Binoche, Juliette 1964–

PERSONAL

Born March 9, 1964, in Paris, France; daughter of Jean-Marie (a sculptor, actor, and director) and Monique Stalens (an actress and director); sister of Marion Stalens (a photographer and actress); children: (with Andre Halle, a professional scuba diver) Raphael, (with Benoit Magimel, an actor) Hannah. Education: Graduated from the National Conservatory of Dramatic Arts; studied acting with Vera Gregh. Avocational Interests: Gardening, painting.

Addresses: Agent—Endeavor, 9601 Wilshire Blvd., 6th Floor, Beverly Hills, CA 90212. Manager—Hofflund/Polone, 9465 Wilshire Blvd., Suite 820, Beverly Hills, CA 90212. Publicist—Bloch/Korenbrot Public Relations, 110 S. Fairfax Ave., Suite 310, Los Angeles, CA 90036.

Career: Actress and model. Appeared in commercials for Chamallo, 1983, and Ferrero Rocher, 2002; face of Lancome's Poeme perfume, 1995–2000; face of Gentryportofino, 2003; previously worked in a Paris department store as a cashier, 1983. Does charity work for Aspecta and involved with Amnesty International.

Awards, Honors: Romy-Schneider Prize, most promising actress, 1986; Cesar Award nomination, best actress, Academie des Arts et Techniques du Cinema, 1986, for Rendez-Vous; Cesar Award nomination, best actress, 1987, for Mauvais sang; Cesar Award nomination, best actress, European Film Award, best actress, 1992, both for Les amants du pont-neuf; Cesar Award nomination, best actress, 1993, for Damage; Berline Camera, Berlin International Film Festival, Volpi Cup, best actress, Venice Film Festival, 1993, Golden Globe Award nomination, best actress in a motion picture—drama, Cesar Award, best actress, 1994, all for Trois couleurs: Bleu; Sant Jorid Award, best foreign actress, 1994, for Trois couleurs: Bleu, Damage, and Les amants du Pont-Neuf; Cesar Award nomination, best actress, 1996, for Le hussard sur le toit; named one of the fifty most beautiful people in the world, People Weekly, 1997; National Board of Review Award, best supporting actress, 1996, Academy Award, best supporting actress, Golden Globe Award nomination, best performance by an actress in a supporting role in a motion picture, Film Award, best performance by an actress in a supporting role, British Academy of Film and Television Arts, Screen Actors Guild Award nomination, outstanding performance by a female actor in a supporting role, Screen Actors Guild Award nomination (with others), outstanding performance by a cast, European Film Award, best actress, Silver Berlin Bear Award, best actress, Berlin International Film Festival, Chlotrudis Award, best supporting actress, Chlotrudis Society for Independent Film, Best Actress Award, Cabourg Romantic Film Festival, 1997, all for The English Patient; Antoinette Perry Award nomination, best actress in a play, Theatre World Award, 2001, both for Betrayal; Academy Award nomination, best actress in a leading role, Golden Globe Award nomination, best performance by an actress in a motion picture—comedy/musical, Screen Actors Guild Award nominations, outstanding performance by a female actor in a leading role and outstanding performance by the cast of a theatrical motion picture (with others), Audience Award, European Film Awards, best actress, Film Award nomination, best performance by an actress in a leading role, British Academy of Film and Television Arts, 2001, for Chocolat; Cesar Award nomination, best actress, 2001, for La veuve de Sainte-Pierre; Cesar Award nomination, best actress, 2003, for Decalage horaire; European Film Award nomination, best actress, 2005, for Cache.

CREDITS

Film Appearances:

La fille du rallye, Liberty Belle, 1982.

Herself, Petites notes a propos du film "Je vous salue, Marie" (short), 1983.

Natacha, La vie de famille (also known as Family Life), Flach-TF1, 1984.

Antoinette, Les nanas (also known as The Chicks and Girls, Girls, Girls!), FR3 Film, 1984.

Juliette, Hail Mary (also known as Je vous salue Marie and The Book of Mary), Gaumont/New Yorker, 1985.

Brigitte B., Adieu Blareau (also known as Farewell blaireau), 1985.

Une amie de Veronique, Le meilleur de la vie (also known as A Better Life), 1985.

Nina Larrieu, Rendez-vous (also known as Andre Techine's "Rendez-Vous"), Spectrafilm, 1985.

Esther Bouloire, Mon beau-frere a tue ma soeur (also known as They've Killed Her!), World Marketing, 1985.

