she won the Best Actress Award at the Autrans Film Festival in 1999. In 2001, she appeared in Pierre Grimblat's film Lisa, playing the title role and younger version of Jeanne Moreau's character, co-starring with Benoît Magimel and Sagamore Stévenin. In the same year, she starred in Gilles Paquet-Brenner's film Pretty Things (Les Jolies Choses), adapted from the work of feminist writer Virginie Despentes. In the drama, Cotillard portrayed twins of completely opposite characters, Lucie and Marie, and she was nominated for a César Award for Most Promising Actress for her performance. In 2002, Cotillard starred in Guillaume Nicloux's thriller A Private Affair (Une Affaire Privée), in which she portrayed the mysterious Clarisse. Move to Hollywood (2003–2006) In 2003, Cotillard had a notable supporting role in Tim Burton's film Big Fish, it was her first American film and she appeared alongside Helena Bonham Carter, Albert Finney, Ewan McGregor, Billy Crudup, Jessica Lange and Allison Lohman. In the film she plays Joséphine, the French wife of William Bloom (Crudup). In the same year, she starred in the French romantic comedy film Love Me If You Dare (Jeux d'enfants), as Sophie Kowalsky, the daughter of Polish immigrants. The film was directed by Yann Samuel and was a box office hit in France. In 2004, she won the Chopard Trophy of Female Revelation at the Cannes Film Festival. She also appeared in two critically acclaimed films: Jean-Pierre Jeunet's A Very Long Engagement (Un Long Dimanche de Fiançailles), as the vengeful Tina Lombardi, for which she won a César Award for Best Supporting Actress, and the mystery thriller Innocence, as Mademoiselle Éva. In 2005, Cotillard starred in six films: Steve Suissa's romantic drama Cavalcade as Alizée; in Abel Ferrara's religious drama Mary, alongside Forest Whitaker and Juliette Binoche; portrayed Isabelle Kruger and Alice in the thriller film The Black Box (La Boîte Noire), directed by Richard Berry; starred in the romantic comedy Love Is in the Air (Ma vie en l'air); in the drama Burnt Out (Sauf le respect que je vous dois) and Edy, directed by Stéphan Guérin-Tillié. In 2006, the actress starred in four films, including Ridley Scott's romantic comedy A Good Year, in which she portrayed Fanny Chenal, a French café owner in a small Provençal town, opposite Russell Crowe as a Londoner who inherits a local property; the Belgian comedy Dikkenek alongside Mélanie Laurent, appeared in Fair Play as Nicole and in the satirical coming-of-age film Toi et moi, for which she learned to play the cello for her role. La Vie en Rose and breakthrough (2007–2008) Cotillard was chosen by director Olivier Dahan to portray the French singer Édith Piaf in the biopic La Vie en Rose, before he had even met her, saying that he noticed a similarity between Piaf's and Cotillard's eyes. Producer Alain Goldman accepted and defended the choice even though distributors TFM reduced the money they gave to finance the film thinking Cotillard wasn't "bankable" enough an actress. Her portrayal was widely praised, including by the eminent theatre director Sir Trevor Nunn, who described it as "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. Powerful Hollywood talent agent, Hylda Queally, signed Cotillard shortly after La Vie en Rose premiered at the Berlin Film Festival. La Vie en Rose was dubbed "the most awaited film of 2007" in France, where some critics said that Cotillard had reincarnated Édith Piaf to sing one last time on stage. The film was a box office hit in France, gathering over 5 million admissions and grossing $86 million worldwide on a $25 million budget. Cotillard is the first actress to win a Golden Globe for a foreign language performance since 1972, when Liv Ullmann won for The Emigrants. She is also the first person to win a (Comedy or Musical) Golden Globe for a foreign language performance. On 10 February 2008, Cotillard became the first French actress to be awarded the BAFTA Award for Best Actress in a Leading Role since Stéphane Audran in 1973. On 22 February 2008, she was awarded the César Award for Best Actress for her performance in La Vie en Rose. Alain Delon presented the award and announced the winner as "La Môme Marion" (The Kid Marion), also praising her on 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". Two days later, on 24 February 2008 at the Academy Awards, she won Best Actress, becoming the first woman and second person (after Adrien Brody, The Pianist) to win both a César and an Oscar for the same performance. Cotillard is the second French cinema actress to win this award and the third overall to receive an Academy Award after Simone Signoret in 1960 and Juliette Binoche in 1997. She is the first Best Actress winner in a non-English language performance since Sophia Loren's win in 1961. She is also the first and (as of 2016) only winner of an Academy Award for a performance in the French language. In her Oscar acceptance speech, Cotillard proclaimed "thank you life, thank you love" and, speaking of Los Angeles, said "it is true, there is some angels (sic) in this city!" The day following the ceremony, Cotillard was congratulated and praised by the President of France, Nicolas Sarkozy, in a statement saying, “I would like to extend my warmest congratulations to Marion Cotillard, who has just received the Oscar for Best Actress for her masterful interpretation of Édith Piaf in La Vie en Rose, directed by Olivier Dahan. Half a century after Simone Signoret, a