Isabelle Huppert

Isabelle Anne Madeleine Huppert (born 16 March 1953) is a French actress who has appeared in more than 90 film and television productions since 1971. She has appeared in 14 films that have been in the official competition at the Cannes Film Festival, and won the Best Actress Award twice, for Violette Nozière (1978) and La pianiste (2001). She is also the most nominated actress for the César Award, with 14 nominations. She won a César Award for Best Actress in 1996 for her performance in La Cérémonie. --- Huppert was born in Paris, the daughter of Annick Beau, a teacher of English, and Raymond Huppert, a safe manufacturer. Her father was born Jewish and converted to Catholicism; he was descended from immigrants from Hungary. She was raised in a western suburb of Ville-d'Avray. Huppert was encouraged by her mother to begin acting at a young age, and became a teenage star in Paris. She later attended Versailles Conservatoire, where she won a prize for her acting. She is also an alumna of the National Conservatory of Dramatic Art of Paris, CNSAD. After a successful stage career, she made her film debut in 1972 with Faustine et le bel été, though her television debut was in 1971. Her later appearance in the controversial Les Valseuses (1974) made her increasingly recognized by the public. Her international breakthrough came with La Dentelliere (1977), for which she won a BAFTA award for Most Promising Newcomer to Leading Film Roles. She made her American film debut in Michael Cimino's 1980 film Heaven's Gate, which was a notorious flop at the U.S. box office. Throughout the 1980s, Huppert continued to explore enigmatic and emotionally distant characters, most notably in Maurice Pialat's Loulou (1980), Godard's Sauve qui peut (la vie) (1980), Diane Kurys' Coup de foudre (1983), and Claude Chabrol's Une Affaire de Femmes (1988). --- Isabelle Huppert was the President of the Jury at the 62nd Cannes Film Festival, from 13 May to 24 May 2009. She has been Member of the Jury and Master of Ceremony in previous years, as well as winning the Best Actress Award twice. As president, she gave the Palme d'Or to The White Ribbon by the Austrian director Michael Haneke who has directed her in The Piano Teacher and Time of the Wolf. Huppert starred in the 11th season finale of Law & Order: Special Victims Unit which aired on May 19, 2010. In September 2010, the Philippine Daily Inquirer announced that she has been cast in an upcoming film by award-winning director Brillante Mendoza. Huppert will play the role of a kidnap victim in the hands of the separatist group, Abu Sayyaf. In 2012, she starred in two films that competed for the Palme d'Or at the 2012 Cannes Film Festival; Amour and In Another Country.