Herself ("Joan of Arc" sequence), Thierry Mugler, 1985.

Anna, Mauvais Sang (also known as The Night Is Young and Bad Blood), AAA Classic, 1986.

Tereza, The Unbearable Lightness of Being, Orion, 1988.

Elsa, Un tour de manege (also known as Roundabout), 1988.

Michele, Les amants du pont-neuf (also known as The Lovers on the Bridge and The Lovers on the Ninth Bridge), Gaumont, 1991.

Herself, Enqueste sur un film au-dessus de tout soupcon (documentary), Magic Films Productions, 1991.

Anna Barton, Damage (also known as Fatale), New Line Cinema, 1992.

Catherine Earnshaw/Catherine Linton, Emily Bronte's "Wuthering Heights" (also known as Wuthering Heights), Paramount, 1992.

Herself, Doisneau des villes, doisneau des champs (documentary), 1993.

Julie Vignon (de Courcy), Trois couleurs: Bleu (also known as Film Bleu, Trzy kolory: Niebieski, Bleu, Three Colors: Blue, Three Colours: Bleu, and Blue), Miramax, 1993.

Julie Vignon (de Courcy), Trois couleurs: Rouge (also known as Three Colors: Red, Three Colours: Red, Trzy kolory: Czerwony, and Red), Miramax, 1994.

Julie Vignon (de Courcy), Trois couleurs: Blanc (also known as Three Colors: White, Trzy kolory: Bialy, Three Colours: White, Trois couleurs: Blanc, and White), Miramax, 1994.

Pauline de Theus, The Horseman on the Roof (also known as Le hussard sur le toit), Miramax, 1995.

Beatrice Saulnier, A Couch in New York (also known as Un divan a New York and Eine Couch in New York), Northern Arts Entertainment, 1996.

Hana, The English Patient, Miramax, 1996.

Alice, Alice et Martin (also known as Alice and Martin and Alice y Martin), October Films, 1998.

George Sand, Les enfants du siecle (also known as The Children of the Century), Alexandre Films/Les Films Alain Sande, 1999.

Voice, Eloge de l'amour, 1999.

Anne, Code inconnu (also known as Code Unknown: Incomplete Tales of Several Journeys, Code inconnu: Recit incomplet de divers voyages, Code—Unbekannt, and Code Unknown), Kino International, 2000.

Madame La, La veuve de Saint-Pierre (also known as The Widow of Saint-Pierre and The Widow of St. Pierre), Flach Pyramide International, 2000.

Vianne Rocher, Chocolat, Miramax, 2000.

Rose, Decalage horaire (also known as Jet Lag), Miramax, 2002.

Anna Malan, Country of My Skull (also known as In My Country), Sony Pictures Classics, 2004.

Anne, Cache (also known as Hidden, Niente de nascondere, and Versteckt), Sony Pictures Classics, 2005.

Miriam Naumann, Bee Season, Fox Searchlight, 2005.

Marie Palesi/Mary Magdalene, Mary, Wild Bunch, 2005.

Herself, Odyssey in Rome (documentary), 2005.

Irene, Quelques jours en septembre, Weinstein Company, 2006.

The mother, "2nd arrondissement," Paris, je t'aime, Celsius Entertainment, 2006.

Amira, Breaking and Entering, Weinstein Company, 2006.

Marianne, Les Disparus, MK2 Productions, 2006.

Also appeared in Rouge baiser.

Film Work:

Painter of artwork and poster designer, Les amants du pont-neuf (also known as The Lovers on the Bridge and Lovers on the Ninth Bridge), Gaumont, 1991.

Poster designer, Les enfants du siecle (also known as The Children of the Century), Alexandre Films/Les Films Alain Sande, 1999.

Television Appearances; Movies:

Fort bloque, 1983.

Dorthee, danseuse de corde, 1983.

Mara, Women and Men II (also known as Women and Men II: In Love There Are No Rules, The Art of Seduction, and A Domestic Dilemma), HBO, 1991.

Television Appearances; Specials:

Herself, Jean-Luc Goddard: mal vu, mal dit (documentary), 1984.

Herself, Cinema de notre temps: Andre Techine, apres la Nouvelle Vague … (documentary; also known as Cinema of Our Time: Andre Techine), 1995.

Presenter, The 69th Annual Academy Awards, ABC, 1997.

Host, The Cesar Awards, 1998.

