Juliette Binoche (Paris, France, March 9, 1964)

Binoche is an internationally acclaimed French film and theatre actress. Journalists in France call her simply La Binoche. Her parents divorced when she was only two, so she spent most of her childhood in a boarding school or at her grandparents'. However, as the daughter of a sculptor and a theatre director and actress, she followed in her parents' footsteps. She enrolled in the National Academy of Dramatic Arts in Paris and soon started acting in theatre. Occasionally she would accept smaller film roles, and her first bigger film role was in Je vous salue, Marie (1985) by Jean-Luc Godard. Rendez-vous (1985) by André Téchiné was released in the same year, with Binoche in the lead role, making her famous in France. After a few less successful films, she worked with Leos Carax on Mauvais sang (1986). International fame came with Daniel Day-Lewis in Philip Kaufman's The Unbearable Lightness of Being (1988), also her first English language film. At the same time she started a relationship with Leos Carax, working together on The Lovers on the Bridge (1991). Due to production problems, its filming stretched to three years. However, once released, it achieved high ratings, and Binoche received the European Film Award for best actress in 1992. This was followed by a role in the not so successful television adaptation of Wuthering Heights (1992) by Peter Kosminsky, in which she starred opposite Ralph Fiennes. Afterwards, she starred with Jeremy Irons in Damage (1992) by Louis Malle. Two years later her relationship with Carax ended, and she started a successful professional cooperation with director Krzysztof Kieslowski, turning down Steven Spielberg. She starred in the praised trilogy Three Colours: Blue (Trois couleurs: Bleu, 1993), Three Colours: White (Trois couleurs: Blanc, 1994) and Three Colours: Red (Trois couleurs: Rouge, 1994). For her lead role in the first part of the trilogy she received a César for best actress in 1994 and Volpi Cup for best actress at the Venice Festival in 1993. She took a break from filming to give birth to her son, and returned with a role in The Horseman on the Roof (Le hussard sur le toit, 1995) by Jean-Paul Rappeneau. It was the most expensive film in French history proving quite a success at the box office. She achieved another internationally successful role in The English Patient (1996) by Anthony Minghella, working with Ralph Fiennes again. This film brought her an Oscar, Silver Bear at the Berlin Film Festival and British BAFTA Award for best supporting role in 1997. Afterwards she once again worked with André Téchiné in the romantic drama Alice and Martin (1998). She had another acclaimed role as the French author George Sand in the somewhat less successful film The Children of the Century (Les enfants du siècle, 1999) by Dians Kurys. The film La veuve de Saint-Pierre (2000) by Patrice Leconte achieved slightly more success, again with her in the lead role. That same year she worked with director Michael Haneke for the first time, in Code inconnu: Récit incomplet de divers voyages (2000). In that’s same year the commercially successful Chocolate (Chocolat, 2000) by Lasse Hallström was released, in which she starred with Johnny Depp. She worked with Jean Reno in the romance comedy Jet Lag (Décalage horaire, 2002) by Danièle Thompson, and with Samuel L. Jackson in the political drama by John Boorman Country of My Skull (2004). She worked with Haneke again on the acclaimed drama Hidden (Caché, 2005). She starred in the omnibus by twenty directors Paris, I love you (Paris, je t'aime, 2006), and then made another film with Anthony Minghella, the romantic drama Breaking and Entering (2006). Afterwards she starred in the drama Disengagement (2007) by Amos Gitai and in the commercially successful comedy Dan in Real Life (2007) by Peter Hedges. This was followed by the critically acclaimed Summer Hours (L'heure d'été, 2008) by Olivier Assayas and Paris (2008), an ode to the French capital by Cédric Klapisch. In 2008, she started a world tour with dance show In-i, where she worked with the dancer and choreographer Akram Khan. She had a very successful lead role in Certified Copy (Copie conforme, 2010) by Abbas Kiarostami, receiving best actress award in Cannes. She continued starring in several films a year, including Elles (2011) by Malgorzata Szumowska, Cosmopolis (2012) by David Cronenberg, Tusen ganger god natt (2013) by Erik Poppe, Godzilla (2014) by Gareth Edwards and Clouds of Sils Maria (2014) by Olivier Assayas. In addition to working on film, she's an active theatre actress. She made her debut in London in 1998 starring in the play Naked by Luigi Pirandello, and in 2001 was nominated for the American Tony Award for her role in the Broadway production of Betrayal by Harold Pinter. She paints, and has also designed a few promotional posters for the films she starred in.








Filmography:

The Childhood of a Leader (2015) (pre-production)

The Wait (2015) (pre-production)

Nobody Wants the Night (2015) (filming)

The 33 (2014) (post-production)

Clouds of Sils Maria (2014)

Godzilla (2014)

Words and Pictures (2013)

Tusen ganger god natt (2013)

Camille Claudel 1915 (2013)

Open Heart (À coeur ouvert, 2012)

Cosmopolis (2012)

Another Woman's Life (2012)

Elles (2011)

Mademoiselle Julie (2011) (TV)

The Son of No One (2011)

Certified Copy (Copie conforme, 2010)

Summer Hours (L'heure d'été, 2008)

Paris (2008)

Dan in Real Life (2007)

Disengagement (2007)

Flight of the Red Balloon (Le voyage du ballon rouge, 2007)

Breaking and Entering (2006)

A Few Days in September (Quelques jours en septembre, 2006)

Paris, I Love you (Paris, je t'aime, 2006)

Mary (2005)

Bee Season (2005)

Hidden (Caché, 2005)

Country of My Skull (2004)

Jet Lag (Décalage horaire, 2002)

Chocolate (Chocolat, 2000)

Code inconnu: Récit incomplet de divers voyages (2000)

La veuve de Saint-Pierre (2000)

The Children of the Century (Les enfants du siècle, 1999)

Alice and Martin (1998)

The English Patient (1996)

A Couch in New York (1996)

The Horseman on the Roof (Le hussard sur le toit, 1995)

Three Colours: Red (Trois couleurs: Rouge, 1994)

Three Colours: White (Trois couleurs: Blanc, 1994)

Three Colours: Blue (Trois couleurs: Bleu, 1993)

Damage (1992)

Wuthering Heights (1992)

Lovers on the Bridge (1991)

Women & Men 2: In Love There Are No Rules (1991) (TV)

Un tour de manège (1989)

The Unbearable Lightness of Being (1988)

Mauvais sang (1986)

Mon beau-frère a tué ma soeur (1986)

Le meilleur de la vie (1985)

Rendez-vous (1985)

Adieu blaireau (1985)

La vie de famille (1985)

Les nanas (1985)

Fort bloqué (1985) (TV)

Dorothée, danseuse de corde (1983) (TV)

Liberty belle (1983)