Marion Cotillard

Marion Cotillard
Cotillard at the Paris premiere of Public Enemies, July 2009
Born	30 September 1975 (1975-09-30) (age 34) Paris, France
Occupation	Actress
Years active	1993–present
Domestic partner(s)	Guillaume Canet (2007–present)
Official website

Marion Cotillard (born 30 September 1975) is a French actress. For her performance as Édith Piaf in La Vie en Rose (2007), she received an Academy Award for Best Actress and a BAFTA Award for Best Actress in a Leading Role — in both cases it was the first time that an actress had won those awards for a French language performance. For that role, she was also recognized with a César Award for Best Actress, and a Golden Globe for Best Actress in a Musical or Comedy.

She is known for her work in French cinema, in such films as Arnaud Desplechin's My Sex Life... or How I Got Into an Argument (1996), Taxi (1998), Furia (1999) and Pretty Things (2001). She has also appeared in such films as Big Fish (2003), A Very Long Engagement (2004), for which she received an César Award for Best Supporting Actress, Mary (2005), A Good Year (2006), Public Enemies (2009) and Nine (2009).

Family

Cotillard was born in Paris and grew up around Orléans, Loiret, in an artistically inclined, "bustling, creative household". Her father, Jean-Claude Cotillard, is an actor, teacher, former mime, and 2006 Molière Award-winning director of Breton descent¹ (his mother Léontine Cotillard still lives in Plémet, Brittany).² Her mother, Niseema Theillaud, is also an actress and drama teacher.³ She has two younger twin brothers, Quentin and Guillaume. Quentin Cotillard is a sculptor and painter living in San Francisco, California,⁴ with his wife, Elaine O'Malley Cotillard, "a former Dutch National Ballet dancer who grew up in Marin County, and is now a San Francisco fashion designer".⁵ Guillaume Cotillard is a screenwriter and director.⁶

Cotillard began acting during her childhood, appearing on stage in one of her father's plays.⁷

Career

Early work (1993–2002)

After small appearances and performances in theater, Cotillard had minor roles in episodes of television series such as Highlander, but her career as a film actress began in the mid-1990s with small but noticeable roles in such films as Arnaud Desplechin's My Sex Life... or How I Got Into an Argument, where Cotillard plays a student of one of Paul's friends, Whom he meets by chance when they both bring their cars to the same mechanic. Cotillard appeared in the comedy film La belle verte, directed by Coline Serreau. She plays Macha, a nurse in the hospital. Cotillard starred in Gérard Pirès's action comedy film Taxi, in the film, she plays Lilly Bertineau, who becomes Daniel's girlfriend. Cotillard repeats the same character in two sequels. Cotillard portrayed Elia in Furia (1999).

Cotillard appeared in Pierre Grimblat's film Lisa as Young Lisa, alongside Jeanne Moreau, Swiss novel-adaptation War drama In The Highlands. She starred Gilles Paquet-Brenner's film Les jolies choses, in the drama film, Cotillard portrayed two characters, Lucy and Marie, two twins, which one of them lost his sister. She was nominated for an Cesar Award for her performance. Cotillard appeared in the thriller mystery film Une affaire privée as Clarisse, Rachel's best friend disappeared. The film is directed and written by Guillaume Nicloux.

Breakthrough (2003–2006)

Cotillard starred with Guillaume Canet the romantic comedy film Love Me If You Dare as Sophie Kowalsky, the daughter of Polish immigrants. The film was directed by Yann Samuel. Cotillard had a notable supporting role in Tim Burton's film Big Fish where she appeared alongside, Ewan McGregor, Billy Crudup, Jessica Lange and Allison Lohman, in the film She plays Josephine, wife of William French Bloom. She appeared in two critically successful films, A Very Long Engagement as Tina Lombardi, for which she won an César Award for Best Supporting Actress and appeared in the drama mystery thriller film Innocence as Mademoiselle Eva.

In 2005, Cotillard starred in Steve Suissa's romantic drama film Cavalcade as Alizée, she appeared in Abel Ferrara's religious drama film Mary alongside Forest Whitaker and Juliette Binoche. Marion played Isabelle Kruger and Alice in the thriller film La Boîte noire, directed by Richard Berry. She appeared in the film Fair Play as Nicole. Cotillard starred in Ridley Scott 's romantic comedy film A Good Year, in which she portrayed Fanny Chenal, a small town French café owner opposite Russell Crowe as a Londoner who inherits a local property. She appeared in the Belgian comedy Dikkenek, and learned to play the cello for her role as a concertist in the satirical coming-of-age film You and Me.³

