Julie Dreyfus
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| Julie Dreyfus | |
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| Born | Julie Dreyfus January 24, 1966 Paris, France |
| Occupation | actress |
| Years active | 1992 ─ present |
Julie Dreyfus (born 24 January 1966) is a French actress, model and celebrity.
Dreyfus, who speaks fluent Japanese, French, and English, is well known in Japan, where she made her TV debut on a French-language lesson program on NHK's educational channel in the late 1980s, and has appeared on the TV show Ryōri no Tetsujin (Iron Chef) as a guest and judge, where she famously refused to eat a meal prepared by Toshiro Kandagawa, because it contained whale meat. She is best known to Western audiences for the role of Sofie Fatale in the film Kill Bill and has been associated with Quentin Tarantino, who is a good friend.
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[edit] Early life
Dreyfus was born and raised in Paris, spending her summers in the U.K. She started learning Japanese in 1985 at the Institute for Oriental Languages and Civilization at the University of Paris, after studying interior design and becoming interested in Japanese architecture.[1] But she gave up a year later because the course was "very bad." In 1986, at age 20, she moved to Japan to study at the Osaka University of Foreign Language for a six-month intensive Japanese course, thinking she would eventually land a job in interior design.[2] After finishing the course, she moved to Tokyo working part time in a design studio while continuing her private Japanese lessons. In 1988, she worked as a French language instructor on the NHK morning television educational program. Centering on a mystery drama, chief producer Motoyoshi Sei hired Dreyfus to increase ratings by changing the program into an episode-format.[3] Eventually, she was cast by Japanese network executives as the twenty-something beauty in several TV and film roles, leading her to become a gaijin tarento (foreign talent). She was also a judge on the cult-hit cooking show Ryōri no Tetsujin (Iron Chef)
[edit] Post Kill Bill
Despite favorable reviews for her performance in Kill Bill, Dreyfus did not continue an acting career in America—more or less disappearing from the American film industry. She was a member of the 2007 Gérardmer Film Festival, which honored her Kill Bill co-star David Carradine.[4][5]
[edit] Vinyan (2008)
Dreyfus has signed up to star in Fabrice du Welz’s follow up to 2004 Critics Week entry, Calvaire.
Dreyfus, along with Rufus Sewell joins Emmanuelle Béart in the story of a couple searching for their child who disappeared after the 2004 tsunami. Michael Gentile’s The Film is producing the $5.5m Vinyan in association with France’s BackUp Films.
The UK’s Film4 co-developed the project to shoot in Thailand. Du Welz will re-team with award-winning cinematographer Benoît Debie for Vinyan.
Gentile will also produce du Welz’s next feature, Coffin Island to shoot in late 2008
[edit] Personal life
While she has often steered clear of speaking about her personal life, actor David Carradine mentioned her in a few chapters of his best selling book The Kill Bill Diary and wrote that she spent time with actor Christopher Allen Nelson off-set. Nelson played the part of the Groom, opposite Uma Thurman's Bride. Carradine also mentioned in the book that Dreyfus had told him that she already had a boyfriend in New York.
She is the daughter of French actress Pascale Audret and French music producer Francis Dreyfus, founder of the Dreyfus Music record label.
[edit] References
- ^ Ishida, Ayako. "Formal study: key to mastering Japanese", The Daily Yomiuri (Tokyo), 2 June 1993, pp. 9. (English)
- ^ Ehrman, Mark. "Dressed to 'Kill'", Variety, 6 October 2003, pp. 16. (English)
- ^ "Fun factor injected into language programs", The Daily Yomiuri, 26 April 1993, pp. 10. (English)
- ^ "Ouverture du 14è festival du film fantastique de Gérardmer", Agence France Presse (Vosges), 31 January 2007. (French)
- ^ "La comédie primée à Gérardmer", Le Progrès, 6 February 2007. (French)
