Marion Cotillard

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Marion Cotillard

Marion Cotillard, 2006
Born September 30, 1975 (1975-09-30) (age 32)
Paris, France
Years active 1990s–present
Official website

Marion Cotillard (born September 30, 1975) is a French actress who has appeared in over fifty films in France. Cotillard won her second César Award, the BAFTA, the Golden Globe, Czech Lion, and the Academy Award for Best Actress for her role as French chanteuse Édith Piaf in La Vie En Rose.

Contents

[edit] Biography

Cotillard began acting during her childhood, appearing on stage in one of her father's plays [1].

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 descent [2] (his mother Léontine Cotillard still lives in Plémet, Brittany [3]). Her mother Niseema Theillaud, is also an actress and drama teacher [4]/ She has two younger twin brothers, Quentin and Guillaume. Quentin Cotillard is a sculptor and painter living in San Francisco, California[5] with his Irish-American 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" [6]. Guillaume Cotillard is a writer [7].

Cotillard is currently in a relationship with French actor/director Guillaume Canet. They co-starred in the 2003 French film Love Me If You Dare. The couple's relationship is widely reported in the French press, and they have been dubbed the French version of "Brangelina." Despite this, many reports say the couple prefers to live a simple lifestyle, and they are often spotting in cafes and shopping together in Paris [8]. Cotillard is interested in environmental activism and has served as a spokesperson for Greenpeace allowing the organization to use her apartment to test products and being among the artists involved in "Desseins pour le climat" (Drawings for Climate), an album project that was released in 2005 and raised money for the environmental activist group [9]. She is a fan of Radiohead, of Canadian singer Hawksley Workman as well and she has appeared in two of his music videos, most notably "No Reason to Cry Out your Eyes (On the Highway Tonight)" [10]. 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 [11].

[edit] Career

After a few roles on television, her career as a film actress began in the mid-1990s with small but noticeable roles in such films as Pierre Grimblat's Lisa alongside the iconic Jeanne Moreau, Swiss novel-adaptation drama War In The Highlands [12], Coline Serreau's comedy La Belle Verte, or Alexandre Aja's anticipation fantasy Furia among other participations in established directors' productions. She rose to prominence in the late 1990s when she was cast in the Luc Besson production Taxi (1998) as Lili Bertineau, a minor role that she reprised in two sequels. She then earned very good reviews and the attention of cinephiles via her portrayal of twins who exchange their lives after one of them dies in Les Jolies Choses/Pretty Things adapted from the work of subversive feminist novelist Virginie Despentes in which she sang live on stage a couple of songs she had co-written.

In 2003, she had a small role in Tim Burton's film, Big Fish, which introduced her to English-speaking audiences. She also played Sophie Kowalski in Yann Samuell's Jeux d'enfants (English title: Love Me If You Dare), in which she played a complex yet appealing modern romantic lead. She appeared in two critically successful films in 2004: A Very Long Engagement, where Cotillard further demonstrated the range of her abilities by playing the murderous Tina Lombardi (garnering the César Award for Best Actress in a Supporting Role), and the drama mystery Innocence.

2005 saw Abel Ferrara offering her a small role alongside Forrest Whitaker (who would present her the Oscar two years later) in his religious movie Mary while she also played in Burnt Out, Fabienne Godet's study of social oppression and stresses of corporate culture.[13] In 2006, she appeared in Ridley Scott's A Good Year, Belgian comedy Dikkenek and learnt to play the cello for her role as a concertist in the satirical coming of age movie You and Me[4].

She was chosen by director Olivier Dahan to portray the iconic French singer Édith Piaf in the biopic La Môme (English title: La Vie En Rose) before he had even met her, saying that in the eyes of Édith Piaf he noticed a similarity with Marion's own.[14]. Producer Alain 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. [15] 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."[16] 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.[17]

On February 10, 2008, Cotillard became the first French actress to be awarded the BAFTA Award for Best Actress in a Leading Role since the BAFTAs in 1969 combined the Best British and Best Foreign actress award into one Best Actress category. She is also the first actress to be nominated for an Academy Award for a French language performance since Catherine Deneuve for Indochine in 1992. 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 very 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 [18]), 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, and two days later she received the Academy Award for Best Actress. After Simone Signoret in 1959, Marion Cotillard is the second French cinema actress to win an Academy Award for Best Actress, though 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. In her Oscar acceptance speech, Cotillard proclaimed "thank you life, thank you love" (allegedly a reference to one of Piaf's songs[citation needed]) and, speaking of Los Angeles, said "it is true, there is some angels in this city!"

