Miou-Miou

Sylvette Herry (born 22 February 1950), known professionally as Miou-Miou , is a French actress. A ten-time César Award nominee, she won the César Award for Best Actress for the 1979 film Memoirs of a French Whore. Her other films include This Sweet Sickness, Entre Nous (1983), May Fools (1990), Germinal (1993), Dry Cleaning (1997) and Arrêtez-moi (2013). In her career she has worked with a number of international directors, including Michel Gondry, Bertrand Blier, Claude Berri, Jacques Deray, Patrice Leconte, Joseph Losey and Louis Malle.

Early life Miou-Miou was born Sylvette Herry in Paris. Her stage name, Miou-Miou (a reference to the sound of a cat), was given to her by Coluche. She was raised in Paris by her mother, a greengrocer.

Career

After studying acting Miou-Miou worked in improvisational theater with Coluche and Patrick Dewaere, joining with them to help found the new comedy theatre Café de la Gare.

In 1973 she appeared in three films, Elle court, elle court la banlieue, Les Granges brûlées and Les Aventures de Rabbi Jacob. Her big break came with Blier's Going Places, released in 1974. During the 1970s, she had roles in such films as F comme Fairbanks (1976), Alain Tanner's Jonah Who Will Be 25 in the Year 2000 (1976), and Losey's Roads to the South (1978). In Memoirs of a French Whore (1979), directed by Daniel Duval, she portrayed a young prostitute and received a César Award for the role. Many of these 1970s films were released internationally to art-house venues. In 1976 she appeared in one of the last spaghetti Westerns, Damiano Damiani's A Genius, Two Friends, and an Idiot.

Through the 1980s she was in such films as La gueule du loup (1981), Guy de Maupassant (1982), Diane Kurys's Entre nous (1983) with Isabelle Huppert, Blanche et Marie (1984), Evening Dress (1986), and Deville's The Reader (1988). She played opposite Lee Marvin (in one of his last roles) in Boisset's Dog Day in 1984.

The 1990s saw her in Louis Malle's May Fools (1990), Deray's thriller Netchaïev is back, the comedy Un indien dans la ville (1994), and The Eighth Day (1996) and Dry Cleaning in 1997. She appeared opposite Gérard Depardieu in a new production of Émile Zola's Germinal (1993). 2001 saw her in Agathe et le grand magasin and in 2004 she appeared in L'après-midi de monsieur Andesmas, among other films.

By the mid-2000s, her film roles abated and she began to appear in theatre.

Personal life

Miou-Miou has two daughters, Angèle Herry-Leclerc (born 1974), whose father is actor Patrick Dewaere, and Jeanne Herry (born 1978), whose father is singer Julien Clerc.

Filmography Year Title Role Notes 1971 La cavale Little Squirrel La vie sentimentale de Georges Le Tueur Short 1972 Ça va, ça vient Magic Circus's woman 1973 Quelques messieurs trop tranquilles Anita Boucher Themroc The young neighbor Elle court, elle court la banlieue The assistant The Year 01 The woman at 6 am The Burned Barns Monique Cateux The Mad Adventures of Rabbi Jacob Antoinette Pivert 1974 Going Places Marie-Ange Tender Dracula Marie 1975 Lily, aime-moi The girl in the coffee shop Pas de problème! Anita Boucher A Genius, Two Partners and a Dupe Lucy 1976 Al piacere di rivederla Patrizia Victory March Rosanna D'amour et d'eau fraîche Rita Gonzalez F comme Fairbanks Marie Nominated – César Award for Best Actress On aura tout vu Christine Jonah Who Will Be 25 in the Year 2000 Marie 1977 This Sweet Sickness Juliette Nominated – César Award for Best Actress 1978 Les routes du sud Julia 1979 Traffic Jam Angela Bye, See You Monday Nicole Memoirs of a French Whore Marie César Award for Best Actress 1980 The Woman Cop Inspector Corinne Levasseur 1981 Est-ce bien raisonnable? Julie Boucher La gueule du loup Marie 1982 Josepha Josépha Manet Nominated – César Award for Best Actress Guy de Maupassant Gisèle d'Estoc 1983 Entre Nous Madeleine Nominated – César Award for Best Actress My Other Husband Alice 1984 Dog Day Jessica Le vol du Sphinx Laura 1985 Blanche et Marie Blanche Une vie comme je veux Laurence TV movie 1986 Tenue de soirée Monique Nominated – César Award for Best Actress 1988 The Revolving Doors Lauda Nominated – Genie Award for Best Supporting Actress The Reader Constance / Marie Nominated – César Award for Best Actress L'argent Caroline Hamelin TV movie Un vrai bonheur Short 1990 May Fools Camille Nominated – César Award for Best ActressNominated – David di Donatello for Best Foreign Actress 1991 Netchaïev est de retour Brigitte La Totale! Hélène Voisin 1992 Scènes de ménage The woman Short Le bal des casse-pieds Louise Sherry 1993 Tango Marie Germinal Maheude Nominated – César Award for Best Actress 1994 Montparnasse-Pondichéry Julie Un indien dans la ville Patricia 1995 Une femme dans la tourmente Michèle Rouannet TV movie Une page d'amour Hélène TV movie Court toujours: Joséphine et les gitans Joséphine TV short 1996 Ma femme me quitte Joanna Martin The Eighth Day Julie 1997 Dry Cleaning Nicole Kunstler Lumière Award for Best ActressNominated – César Award for Best Actress Elles Eva 1998 Hors jeu Herself 2000 Tout va bien, on s'en va Laure Pour une fois Short 2001 Agathe et le grand magasin Agathe TV movie 2003 Ambre a disparu Eva Lorca TV movie 2004 Folle embellie Alida Mariages! Gabrielle L'après-midi de monsieur Andesmas Michel Arc's wife 2005 L'un reste, l'autre part Anne-Marie Riviera Antoinette 2006 The Science of Sleep Christine Miroux Avril Sister Bernadette Le héros de la famille Simone Garcia 2007 Les murs porteurs Judith Rosenfeld 2008 Affaire de famille Laure Guignebont The Great Alibi Éliane Pages Mia and the Migoo Juliette's voice 2009 Marcher Herself Short Petites vacances à Knokke-le-Zoute Micheline TV movie Pour un fils Catherine Le Concert Guylène de La Rivière Une petite zone de turbulences Anne Muret 2011 Le grand restaurant II A client TV movie Le choix d'Adèle Adèle TV movie 2012 Quand je serai petit Jacqueline Bienvenue parmi nous Alice Avanti Catherine Populaire Madeleine Échard 2013 Arrêtez-moi Pontoise Bob et les Sex Pistaches Landes Madeleine 2018 In Safe Hands Irène 2021 The Last Mercenary Marguerite