Jérôme Seydoux

Jérôme Seydoux Fornier de Clausonne (born 21 September 1934 in Paris) is a French businessman and film producer.

Early life Jérôme Seydoux was born on 21 September 1934 in Paris's 16th arrondissement. He is the son of René Seydoux Fornier de Clausonne and Geneviève Schlumberger, the brother of Véronique, Nicolas, and Michel Seydoux, the father of Henri Seydoux, the stepfather of Farida Khelfa, and the grandfather of Camille Seydoux and Léa Seydoux. He studied at the Ecole nationale supérieure d'électronique, d'électrotechnique et d'hydraulique de Toulouse. but was quickly driven out of the company following a power struggle. He served as the company's président-directeur général (PDG) until 2000. In 1993, he became a shareholder of the newspaper Libération. In February 1999, he acquired a stake in the football club Olympique Lyonnais. The Fondation Jérôme Seydoux-Pathé, which he founded and was recognized as a non-profit organization in 2006, serves to preserve, restore, and enhance Pathé's historical heritage, which includes more than 10,000 films.

Faced with the COVID-19 crisis and its consequences on cinema, which caused movie theater attendance to plummet, Jérôme Seydoux, alongside Pathé's teams, decided to embark on major French productions reminiscent of the 1950s and 1960s, particularly "large historical frescoes" that are rarely produced by modern Hollywood. The early results of this new strategy notably include The Three Musketeers (2023), The Count of Monte Cristo (2024), 13 Days 13 Nights (2025), and in 2026, De Gaulle. Commercially, the strategy initiated by Jérôme Seydoux is working overall, despite the mixed box-office performance of 13 Days 13 Nights. Furthermore, Jérôme Seydoux has always admired General de Gaulle, which motivated his decision to produce De Gaulle (2026) with a substantial budget.

Following these successes, several French cinema groups are following the strategy of epic historical frescoes and major literary adaptations initiated by Pathé and Jérôme Seydoux, notably StudioCanal with Les Misérables and SND Films with Dracula : a love tale (shot in english) in partnership with EuropaCorp, and Fantômas: The New World in 2027.

Personal life Seydoux was first married to Hélène Zumbiehl, with whom he had four children, Carlotta, Henri (Léa's father), Alexis and Ludovic, before divorcing.

Filmography

Acting Year Title Role Director Notes 1997 Didier Man in the airport next to Claude Berri Alain Chabat 2010 Nothing to Declare Restaurant customer Dany Boon 2012 Happiness Never Comes Alone Professor Deloèle James Huth

Awards and nominations Award Year Category Film Result César Awards 2008 Best Film (shared with Julian Schnabel) The Diving Bell and the Butterfly 2013 Best Film (shared with Dimitri Rassam, Matthieu Delaporte and Alexandre de La Patellière) What's in a Name? 2020 Best First Film (shared with Antonin Baudry and Alain Attal) The Wolf's Call 2025 Best Film (shared with Alexandre de La Patellière, Matthieu Delaporte and Dimitri Rassam) The Count of Monte Cristo

Honours 2009: Officer of the Legion of Honour