Critical success (2007–present)

She was chosen by director Olivier Dahan to portray the French singer Édith Piaf in the biopic La Vie en Rose before he had even met her, saying that he noticed a similarity between Piaf's and Cotillard's eyes.⁸ Producer Ilan Goldman accepted and defended the choice even though distributors TFM reduced the money they gave to finance the film thinking Cotillard wasn't "bankable" enough an actress.⁹ Her portrayal was widely praised, including by the eminent theatre director Sir Trevor Nunn, who described it as "one of the greatest performances on film ever."¹⁰ It was dubbed "the most awaited film of 2007" in France, where some critics said that she had reincarnated Édith Piaf to sing one last time on stage.¹¹

On February 10, 2008, Cotillard became the first French actress to be awarded the BAFTA Award for Best Actress in a Leading Role since Stéphane Audran in 1973.¹² She is the first actress to win a Golden Globe for a foreign language performance since 1972, when Liv Ullmann won for The Emigrants. She is also the first person to win a (Comedy or Musical) Golden Globe for a foreign language performance. As La Vie En Rose was also a Czech production (as she mentioned in her César acceptance speech),¹³ Marion Cotillard was nominated for the Czech Lion for "Best Actress in a Leading Role" on February 21.

On February 22, 2008, she was awarded the César Award for Best Actress, becoming the first woman and second person (after Adrien Brody, The Pianist) to win both a Cesar and an Oscar for the same performance. Cotillard is the second French cinema actress to win this award and the third overall to receive an Academy Award. She is the first Best Actress winner in a non-English language performance since Sophia Loren's win in 1961. She is also the first and so far only winner of an Academy Award for a performance in the French language. In her Oscar acceptance speech, Cotillard proclaimed "thank you life, thank you love" and, speaking of Los Angeles, said "it is true, there is some angels in this city!"

The day following the ceremony, Cotillard was congratulated and praised by the President of France Nicolas Sarkozy in a statement saying, "I would like to extend my warmest congratulations to Marion Cotillard, who has just received the Oscar for Best Actress for her masterful interpretation of Edith Piaf in La Vie en Rose, directed by Olivier Dahan. Half a century after Simone Signoret, a French artist has received the Best Actress award at the Oscars. It was a good omen that Catherine Allegret, Simone Signoret’s daughter, herself had a role in La Vie en Rose. Marion Cotillard embodies an Edith Piaf who is unsettling in her realism, emotion and passion. Her interpretation brings to life the story of a woman who gave French song its acclaim and authenticity; a singer, too, who closely united France and America."

On March 1, 2008, Cotillard won the Czech film industry's highest acting honor, the Czech Lion Award, for Best Actress. She could not attend the ceremony in Prague due to the filming of Public Enemies. Her friend Pavlína Němcová - who played the journalist in La vie en Rose - was there to accept the award on her behalf.

On June 24, 2008, Cotillard was one of 105 individuals invited to join the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.

Cotillard in July 2009

Cotillard starred alongside Johnny Depp in Public Enemies, released in the United States on July 1, 2009. Later that year, Cotillard appeared in the film adaptation of the musical Nine,¹⁴ directed by Rob Marshall, and co-starring Daniel Day-Lewis, Penelope Cruz, Judi Dench, Nicole Kidman, Sophia Loren and Kate Hudson. On December 15, 2009, Cotillard was nominated for a Golden Globe for Best Actress - Musical or Comedy for her performance in the film. The film was released on December 18, 2009. She will next appear in Christopher Nolan's film Inception, alongside Leonardo DiCaprio and Ellen Page. The release will be on July 16, 2010. She co-stars alongside Jude Law, Kate Winslet and Matt Damon in Steven Soderbergs thriller film Contagion.¹⁵

Other projects

Cotillard, in addition to her film work, she is interested in environmental activism and participated in campaigns for environmental protection. Cotillard used her high public profile to bring attention to the aims of Greenpeace, working for the environmental organization as a spokesperson, allowing the organization to use her apartment to test products. In 2005, she also contributed to Dessins pour le climat (“Drawings for the Climate”), a book of drawings published by Greenpeace to raise funds for the group.

In 2009, Cotillard was chosen as the face for Dior's "Lady Dior" advertising campaign and was featured in an online mini-movie about the fictional character created by John Galliano. This campaign has also resulted in a musical collaboration with British pop group Franz Ferdinand, where Cotillard has provided the vocals for a composition performed by the group, entitled "The Eyes of Mars". Cotillard appeared on the cover of the November 2009 issue of Vogue with Nine co-stars Nicole Kidman, Penelope Cruz and Kate Hudson.