Herself, Absolument cinema: Juliette Binoche, 2000.

The Orange British Academy Film Awards, 2001.

The 7th Annual Screen Actors Guild Awards, TNT, 2001.

The 73rd Annual Academy Awards, ABC, 2001.

Louis Jouvet ou L'amour du theatre (documentary), 2002.

Judi Dench: A BAFTA Tribute, BBC, 2002.

Herself, Un jour dans la vie du cinema francais (documentary), 2002.

The 100 Greatest Movie Stars, Channel 4, 2003.

Herself, Premiers pas (documentary), 2005.

Marie Palesi, Venecia 2005: Cronica de Carlos Boyero, 2005.

The 100 Greatest War Films, Channel 4, 2005.

Herself, French Beauty (documentary), 2005.

Herself, La Reconciliation (documentary), 2005.

Television Appearances; Episodic:

Herself, La nuit des Cesars, 1986, 1998, 2001, 2003.

The Charlie Rose Show, PBS, 1997, 1999, 2000, 2005.

20 heures le journal, 1998.

Herself, "Soul Zaentz: A Tribute," The South Bank Show, ITV, 1998.

Herself, "Des couples dans la tourmente de l'histoire," Bouillon de culture, 2000.

The Rosie O'Donnell Show, syndicated, 2000.

The Big Breakfast, Channel 4, 2001.

The Tonight Show with Jay Leno, NBC, 2001, 2003.

Inside the Actors Studio, Bravo, 2002.

Tout le monde en parle, 2002, 2005.

Late Show with David Letterman (also known as The Late Show), CBS, 2003.

The Late Late Show with Craig Kilborn (also known as The Late Late Show), CBS, 2003.

The View, ABC, 2003, 2005.

The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson, CBS, 2005.

Cinema mil, 2005.

Rose, La Mandragora, 2005.

Herself, "John Boorman," The South Bank Show, ITV, 2005.

Le Grand journal de Canal+, 2005.

L'Hebdo cinema, 2005.

Stage Appearances:

Ersilia Drei, Naked, The Playhouse, then Almeida Theatre, London, 1998.

Emma, Betrayal, Roundabout Theatre, New York City, 2000–2001.

Also appeared in French productions of L'argent de Dieu; Henri IV; Les femmes savantes; L'ours; La mouette; Le jeu de la feuillee; Le roi se meurt; Le malade imaginaire.

WRITINGS

Books:

(Preface only) Le grand livre de la tendresse, 2002.

OTHER SOURCES

Books:

International Dictionary of Films and Filmmakers, Volume 3: Actors and Actresses, 4th ed., St. James Press, 2000.

Newsmakers, Issue 3, Gale Group, 2001.

Periodicals:

Entertainment Weekly, February 23, 2001, p. 37.

Harper's Bazaar, November, 1995, p. 238.

Interview, March, 2001, p. 81.

New York Times, May 15, 1996.

People Weekly, May 9, 1994, p. 90; December 16, 1996, p. 121.

Vanity Fair, May, 1992, pp. 160-161.

Variety, August 25, 1997, p. 55; January 26, 1998, p. 8; February 23, 1998, p. 186; September 11, 2000, p. 35.

BINOCHE, Juliette

Nationality: French. Born: Paris, France, 9 March 1965. Education: Attended acting school in the late 1970s and later took classes at the Paris Conservatoire. Family: Son with André Halle: Raphael. Career: 1983—film debut in Liberty Belle; 1988—international success with The Unbearable Lightness of Being; on stage in Paris in Chekhov's The Seagull; mid-1990s—Lancôme model for the fragrance Pôeme. Awards: Best Actress Award, Venice Film Festival, for Blue, 1993. Agent: Intertalent Agency, 131 South Rodeo Drive, Suite 300, Beverly Hills, CA 90212, U.S.A.