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 her next US film, Public Enemies. Her friend Pavlina Nemcova - who played the journalist in La vie en Rose - was there to accept the award on her behalf.

Cotillard has also been cast to play Luisa Contini in the film adaptation of the Tony Award-winning musical Nine.[19]


[edit] Filmography

Year Film Role Other notes
1994 L'Histoire du garçon qui voulait qu'on l'embrasse Mathilde Alternative title: The Story of a Boy Who Wanted to Be Kissed
1996 Comment je me suis disputé (ma vie sexuelle) Student Alternative title: My Sex Life... or How I Got Into an Argument
La Belle Verte Student
1998 Taxi Lili Bertineau
1999 La Guerre dans le Haut Pays Julie Bonzon Alternative title: War in the Highlands
Furia Élia
Du Bleu jusqu'en Amérique Solange Alternative title: Blue Away to America
2000 Taxi 2 Lili Bertineau
2001 Lisa Young Lisa
Les Jolies choses Marie/Lucie Alternative title: Pretty Things
2002 Une affaire privée Clarisse Entoven Alternative title: A Private Affair
2003 Taxi 3 Lili Bertineau
Love Me If You Dare Sophie Kowalsky Alternative title: Jeux d'enfants
Big Fish Joséphine
2004 Innocence Mademoiselle Éva
A Very Long Engagement Tina Lombardi Alternative title: Un long dimanche de fiançailles
2005 Cavalcade Alizée
Edy Céline/La chanteuse du rêve
Ma vie en l'air Alice Alternative title: Love is in the air
Mary Gretchen Mol
Sauf le respect que je vous dois Lisa Alternative title: Burnt Out
La Boîte noire Isabelle Kruger/Alice Alternative title: The Black Box
2006 Toi et Moi Léna Alternative title: You And Me
Dikkenek Nadine
Fair Play Nicole
A Good Year Fanny Chenal
2007 La môme Édith Piaf Alternative titles: La Vie en rose, Édith Piaf, Life in Pink, The Little Girl, The Passionate Life of Édith Piaf
2009 Public Enemies Billie Frechette Filming
Nine Luisa Contini Pre-Production

[edit] Awards and nominations

Year Group Award Film Result
2005 César Awards Best Supporting Actress A Very Long Engagement Won
2008 César Awards Best Actress La Vie en Rose Won
Academy Awards Best Actress in a Leading Role La Vie en Rose Won
BAFTA Best Actress La Vie en Rose Won
Boston Society of Film Critics Best Actress La Vie en Rose Won
Czech Lion Best Actress in a Leading Role La Vie en Rose Won
Golden Globe Awards Best Performance by an Actress in a Motion Picture - Musical or Comedy La Vie en Rose Won
Kansas City Film Critics Best Actress La Vie en Rose Won
Los Angeles Film Critics Awards Best Actress La Vie en Rose Won
Year Group Award Film Result
1999 César Awards Most Promising Actress Taxi Nominated
2002 César Awards Most Promising Actress Les Jolies Choses Nominated
2007 Broadcast Film Critics Association Best Actress in a Leading Role La Vie en Rose Nominated
Chicago Film Critics Association Best Actress La Vie en Rose Nominated
Dallas Fort-Worth Critics Best Actress La Vie en Rose Nominated (2nd place)
Detroit Society of Film Critics Best Actress La Vie en Rose Nominated
Detroit Society of Film Critics Best Actress La Vie en Rose Nominated
European Film Awards European Best Actress La Vie en Rose Nominated
National Board of Review Best Actress La Vie en Rose Nominated (Runner-up)
National Society of Film Critics Best Actress La Vie en Rose Nominated (First Runner-up)
Online Film Critics Society Best Actress La Vie en Rose Nominated
St. Louis Gateway Film Critics Association Best Actress La Vie en Rose Nominated
2008 Richard Attenborough Award Best Actress La Vie en Rose Nominated
Screen Actors Guild Award Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Leading Role La Vie en Rose Nominated

