Céline Cousteau

Céline S. Cousteau (born June 6, 1972) is a socio-environmental advocate and public figure. She is known for her work as a documentary film director, producer, explorer, artist, public speaker, brand ambassador, designer, author, and wellness workshop facilitator. She has been a panelist at the United Nations in New York, speaks on stage to audiences around the world, and has interviewed many prominent figures including President Lasso of Ecuador. She is the Founder/Director of CauseCentric Productions and previously Co-founder/ Chairman of the Board of the Outdoor Film Fellowship. She is the daughter of ocean explorer and filmmaker Jean-Michel Cousteau, and granddaughter of Jacques Cousteau.

Early years and personal life Cousteau is the third generation of the Cousteau family of explorers. She was born in California to Jean-Michel Cousteau, a documentary-filmmaker and environmental advocate, and Anne-Marie Cousteau, an expedition photographer. She is the sister of Fabien Cousteau, an ocean explorer and shark advocate, and granddaughter of pioneering ocean explorer Jacques Cousteau. One of her major expeditions on board was at age nine when she journeyed to the Amazon. The expedition lasted 18 months of which she spent 2 weeks navigating its coastal and jungle waters in areas that were still largely unknown to the outside world. It was through this experience that Cousteau began to learn about the interconnectedness of not only the environment, but humanity. She received an honorary doctoral degree from the University of Aveiro.

Career Cousteau is the founder and CEO of CauseCentric Productions. CauseCentric Productions produces and distributes multi-media content with an emphasis on short films to amplify the voices and communicate the stories of solution focused grassroots organizations and individuals working on environmental and socio-cultural issues. She also the co-founded of the Outdoor Film Fellowship, formerly the Céline Cousteau Film Fellowship, a film fellowship program that existed for three years equipping young filmmakers, creatives, and activists to motivate change through storytelling.

Cousteau released her first feature documentary, Tribes on Edge, in 2019. She first went to the Vale do Javari Indigenous territory in the Brazilian Amazon in 2007 as part of a documentary for PBS, Return to the Amazon. In 2010, the indigenous peoples of that land asked her asked her to come back and tell their story to the world. There she spent time with tribes of the Vale do Javari, Brazilian Amazon, whose existence has increasingly become threatened by the modern world.

Art and fashion

Spring/Summer 2016 – Ocean Mysteries Collection, guest Designer for Swarovski Fall/Winter 2016 – Tribute to Tribe Collection, guest Designer for Swarovski Fall 2017 – Regenerating the Reef Couture Collection, Associate Designer for Deborah Milner

Ambassadorships and associations

International Spokeswoman, La Prairie skincare company (2007–2014) Sustainability Partner, Contiki Holidays (2010–2014) Advisory Council Member, Adventurers and Scientists for Conservation (2012) Council Member on Global Agenda Council of Oceans, World Economic Forum, (2012–2016) Ambassador, the TreadRight Foundation (2014–present) Ambassador, Jane Goodall's Roots & Shoots program (2015) Advisory Board Members, Marine Construction Technologies (2015–2019) Brand Ambassador, Keen Footwear (2016) Advisory Board Member, the Himalayan Consensus (2017–2019) Board of Directors, National Aquarium in Baltimore (2018–present)

Filmography