Audrey Tautou

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Audrey Tautou
Born August 9, 1978 (1978-08-09) (age 29)
Beaumont, Puy-de-Dôme, France
Years active 1996-present

Audrey Tautou (IPA: [oˈd̪ʁe t̪oˈt̪u]; , born 9 August 1978) is a French film actress, known to worldwide audiences for playing the title character in the award-winning film Amélie (2001, Le Fabuleux Destin d'Amélie Poulain) and also Sophie Neveu in The Da Vinci Code (2006).

Contents

[edit] Biography

[edit] Early life

Tautou was born in the Puy-de-Dôme département of Auvergne, and was raised in Montluçon in the nearby Allier, still in Auvergne. Her father is a dental surgeon and her mother is a teacher. Even now, many of her trips and voyages abroad are influenced by her passions for monkeys and gorillas. In fact, after the premiere of the film Amélie (for which she received phenomenal amounts of paparazzi and press coverage) she travelled to the jungles of Indonesia to help with the preservation of a monkey sanctuary. Tautou showed an interest in comedy at an early age and started her acting lessons at the Cours Florent. This theatrical institution is highly prestigious and she is one of several famous actors to have passed through its doors (others including Muriel Robin, Daniel Auteuil and Guillaume Canet). Nonetheless, she continued the course and came out at the end and went on to star in some of French cinema's biggest and most famous films.

[edit] Career

Tautou has said that Meryl Streep, Paul Newman, Juliette Lewis, Jodie Foster and Julianne Moore are her acting idols. In 1998, Tautou participated in a Star Search-like competition sponsored by Canal+ called "Jeunes Premiers" (The Young Debut) and won Best Young Actress at the 9th Béziers Festival of Young Actors. Then, she came to the attention of Tonie Marshall, who gave her a role in the César-winning Venus Beauty Institute (1999, aka Vénus beauté (institut)). In 2000 , she won the Prix Suzanne Bianchetti as her country's most promising young film actress.

Already well-known in France for her work in Venus Beauty Institute, in 2001 Tautou rose to international fame for her performance as the eccentric Amélie in the romantic French comedy Le Fabuleux Destin d'Amélie Poulain. In June 2004 she was invited to join the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS).[1] She accepted the invitation and is still a member as of 1 September, 2006.

In 2005, Tautou worked in her first full Hollywood production, opposite Tom Hanks, in the film version of Dan Brown's best-selling novel The Da Vinci Code, directed by Ron Howard and released in May 2006. She acted alongside Gad Elmaleh in Pierre Salvadori's Hors de prix, released 13 December, 2006. Tautou says she still considers France her base, and plans to pursue a career predominantly there rather than crossing over to the United States. As she told Stevie Wong of The Straits Times, "I am, at the end of the day, a French actress. I am not saying I will never shoot an English-language movie again, but my home, my community, my career is rooted in France. I would never move to Los Angeles".[2]

Tautou starred with Guillaume Canet (best known outside of France for his role in the film adaptation of The Beach) in Claude Berri's French-language Ensemble, c'est tout in 2007, an adaptation of the eponymous novel by Anna Gavalda.

In May 2008 Tautou was named as the next spokesmodel for Chanel No. 5, replacing Nicole Kidman. She will be directed in the campaign by Jean-Pierre Jeunet, with whom she worked on Amélie and A Very Long Engagement. The advertisement will be released in 2009.[3][4][5]

[edit] Personal life

Her favourite authors are Victor Hugo, Oscar Wilde, Paul Auster, and Timothy Zahn; and her favourite poets are Charles Baudelaire and Tristan Tzara.

Tautou takes pictures of each reporter who interviews her and keeps them in a scrapbook. Tautou has said that "Everyone [outside France] thinks I have an ethnic origin", though she is actually "100-percent French". In France, many consider her as the "typical Occitan Auvergnate".[6] She was brought up attending church, though she has now stated that she is "not officially" a Catholic.[7]

The Brand New song "Tautou", from the album Déjà Entendu is named after her.

[edit] Filmography

(English title: Hunting And Gathering)
(English title: Priceless)
(English title: The Russian Dolls)
(English title: A Very Long Engagement)
  • Nowhere to Go But Up - Val Chipzik (2003)
(aka Happy End (Movie))
(English title: Not on the Lips)
  • Les Marins perdus - Lalla (2003)
(English title: Lost Seamen)
(aka Pot Luck - UK)
(aka Euro Pudding - International: English title)
(aka The Spanish Apartment - USA)
(English title: He Loves Me... He Loves Me Not)
(English title: God Is Great and I'm Not)
(aka Amélie - International: English title - USA)
(aka Amelie from Montmartre - International: English title)
(aka The Fabulous Destiny of Amelie Poulain - USA: literal English title)
(aka Happenstance - UK and USA)
(aka Amelie 2 - Hong Kong: English title)
(aka The Beating of the Butterfly's Wings - International: English title)
  • Le Libertin - Julie d'Holbach (2000) (English title: The Libertine)
  • Voyous voyelles - Anne-Sophie (2000)
(aka Bad Girls - Australia: TV title)
(aka The Little Grifters - USA: cable TV title)
(aka Pretty Devils - USA: new title)
  • Épouse-moi - Marie-Ange (2000) (English title: Marry Me)
  • Triste à mourir - Caro (1999)
  • Vénus beauté (institut) - Marie (1999)
(aka Venus Beauty Institute - USA: literal English title)
(aka Venus Beauty Salon - UK)
  • Le Boiteux: Baby blues - Blandine Piancet (1999) (TV)
  • La Vieille barrière - La jeune fille du quartier (1998)
  • Casting: Archi-dégueulasse - Comédienne 1 (1998)
  • Chaos technique - Lisa (1998) (TV)
  • Bébés boum - Elsa (1998) (TV)
  • La Vérité est un vilain défaut - La standardiste (1997) (TV)
  • Coeur de cible (1996) (TV)

[edit] Awards and nominations

Awards
Preceded by
Natacha Régnier
for The Dreamlife of Angels		 César Award for Most Promising Actress
2000
for Venus Beauty Institute		 Succeeded by
Sylvie Testud
for Les Blessures assassines
Preceded by
Zhang Ziyi		 CFCA Award for Most Promising Performer
2001		 Succeeded by
Maggie Gyllenhaal

[edit] References

Wikiquote has a collection of quotations related to:
  1. ^ Academy Invites 127 to Membership
  2. ^ The Star Online eCentral: From Amelie to Sophie
  3. ^ New role for Audrey Tautou, Daily Telegraph, 2008-05-11, <http://www.news.com.au/dailytelegraph/story/0,22049,23676294-5006013,00.html>. Retrieved on 21 May 2008 
  4. ^ Snead, Elizabeth (2008-05-05), Is it a bird or a plane? Sarah Jessica Parker won't save the Costume Gala?, Los Angeles Times, <http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/thedishrag/2008/05/tonights-metrop.html>. Retrieved on 21 May 2008 
  5. ^ Audrey Tautou new face of Chanel, China Daily, 2008-05-16, <http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/lifestyle/2008-05/16/content_6690516.htm>. Retrieved on 21 May 2008 
  6. ^ An Interview With Audrey Tautou
  7. ^ Audrey Tautou News | Tautou dismisses Da Vinci controversy

[edit] External links