Ariane Labed

Ariane Labed (born 8 May 1984) is a French actress and film director. She is known for her feature film debut in Attenberg, for which she won the Volpi Cup for Best Actress, and appearing in Helen Edmundson's film Mary Magdalene in 2018.

Early life Born to French parents, Labed spent her first six years in Athens, Greece, then moved to Germany. She moved to France when she was 12 years old. Labed studied theater at the University of Provence (DEUST basic training in theater, Bachelor of Performing Arts and master's degree in dramaturgy and scenic writing). There, she met the Greek director Argyro Chioti, and in 2005, they co-founded the theater group VASISTAS, which has been active in Greece to this day. She has also acted at the National Theater of Greece.

Career Labed was awarded the Volpi Cup for Best Actress at the 67th Venice International Film Festival for her performance in Attenberg, directed by Athina Rachel Tsangari, which was her debut film. She starred in the films Alps and The Lobster directed by Yorgos Lanthimos. In 2018, she appeared as Rachel in Helen Edmundson's film Mary Magdalene.

Personal life She has been married to Greek filmmaker Yorgos Lanthimos since 2013. They lived in London from 2011 until 2021, and thereafter primarily in Athens.

In September 2025, both she and Lanthimos signed the open pledge of the Film Workers for Palestine pledging not to work with Israeli film institutions "that are implicated in genocide and apartheid against the Palestinian people."

Ιn February 2026, in a Kathimerini guest editorial, Labed related her experience as witness in a case of rape, strongly criticizing both the process in the Athens court and the comportment of the defense as well as the judge, both of whom, while disputing the victims' statements, invoked dismissively Labed's involvement in feminist agitation as well as in the organization she'd co-founded for the welfare of sexually abused women. In the text, Labed testifies to her own, numerous instances of both "casual" and "serious" sexual abuse suffered during her adolescence, which included two rapes, a past that led her to chronic alcoholism from which she parted in 2021.

Filmography Film Year Film Role Notes2010 Attenberg Marina 2011 Alps Gymnast 2012 The Capsule Short film 2013 Before Midnight Anna A Place on Earth Elena Morin 2014 Magic Men Maria Love Island Liliane Fidelio: Alice's Odyssey Alice Intimate Semaphores Laurel La diagonale du fils Short film 2015 The Forbidden Room Alicia Warlock / The Chambermaid Prejudice Caroline The Lobster The Maid Despite the Night Hélène 2016 Seances The Stopover Aurore Assassin's Creed Maria 2018 Mary Magdalene Rachel 2019 The Souvenir Garance Olla As director, short film 2021 The Souvenir Part II Garance 2022 Flux Gourmet Lamina Propria 2023 The Vourdalak Sdenka 2024 Swimming Home Kitti Premiere at IFFR September Says Director, screenplay The Brutalist Adult Zsófia 2026 A Girl's Story Blanche Duchesne

Television

Awards and nominations Year Award Category Nominated work Result 201067th Venice International Film Festival Volpi Cup for Best ActressAttenberg 2011 Hellenic Film Academy AwardsBest Actress 2014 Locarno International Film Festival Best ActressFidelio: Alice's Odyssey 2015 20th Lumière Awards Best Female Revelation 201540th César Awards Most Promising Actress 2022 ACS Awards Best Actress L'Opéra 2023 ACS Awards Best Performance in a TV Series: 40 minutes L'Opéra