Sophie Marceau

Sophie Marceau (; born Sophie Danièle Sylvie Maupu, 17 November 1966) is a French actress. As a teenager, she achieved popularity with her debut films La Boum and La Boum 2 (1982), receiving a César Award for Most Promising Actress. She became a film star in Europe with a string of successful films, including L'Étudiante (1988), Pacific Palisades (1990), Fanfan (1993) and Revenge of the Musketeers (1994). She became an international film star with her performances in Braveheart (1995), Firelight (1997), Anna Karenina (1997) and as Elektra King in the 19th James Bond film The World Is Not Enough (1999). Some of her later films tackle critical social issues such as Arrêtez-moi (2013), Jailbirds (2015) and Everything Went Fine (2021).

Marceau has appeared on more than 300 magazine covers worldwide and been the face of numerous luxury brands. She was made Officer (Officier) in the Ordre des Arts et des Lettres by the Minister of Culture of France in 2003, and in 2015 she revealed that she had declined the Legion of Honour (Ordre national de la Légion d'honneur).

Early life She was born 17 November 1966 in Paris, the second child of Simone (née Morisset), who was a shop assistant, and Benoît Maupu, a truck driver. Her parents divorced when she was nine years old.

Film career In February 1980, Marceau and her mother came across a model agency looking for teenagers. Marceau had photos taken at the agency, but did not think anything would come of it. At the same time, Françoise Menidrey, the casting director for Claude Pinoteau's La Boum (1980), asked modeling agencies to recommend a new teenager for the project. After viewing the rushes, Alain Poiré, the director of the Gaumont, signed Marceau to a long-term contract. La Boum was a hit film, with 4,378,500 tickets sold in France. In 1981, Marceau made her singing debut with French singer François Valéry on record "Dream in Blue", written by Pierre Delanoë. She rejected the main role in a soon-to-be controversial film, Beau-père, in which she would have played as a teenage girl who seduces her step-father for a sexual relationship. The role was eventually played by Ariel Besse. In 1982, at age 16, Marceau bought back her contract with Gaumont for one million French francs. She borrowed most of the money.

After starring in the sequel film La Boum 2 (1982), Marceau focused on more dramatic roles, including the historical drama Fort Saganne in 1984 with Gérard Depardieu and Catherine Deneuve, Joyeuses Pâques (Happy Easter) in 1984, L'amour braque and Police in 1985, and Descente aux enfers (Descent into Hell) in 1986. In 1988, she starred in L'Étudiante (The Student) and the historical adventure film Chouans!. That year, Marceau was named Best Romantic Actress at the International Festival of Romantic Movies for her role in Chouans!

In 1989, Marceau starred in My Nights Are More Beautiful Than Your Days, which was directed by her long-time partner Andrzej Zulawski. In 1990, she starred in Pacific Palisades and La note bleue, her third film directed by her companion. In 1991, she ventured into the theater in Eurydice, which earned Marceau the Moliere Award for Best Female Newcomer.

She was selected to be on the jury for the main competition section of the 2015 Cannes Film Festival.

Author and director In 1996, Marceau published the semi-autobiographical novel, Menteuse (the English translation, Telling Lies, was published in 2001). Marceau's work was described as "an exploration of female identity". In 2007, she directed Trivial, her second feature film and in 2018 Mrs Mills.

Advertising

In the early stages of her career, she shot around a dozen television commercials and numerous national magazine covers in Japan and South Korea where she is famous since La Boum. Since 2008, Marceau is an international ambassador for high-end jeweller Chaumet based in Paris. Since 2014, she has been the ambassador of the DS 4, DS 5 and DS 6 cars (2010–2016) of the PSA Group with billboards and television commercials throughout Asia and especially in China.

Personal life

From 1985 to 2001, Marceau was in a relationship with Polish director Andrzej Żuławski. They have a son, born in 1995. In 2001, Marceau separated from Żuławski and began a six-year relationship with American producer Jim Lemley. They have a daughter, born in 2002.

Marceau also had a relationship with actor Christopher Lambert beginning in 2007, with whom she appeared in the films Trivial and Cartagena. They separated in July 2014. In 2016, for about 10 months, Marceau was in a relationship with the chef and restaurant owner Cyril Lignac. Marceau got together with theater director Richard Caillat in 2019, but their relationship ended in 2022.

Marceau is a classically trained cellist, as seen in the 1999 film Lost and Found. She is bilingual (French and English). She considers herself sapiosexual.

Honours and awards 1983 César Award for Most Promising Actress for La Boum 2 1988 Cabourg Award for Best Actress for Chouans! 1988 Jupiter Award as best actress for Descente aux enfers 1991 Molière Award (theater) as best newcoming actress for Eurydice 2000 Cabourg Award for Best Actress for La fidélité 2000 Goldene Kamera for Film International 2000 Blockbuster Entertainment Award for Favorite Supporting Actress for The World Is Not Enough 2002 Montréal World Film Festival Award for Best Director for Speak to Me of Love 2002 Montréal World Film Festival Grand Prix Special des Amériques Nomination 2007 Montréal World Film Festival Grand Prix Special des Amériques 2008 Monte-Carlo Comedy Film Festival Jury Prize for LOL (Laughing Out Loud)

Decorations

51x51px After having been made a Knight (French: Chevalier), Marceau was promoted to Officer (French: Officier) in the Ordre des Arts et des Lettres by the Minister of Culture of France in 2003. She received the rosette from the hands of Jean-Jacques Aillagon who declared:

"Female conqueror and ambitious actress. For millions of spectators, you embody freedom and revolt. Your career is part of the tradition of the greatest French actors, in the wake of Catherine Deneuve, Gérard Depardieu, Philippe Noiret or Jean-Paul Belmondo. You are a role model in our country and, abroad, you embody the image of the perfect French woman and for that you deserve the gratitude of the Republic".

