Sophie Marceau ( ; born 17 November 1966) is a
French actress, who has appeared in 35 films. During her teens,
Marceau achieved popularity by her debut films
La Boum (1980) and
La
Boum 2 (1982), for which she received a
César Award for Most
Promising Actress. In addition to her French language films,
she has worked in international films such as
Braveheart (1995) and as a
Bond Girl in
The World Is Not Enough
(1999).
Early life
Marceau was born
Sophie Danièle Sylvie Maupu in
Paris, France, the second child of Simone (née Morisset), a shop
assistant, and Benoît Maupu, a truck driver. The family lived a
working-class existence that left Marceau with generally fond
memories of childhood. During the week, she helped at the family
restaurant.
She spent weekends with her family in La
Cabane, a small house in Vert-le-Petit
in the department Essonne
. Her
parents divorced when she was nine.
Career
In February 1980, Marceau and her mother came across a model agency
looking for teenagers. Marceau had photos taken at the agency but
did not think anything would come of it. At the same time,
Françoise Menidrey, the casting director for
Claude Pinoteau's
La
Boum (1980), asked modeling agencies to recommend a new
teenager for the project. After viewing the rushes, Alain Poiré,
the director of the
Gaumont Film
Company, signed Marceau to a long-term contract.
La
Boum was a hit not only in France, where 4.5 million tickets
were sold, but several other European countries and Japan.
In 1981, Marceau made her singing debut with French singer François
Valéry on "Dream in Blue," written by Delanoë.
Early film career
In 1982, at the age of 16, Marceau bought back her contract with
Gaumont for one million
French francs.
She borrowed most of the money. After starring in the sequel film
La Boum 2 in 1982, Marceau
focused on more dramatic roles, including
Fort Saganne (co-starring
Gérard Depardieu and
Catherine Deneuve) and
Joyeuse
Pâques (
Happy Easter) in 1984,
L'Amour
Braque and
Police
in 1985, and
Descente aux Enfers (
Descent Into
Hell) in 1986. In 1988, she starred in
L'Etudiante (
The
Student) and
Chouans!. That year, Marceau was named
Best Romantic Actress at the International Festival of Romantic
Movies for her role in Chouans.
In 1989, she starred in
Mes nuits sont plus belles que vos
jours (
My Nights are more Beautiful than your Days),
which was directed by her long-time boyfriend
Andrzej Zulawski. In 1990, she starred in
Pacific Palisades and
La Note Bleue, her third
film directed by her companion. In 1991, she ventured into the
theater in
Eurydice, which earned Marceau the
Moliere Award for Best Female Newcomer.
Marceau began making less-dramatic films, such as the comedy
Fanfan in 1993 and
La Fille de D'Artagnan in
1994 — both popular in Europe and abroad. That year, she
returned to the theatre as Eliza Dolittle in
Pygmalion.
International success
Marceau achieved international recognition in 1995 as Princess
Isabelle in
Mel Gibson's Braveheart. That year, she was part of an
ensemble of international actors in the French film directed by
Michelangelo Antonioni and Wim Wenders,
Beyond the Clouds.
In 1997, she continued with William Nicholson's
Firelight,
filmed in England, Véra Belmont's
Marquise, filmed in
France, and Bernard Rose's
Anna Karenina.
She played Hippolyta in
A Midsummer Night's
Dream (1999). She became a villainess
Bond girl by playing
Elektra King in
The World Is Not Enough
(1999).
Marceau teamed up again with her then-boyfriend
Andrzej Zulawski to film
La
Fidélité in 2000.
Author and director
In 1995, Marceau wrote a semi-autobiographical novel,
Menteuse (engl. translation
Telling Lies
published in 2001), in which the narrator is a beautiful actress
who is confident in her beauty and talent and yet insecure. The
unnamed narrator takes the reader into a world of memories,
fantasies, and impressions, but never reveals herself completely.
Marceau's work was described as "an exploration of female
identity". Marceau describes what the narrator is going
through:
In 2002,
Marceau made her directorial debut in the feature film Speak to Me of Love for which she
was named Best Director at the Montreal World
Film Festival
. The film starred
Judith Godrèche. It was her second
effort at directing (she made the nine-minute
short film L'Aube à l'envers in 1995,
which also starred Godrèche).Entering the
2005 Cannes Film Festival award
ceremony, the shoulder strap on Marceau's dress fell off, exposing
her bosom.
Personal life
Marceau had a 17 year relationship with director
Andrzej Żuławski, who is 26 years
her senior. Their son Vincent was born in June 1995. In 2001,
Marceau separated from Zulawski and became involved with producer
Jim Lemley and later gave birth to her
second child, Juliette, born in London in 2002. She is now dating
actor
Christopher Lambert.
Filmography
Actress
Writer and director
References
- Sophie Marceau Biography (1966-)
- Billen, Andrew. "Lies and loves of ma belle Marceau," Sunday
Herald, June 10, 2001.
- Janis L. Pallister, Ruth A. Hottell: Francophone Women Film
Directors: A Guide. Fairleigh Dickinson Univ Press 2005, ISBN
9780838640463, p. 262
- Net Glimpse, Retrieved on December 1, 2007
- http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0112411/
External links
Wikis
Quiz
Map
Search