Personal life

Cotillard currently lives with French actor and director Guillaume Canet. Many reports say the couple prefers to live a simple lifestyle, and they are often spotted in cafes and shopping together in Paris. Neither star discusses their relationship with the media, although photos of the couple being affectionate regularly surface in the European tabloids.¹⁶

She is a fan of Radiohead and Canadian singer Hawksley Workman; she has appeared in two of the latter's music videos, most notably "No Reason to Cry Out your Eyes (On the Highway Tonight)".¹⁷ Workman even revealed in interviews about his last album Between The Beautifuls that he worked and wrote songs with Cotillard while they both were in Los Angeles during the movie awards season.¹⁸

Filmography

Awards and nominations

Cotillard won an César Award for Best Supporting Actress for A Very Long Engagement (2004). Cotillard won an Academy Award for Best Actress, she won a Golden Globe Award for Best Actress - Motion Picture Musical or Comedy, a BAFTA Award for Best Actress in a Leading Role, a Satellite Award for Best Actress – Motion Picture Drama and a César Award for Best Actress for her portrayal of Édith Piaf in La Môme (2007). Cotillard and her co-stars of Nine won an Satellite Award for Best Cast - Motion Picture for the performance in the film.

Cotillard also has been nominated for numerous awards, including César Award for Most Promising Actress for Taxi (1998) and Les Jolies choses (2001), she was nominated for an European Film Award for Best Actress for La Môme (2007). Cotillard was nominated for an Golden Globe Award for Best Actress – Motion Picture Musical or Comedy for Nine (2009).

Academy Award milestones

Cotillard received the Academy Award for Best Actress. After Simone Signoret in 1959, Marion Cotillard is the second French cinema actress to win this award and the third overall to receive an Academy Award (Juliette Binoche won the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress in 1997 for her critically acclaimed role in the picture The English Patient, but it was not for a leading role), although French expatriate Claudette Colbert was given an Oscar in 1934. She is the first Best Actress winner in a non-English language performance since Sophia Loren's win in 1961. She is also the first and so far only winner of an Academy Award for a performance in the French language.

Other awards

Cotillard for her portrayal of Lisa Young in the French film Lisa (2001), was the winner of Verona Love Screens Film Festival for Best Actress, she was the winner of Newport Beach Film Festival for Best Actress — Drama for Love Me If You Dare (2003).

References

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Marion Cotillard

• Marion Cotillard at the Internet Movie Database
• Marion Cotillard at Allmovie
• Marion Cotillard at Yahoo! Movies

Awards for Marion Cotillard v • d • e Academy Award for Best Actress Halle Berry (2001) · Nicole Kidman (2002) · Charlize Theron (2003) · Hilary Swank (2004) · Reese Witherspoon (2005) · Helen Mirren (2006) · Marion Cotillard (2007) · Kate Winslet (2008) Complete list · (1928–1940) · (1941–1960) · (1961–1980) · (1981–2000) · (2001-present) v • d • e Golden Globe Award for Best Actress – Motion Picture Musical or Comedy Nicole Kidman (2001) · Renée Zellweger (2002) · Diane Keaton (2003) · Annette Bening (2004) · Reese Witherspoon (2005) · Meryl Streep (2006) · Marion Cotillard (2007) · Sally Hawkins (2008) · Meryl Streep (2009) Complete List · (1950–1960) · (1961–1980) · (1981–2000) · (2001–present) v • d • e César Award for Best Actress 1976: Romy Schneider • 1977: Annie Girardot • 1978: Simone Signoret • 1979: Romy Schneider • 1980: Miou-Miou • 1981: Catherine Deneuve • 1982: Isabelle Adjani • 1983: Nathalie Baye • 1984: Isabelle Adjani • 1985: Sabine Azéma • 1986: Sandrine Bonnaire • 1987: Sabine Azéma • 1988: Anémone • 1989: Isabelle Adjani • 1990: Carole Bouquet • 1991: Anne Parillaud • 1992: Jeanne Moreau • 1993: Catherine Deneuve • 1994: Juliette Binoche • 1995: Isabelle Adjani • 1996: Isabelle Huppert • 1997: Fanny Ardant • 1998: Ariane Ascaride • 1999: Élodie Bouchez • 2000: Karin Viard • 2001: Dominique Blanc • 2002: Emmanuelle Devos • 2003: Isabelle Carré • 2004: Sylvie Testud • 2005: Yolande Moreau • 2006: Nathalie Baye • 2007: Marina Hands • 2008: Marion Cotillard • 2009: Yolande Moreau

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