55x55px In March 2016, she revealed that she had refused the Legion of Honour . Marceau reacted to then president François Hollande giving it to the then Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia Muhammad bin Nayef. In a tweet posted on 8 March 2016, Marceau wrote "This is why I refused the Legion of honour" with a link to an article from Le Monde titled "Saudi Arabia: Legion of Honour and Beheadings" which denounced the Wahhabi kingdom's repeated violations of numerous human rights such as the 70 executions carried out since the start of that year and its contempt for women's rights. Every year a few recipients decline the award, as Brigitte Bardot, Gustave Courbet, Guy de Maupassant, Jean-Paul Sartre, Georges Brassens and Maurice Ravel all did. However, even if they refuse to accept it, they are still automatically included in the order's official membership.

Public image Marceau is one of the most well-known Western actors in Asian countries such as Japan, South Korea and most importantly China, owing to her films, her countless local advertising campaigns and her role as a cultural ambassador of France in these countries since the 1980s. Marceau was invited to sing "La Vie en rose" in China in a duet with Liu Huan for the 2014 CCTV's New Year gala which was watched by over 700 million people ushering in the nation's week-long holiday. As of 2020 and since the 1990s, the circumlocution "the French people's favourite actress" (French: actrice préférée des Français) became a synonym for Marceau in media and the press as she has regularly topped most annual surveys and opinion polls determining it during that period.

Filmography

Actress Year Title Role Notes 1980 La Boum Vic Beretton The Party 1982 La Boum 2 Vic Beretton The Party 2 1984 Fort Saganne Madeleine de Saint-Ilette 1984 Joyeuses Pâques Julie Happy Easter 1985 L'amour braque Mary Mad Love 1985 Police Noria 1986 Descente aux enfers Lola Kolber Descent into Hell 1988 L'Étudiante Valentine Ezquerra The Student 1988 Chouans! Céline 1989 My Nights Are More Beautiful Than Your Days Blanche Mes nuits sont plus belles que vos jours 1990 Pacific Palisades Bernardette 1991 Pour Sacha Laura For Sacha 1991 La note bleue Solange Sand The Blue Note 1993 Fanfan Fanfan Fanfan & Alexandre 1994 Revenge of the Musketeers Eloïse d'Artagnan La fille de d'ArtagnanD'Artagnan's Daughter 1995 Braveheart Isabella of France 1995 Beyond the Clouds The Girl in Portofino Al di là delle nuvole 1997 Anna Karenina Anna Karenina 1997 Marquise Marquise du Parc 1997 Firelight Élisabeth Laurier 1999 Lost & Found Lila Dubois 1999 A Midsummer Night's Dream Hippolyta 1999 The World Is Not Enough Elektra King 2000 Fidelity Clélia La fidélité 2001 Belphegor, Phantom of the Louvre Lisa Belphégor – Le fantôme du Louvre 2003 Alex & Emma Polina Delacroix 2003 I'm Staying! Marie-Dominique Delpire 2003 Les clefs de bagnole La clapman The Car Keys 2004 Nelly Nelly À ce soir 2005 Anthony Zimmer Chiara Manzoni 2007 Trivial Lucie / Victoria La disparue de Deauville 2008 Female Agents Louise Desfontaines Les femmes de l'ombre 2008 LOL (Laughing Out Loud) Anne 2008 De l'autre côté du lit Ariane Marciac Changing Sides 2009 Don't Look Back Jeanne No. 1 Ne te retourne pas 2009 Cartagena Muriel L'homme de chevet 2010 With Love... from the Age of Reason Marguerite alias Margaret Flore L'âge de raison 2012 Happiness Never Comes Alone Charlotte Un bonheur n'arrive jamais seul 2013 Arrêtez-moi La coupable Stop Me 2014 Quantum Love Elsa Une rencontre 2014 The Missionaries Judith Chabrier Tu veux ou tu veux pasSex, Love & Therapy 2015 Jailbirds Mathilde Leroy La Taularde 2015 A Spiritual Matter Viktoria Une histoire d'âme 2018 Mrs. Mills Helene Madame Mills, une voisine si parfaite 2021 Everything Went Fine Emmanuèle Tout s'est bien passé 2022 I Love America Lisa 2022 Une femme de notre temps Juliane Verbeeck

Director and writer Year Title Notes 1995 L'aube à l'envers 2002 Speak to Me of Love Parlez-moi d'amour 2007 Trivial La disparue de Deauville 2018 Mrs. Mills Madame Mills, une voisine si parfaite