French artist has received the Best Actress award at the Oscars. It was a good omen that Catherine Allegret, Simone Signoret's daughter, herself had a role in La Vie en Rose. Marion Cotillard embodies an Édith Piaf who is unsettling in her realism, emotion and passion. Her interpretation brings to life the story of a woman who gave French chanson its acclaim and authenticity; a singer, too, who closely united France and America.” La Vie En Rose was partly a Czech production, as Cotillard mentioned in her César acceptance speech. On 1 March 2008, Cotillard won a Czech Lion Award for Best Actress. She could not attend the ceremony in Prague due to the filming of Public Enemies. Her friend Pavlína Němcová – who played the journalist in La vie en Rose – was there to accept the award on her behalf. Cotillard won a total of 27 awards for her performance in La Vie en Rose. On 24 June 2008, Cotillard was one of 105 individuals invited to join the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. Widespread recognition (2009–2012) In 2009, Cotillard starred alongside Johnny Depp and Christian Bale in the role of Billie Frechette in Michael Mann's Public Enemies, which was released in the United States on 1 July 2009. Later that year, she appeared in the film adaptation of the musical Nine, directed by Rob Marshall, playing Luisa Contini, the wife of Guido, played by Daniel Day-Lewis. In the film, Cotillard performs two musical numbers: "My Husband Makes Movies" and "Take It All". As of 2016, the official music video for the song "Take It All" performed by Cotillard, has over 1,2 million views on YouTube. On 15 December 2009, Cotillard was nominated for a Golden Globe for Best Actress in a Motion Picture – Musical or Comedy for her performance in Nine. Cotillard appeared on the cover of the November 2009 issue of Vogue with her Nine co-stars, and on the July 2010 cover by herself. Time magazine ranked Cotillard's performance in Nine as the fifth best performance by a female in 2009, behind Mo'Nique, Carey Mulligan, Saoirse Ronan and Meryl Streep. She was awarded the Desert Palm Achievement Actress Award at the 2010 Palm Springs International Film Festival for her performance in the film - her second prize from the festival. On February 27, 2010, she was the Honorary President of the 35th César Awards Ceremony. She played Mal Cobb, a projection of Leonardo DiCaprio's character, Dom Cobb's deceased wife in Christopher Nolan's film Inception, also starring Tom Hardy, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Cillian Murphy, Ken Watanabe, Michael Caine and Ellen Page, which released on 16 July 2010. Nolan described Mal as "the essence of the femme fatale", and DiCaprio praised Cotillard's performance saying that "she can be strong and vulnerable and hopeful and heartbreaking all in the same moment, which was perfect for all the contradictions of her character". Cotillard and Leonardo DiCaprio ranked #8 on Forbes' list of "Hollywood's Top Earning On-Screen Couples" for Inception, which made $825 million at the worldwide box-office. They are the only couple from a non-franchise film. In the same year, she also starred in Guillaume Canet's drama Little White Lies (Les petits mouchoirs), playing the environmentalist Marie, alongside Jean Dujardin and François Cluzet. In 2011, she starred in Woody Allen's Midnight in Paris alongside Rachel McAdams, Owen Wilson and Kathy Bates. In the film, Cotillard played Adriana, a fictionalized mistress of Pablo Picasso with whom Owen Wilson's character, Gil, falls in love. She also co-starred alongside Kate Winslet, Jude Law, Gwyneth Paltrow and Matt Damon in Steven Soderbergh's thriller film Contagion. Also that year, Cotillard appeared on the top of Le Figaro's list of the highest paid actors in France in 2010, the first time in nine years that a female has topped the list, and she was also tied with Kate Winslet as the highest paid foreign actress in Hollywood. In 2012, Cotillard was ranked #9 on the list of the highest paid actresses in France in 2011, and appeared in Christopher Nolan's film The Dark Knight Rises, playing Miranda Tate, a board member at Wayne Enterprises. The film reunited the actress with her Inception co-stars Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Michael Caine, Cillian Murphy and Tom Hardy. It also reunited her with Public Enemies co-star Christian Bale. Personal life In the late 90s, Cotillard was in a relationship with French actor Julien Rassam. From 2000 to 2005, she was in a relationship with French actor Stéphan Guérin-Tillié, with whom she co-starred in the short films Quelques jours de trop (2000) and Heureuse (2001), in the 2001 TV series Les redoutables, and in the 2005 feature films Cavalcade and Edy. She dated French singer Sinclair from 2005 to 2007. Since October 2007, Cotillard has been in a relationship with French actor and director Guillaume Canet. They had been friends since 1997 and co-starred together for the first time years later in the 2003 film Love Me If You Dare. The couple's first child, a son named Marcel, was born on 19 May 2011. Despite common misconception, the couple are not married. Though since 2010 Cotillard has been spotted wearing a diamond solitaire on her left hand – a present from Canet – they are not engaged either. In 2014, Cotillard denied being married to Canet, instead referring to him as "my boyfriend" in interviews. In September 2016, Cotillard confirmed that they are expecting their second child.