Marina Foïs

Marina Sylvie Foïs (born 21 January 1970) is a French actress.

Early life and education

Marina Sylvie Foïs was born on 21 January 1970 in Boulogne-Billancourt, in the department of Hauts-de-Seine. She is of Russian, Jewish Egyptian, German, and Italian ancestry.

Foïs was discovered in 1986 for her comedy work in The School for Wives, at the age of 16. She decided to take classes by correspondence and obtained her high school final exam two years later. Career Foïs joined The Royal Imperial Green Rabbit Company, which later became Les Robins des Bois, composed of students from the Cours Florent taught by Isabelle Nanty.

The troupe caught the attention of Dominique Farrugia in 1996 and went on to act and direct in the Comédie+ show La Grosse Émission for two years. During that period, Foïs co-wrote sketches with Pierre-François Martin-Laval, playing a number of various characters, like the dim-witted Sophie Pétoncule and the pedantic director Marie-Mûre. The show continued the next year on Canal+ and had a bigger audience. In June 2001, Foïs and the troupe parted ways to focus on their individual film careers.

On 25 November 2020, it was announced that Foïs would be the host for the 46th César Awards.

Personal life Marina Foïs has two sisters. Giulia Foïs is a journalist at Libération and a former columnist in the program Arrêt sur images presented by Daniel Schneidermann on France 5, and a current news anchor on I-Télé. Her second sister Elena is a doctor. Their brother, Fabio, died of an airplane crash while participating in an aerobatic demonstration.

Marina was in a partnership with fellow "Robins des Bois" actor Maurice Barthélemy. She also dated Maxime Lefrançois, Mister Univers 2010.

She started dating the director Éric Lartigau in 1999. On 3 December 2004 she gave birth to a boy, Lazare, at the Hôpital Saint-Antoine in Paris. They had a second son, Georges, born on 25 September 2008. Since 2025, she disclose being in relationship with actress Zaho de Sagazan, twenty years younger than her.

Filmography

Dubbing Year Title Role 2005 Madagascar Gloria 2008 Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa Gloria 2012 Madagascar 3: Europe's Most Wanted Gloria

Theater

Year Title Author Director Notes 1986 The School for Wives Molière Jean-Marc Brisset 1987 L'Occasion Prosper Mérimée Fanny Mentre 1988 Britannicus Jean Racine Olivier Médicus & Jean-Marc Brisset 1991 Le Bébé de Monsieur Laurent Roland Topor Jean-Christophe Berjon 29 degrés à l'ombreMaman Sabouleux Eugène Labiche Isabelle Nanty 1992 Zizanie Julien Vartet Raymond Acquaviva 1993 Reniflard and Co Marx Brothers Jean-Christophe Berjon Souffleurs Dino Buzzati Jean-Christophe Berjon 1994 La Princesse d'Élide Molière Jean-Luc Revol 1995 L'Heureux Stratagème Pierre de Marivaux Jean-Luc Revol 1996 Dorothy Parker : Les heures blêmes Dorothy Parker Jean-Luc Revol 1997 Robin des Bois d'à peu près Alexandre Dumas Alexandre Dumas Pierre-François Martin-Laval 2005–06 La Tour de la Défense Copi Marcial Di Fonzo BoFestival d'Avignon2006 Les poulets n'ont pas de chaises Copi Marcial Di Fonzo Bo & Élise Vigier Viol Botho Strauß Luc Bondy Odéon-Théâtre de l'Europe 2008–09 La Estupidez Rafael Spregelburd Marcial Di Fonzo Bo & Élise Vigier Théâtre national de ChaillotThéâtre National de Bretagne 2010 A Doll's House Henrik Ibsen Jean-Louis Martinelli Théâtre Nanterre-Amandiers 2011 Harper Regan Simon Stephens Lukas Hemleb Théâtre du Rond-Point 2012 A Doll's House Henrik Ibsen Jean-Louis Martinelli Théâtre du Gymnase Marie Bell 2018 The Idols (Les Idoles) Christophe Honoré Christophe Honoré Théâtre National de Bretagne

Awards and nominations

César Award

Etoile d'Or

Globes de Cristal Awards

Lumière Awards Feroz Awards YearNominated workCategoryResult 2023 The Beasts Best Actress in a Film

Goya Awards Year Nominated work Category Result 2023 The Beasts Best Actress