Films as Actress:

1983

Liberty Belle (Kane)

1984

Les Nanas (The Women) (Lanoe)

1985

Je vous salue, Marie (Hail Mary) (Godard) (as Juliette); LaVie de famille (Family Life) (as Natacha); Rendez-vous(Téchiné) (as Nina Larrieu)

1986

Mauvais Sang (The Night Is Young; Bad Blood) (Carax) (as Anna); Mon Beau-frère a tué ma soeur (My Brother-in-LawHas Killed My Sister) (as Esther)

1988

The Unbearable Lightness of Being (Kaufman) (as Tereza)

1989

Un Tour de manège (Roundabout) (as Elsa)

1991

Les Amants du Pont Neuf (The Lovers on the Pont-Neuf)(Carax) (as Michele); Women & Men II (Women & Men: InLove There Are No Rules) (Bernstein, Figgis, and Zea—for TV) (as Mara)

1992

Wuthering Heights (Kosminsky—not released in U.S.) (as Catherine Earnshaw); Fatale (Damage) (Malle) (as Anna Barton)

1993

Trzy Kolory: Niebieski (Bleu; Blue) (Kieślowski) (as Julie);Trzy Kolory: Czerwony (Blanc; White) (Kieślowski) (cameo as Julie)

1994

Trzy Kolory: Bialy (Rouge; Red) (Kieślowski) (cameo as Julie)

1995

Le Hussard sur le toit (The Horseman on the Roof) (as Pauline de Theus)

1996

The English Patient (Minghella) (as Hanna); Lucie Aubrac(Berri); Un Divan a New York (A Couch in New York)(Akerman) (as Beatrice Saulnier)

1998

Alice et Martin (Téchiné) (as Alice)

1999

Les Enfants du siécle (Kurys) (as George Sand)

Publications

By BINOCHE: articles—

Interview with Josephine Hart, in Interview (New York), December 1992.

"Juliette Speaks . . .," interview with Maro Sorrenti, in Harper's Bazaar (New York), November 1995.

Andrew, Geoff, "Modesty Blaze," in Time Out (London), 3 January 1996.

On BINOCHE: articles—

Kavanagh, Julie, and Nick Briggs, "Binoche, by Gosh," in Vanity Fair (New York), May 1992.

Riding, Alan, "Juliette Binoche Plays a Riddle without a Solution," in New York Times, 20 December 1992.

Sight and Sound (London), September 1993.

Reilly, Anthony, "Bluebelle," in Premiere (New York), January 1994.

London Observer, 31 December 1995.

Seesslen, Georg, "Juliette Binoche: Skizzen auf dem Weg zur Freiheit," in EPD Film (Frankfurt), July 1997.

Juliette Binoche was introduced to French theater at the age of 12 by her actress-writer mother, with whom her acting studies began. Her father is a former mime who creates masks for the theater. Her parents separated when she was two years old, and she believes she was drawn into the theater because it represented a family. While better known for her film roles, Binoche remains tied to the theater where she began her career (she appeared on stage in Paris in 1988 in Chekov's The Seagull, directed by Andrei Konchalovsky).

Binoche was urged to audition for films when she was 18 by a casting director who helped her get some bit parts. Despite her success at an early age, Binoche did not emerge overnight. After studying acting for several years she performed in stage productions in the early 1980s and in some television films. Her first film roles followed: in Pascal Kane's Liberty Belle; a small part in Jean-Luc Godard's Hail Mary, with her youthful innocence as her selling point; and a more substantial role in Annick Lanoe's Les Nanas.

She met the director Léos Carax in 1985, starred in his thriller Mauvais Sang, and began to undergo a transformation. They moved in together and this relationship dominated her professional and emotional life for four years. Carax molded Binoche for the role of Anna in Mauvais Sang, requiring her to adopt a gamin look and to lose weight. She studied dance and voice, read Balzac, and even changed her laugh. (Later Carax would cast Binoche as the one-eyed, guntoting painter, Michele, in Les Amants du Pont Neuf, an unsuccessful, $30 million film which proved to be the most expensive thus far in French history.)

Later in the 1980s she reached international fame with her English-language debut, The Unbearable Lightness of Being, based on the Milan Kundera novel, playing a sexual free spirit. In her next two widely seen roles—in Louis Malle's Damage and Blue, the first film of Krzysztof Kieślowski's Trzy Kolory trilogy—Binoche was not free spirited at all, but rather gave exceptionally passive and solemn portrayals, too detached for many observers. Binoche had turned down the female lead in Steven Spielberg's Jurassic Park (played by Laura Dern), to star in Blue—likely a smart move given how difficult it is to imagine her in such an action-filled thriller at this stage of her career.

In her latest film to date, A Couch in New York, the first major film of Belgian director Chantal Akerman, Binoche changed her image again—away from the serious, sad beauty—toward a lighter character sans the once-in-vogue anguish that pervaded her earlier characters. Whether this welcome transformation is successful will go a long way toward determining the future direction of a still young career.

—Kelly Otter