[edit] References

  1. ^ Bunbury, Stephanie. "Birds of a feather", The Age.com.au, 2007-07-15. Retrieved on 2007-07-14. 
  2. ^ http://marion-cotillard.org/v/magazine-scans/2008/ParisMatch-F-February28/011.jpg.html Jean-Claude Cotillard speaking about his Breton peasant parents
  3. ^ http://youtube.com/watch?v=X_PMxTe1T2o Reportage showing Marion in her grandmother's village
  4. ^ a b Gilbey, Ryan. "Marion has no regrets either", News.com.au, 2007-07-07. Retrieved on 2007-07-09. 
  5. ^ "Golden Globe's Best Actress Marion Cotillard: 'It Was Like Fireworks'", Foxnews.com, 2008-01-14. 
  6. ^ "French Oscar nominee talks about her depiction of Edith Piaf", Marin Independant Journal, 2008-01-31. 
  7. ^ Marion Cotillard's profile on Screenrush.co.uk http://www.screenrush.co.uk/personne/fichepersonne_gen_cpersonne=17367.html
  8. ^ Jason Solomons. "BAFTA The couple's ...dubbed the French "Brangelina".", The Guardian, 2008-02-17. 
  9. ^ "Five facts about Marion Cotillard", Forbes.com, 2008-02-24. 
  10. ^ 2004 Music Video for Hawksley Workman's song "No reason to cry out your eyes" featuring Marion Cotillard http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tup7kMoCSrc
  11. ^ "Hawksley Workman always working", Jam.canoe.ca, 2008-02-15. 
  12. ^ Variety's synopsis of War In The Highlands http://www.variety.com/profiles/Film/synopsis/137729/La+Guerre+dans+le+Haut%2DPays.html?dataSet=1
  13. ^ 2005 London Film Festival Film Presentation http://lff2006.lff.org.uk/films_details.php?FilmID=629
  14. ^ Piaf star Cotillard's career blooms with Oscar nom for 'La Vie En Rose'. The Canadian Press (2008-02-14). Retrieved on 2008-03-06.
  15. ^ Everything's coming up roses. Benjamin Sesher, Telegraph.co.uk (2008-02-12).
  16. ^ Who is: Marion Cotillard. Meryl Demiglio, Papierdoll Magazine (March 2008). Retrieved on 2008-03-06.
  17. ^ Les films qui vont cartonner en 2007. Amélie Charnay, 01Men.com (2007-01-16).
  18. ^ Translation of her César acceptance speech http://marioncotillard.blogspot.com/2008/02/csar-awards-announced-today.html
  19. ^ Everything's rosy for Cotillard. John McMurtrie, San Francisco Chronicle (2008-02-17).

[edit] External links

Awards
Academy Award
Preceded by
Helen Mirren
for The Queen		 Best Actress
2007
for La Vie En Rose		 Succeeded by
TBD
Golden Globe Award
Preceded by
Meryl Streep
for The Devil Wears Prada		 Best Actress - Motion Picture Musical or Comedy
2007
for La Vie En Rose		 Succeeded by
TBD
BAFTA Award
Preceded by
Helen Mirren
for The Queen		 Best Actress in a Leading Role
2007
for La Vie En Rose		 Succeeded by
TBD
César Award
Preceded by
Julie Depardieu
for La Petite Lili		 Best Supporting Actress
2004
for A Very Long Engagement		 Succeeded by
Cécile de France
for The Russian Dolls
Preceded by
Marina Hands
for Lady Chatterley		 Best Actress
2007
for La Vie En Rose		 Succeeded by
TBD
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)

Complete list · (1928–1940) · (1941–1960) · (1961–1980) · (1981–2000) · (2001-present)


Persondata
NAME Cotillard, Marion
ALTERNATIVE NAMES
SHORT DESCRIPTION Actress
DATE OF BIRTH September 30, 1975
PLACE OF BIRTH Paris, France
DATE OF DEATH
PLACE OF DEATH