Guslagie Malanda

Guslagie Malanda (born 1990) is a French actress and art curator. She has starred in the films My Friend Victoria and Saint Omer (2022).

Life and career

Raised in France, Malanda had an interest in theater and cinema from a young age. She got the part after a friend working on the film recommended that she audition. However, after My Friend Victoria, Malanda went many years without acting professionally; as a Black Frenchwoman, she refused to accept roles she considered stereotypical (criminals, immigrants, terrorists, etc.), which comprised almost all the parts she was offered. During this time, while working as an art curator, Malanda considered herself "an actress in secret". Shooting the film was intense, with Malanda delivering very long monologues and spending a lot of time in character; she described experiencing nightmares for a year. Malanda's acting was again well-regarded; Mario Naves of The New York Sun praised her "remarkable performance" for its "stately proportions, subtlety, and grit", and A. O. Scott of The New York Times said she gave her character "the tragic, piercing dignity of a Racine heroine". At the 48th César Awards, she was nominated for the César Award for Most Promising Actress for Saint Omer.

Malanda appeared in Bertrand Bonello's The Beast (2023).

Filmography Film

Television