Audrey Tautou Biography
Summary
"Audrey Justine Tautou" (; born 9 August either in 1976 or 1978) is a French film actress, known to worldwide audiences for playing the title character in the award-winning 2001 film "Amélie", Sophie Neveu in the 2006 thriller "The Da Vinci Code", and more recently Irène in "Priceless" (2006). She won the César Award for Most Promising Actress in "Venus Beauty Institute" (1999).
Early life
Tautou was born in the Puy-de-Dôme département of Auvergne, and was raised in Montluçon in nearby Allier, Auvergne. Her father is a dental surgeon and her mother is a teacher. 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). After graduating she went on to star in some of French cinema's biggest and most famous films.
Career
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 lead in the romantic comedy "Le Fabuleux Destin d'Amélie Poulain" ("Amélie"). In June 2004 she was invited to join the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS). 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'.
Tautou starred with Guillaume Canet (best known for his role in the film adaptation of "The Beach") in Claude Berri's "Ensemble, c'est tout" in 2007, an adaptation of the eponymous novel by Anna Gavalda.
Tautou played the lead role in the biopic of fashion designer Coco Chanel. Filming began in Paris in September 2008, and the film was released in France on April 22, 2009. The film is titled Coco avant Chanel, and is directed by Anne Fontaine.
The script of the new movie is partially based on Edmonde Charles-Roux's book 'L'Irrégulière? (?The Non-Conformist?).
As part of promoting the new Coco Chanel bio film in May 2008, Tautou was named as the next spokesmodel for Chanel No. 5, replacing Nicole Kidman. She will be directed in the advertisement by Jean-Pierre Jeunet, with whom she worked on "Amélie" and "A Very Long Engagement". The advertisement will be released in 2009 to coincide with the film's release.
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. In France, many consider her as the 'typical Occitan "Auvergnate". She was brought up attending church, though she has now stated that she is 'not officially' a Catholic.
The Brand New song 'Tautou', from the album "Déjà Entendu" is named after her.
Following the making of Coco avant Chanel she started dating Benoît Poelvoorde whom she met on set.
Filmography
"Coco avant Chanel" - Coco Chanel (2009)
"Ensemble, c'est tout" - Camille (2007) : (English title: "Hunting And Gathering")
"Hors de prix" - Irène (2006) : (English title: "Priceless")
"The Da Vinci Code" - Sophie Neveu (2006)
"Les Poupées russes" - Martine (2005) : (English title: "The Russian Dolls")
"Un long dimanche de fiançailles" - Mathilde (2004) : (English title: "A Very Long Engagement")
"Nowhere to Go But Up" - Val Chipzik (2003) : (aka "Happy End (Movie)")
"Pas sur la bouche" - Huguette Verberie (2003) : (English title: "Not on the Lips")
"Les Marins perdus" - Lalla (2003) : (English title: "Lost Seamen")
"Dirty Pretty Things" - Senay (2002)
"L'Auberge espagnole" - Martine (2002) :( aka "Pot Luck" - UK) : (aka "Euro Pudding" - International: English title) : (aka "The Spanish Apartment" - USA)
"À la folie... pas du tout" - Angélique (2002) : (English title: "He Loves Me... He Loves Me Not")
"Dieu est grand, je suis toute petite" - Michèle (2001) : (English title: "God Is Great and I'm Not")
"Le Fabuleux destin d'Amélie Poulain" - Amélie Poulain (2001) : (aka "Amélie" - International: English title - USA) : (aka "Amelie from Montmartre" - International: English title) : (aka "The Fabulous Destiny of Amelie Poulain" - USA: literal English title)
"Le Battement d'ailes du papillon" - Irène (2000) : (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)
Awards and nominations
1999: Won the Best New Actress on Cabourg Romantic Film Festival for "Vénus beauté (institut)"
2000: Won the César Award for Most Promising Actress for "Vénus beauté (institut)"
2000: Won the Lumiere Award Most Promising Young Actress for "Vénus beauté (institut)"
2001: Nomination for the European Film Awards Audience Award (Best Actress) for "Le Fabuleux Destin d'Amélie Poulain"
2001: Nomination for the European Film Award (Best Actress) for "Le Fabuleux Destin d'Amélie Poulain"
2002: Nomination for the Empire Award (Best Actress) for "Le Fabuleux Destin d'Amélie Poulain"
2002: Won the CFCA Award for Most Promising Performer
2002: Nomination for the BAFTA Film Award for "Le Fabuleux Destin d'Amélie Poulain"
2002: Nomination for the César Award for Best Actress for "Le Fabuleux Destin d'Amélie Poulain"
2002: Nomination for the European Film Awards Audience Award for Best Actress "Dirty Pretty Things"
2002: Won the Lumiere Award Best Actress for "Le Fabuleux Destin d'Amélie Poulain"
2002: Nomination for the PFCS Award Best Newcomer for "Le Fabuleux Destin d'Amélie Poulain"
2002: Nomination for the PFCS Award Best Actress in a Leading Role for "Le Fabuleux Destin d'Amélie Poulain"
2002: Nomination for the OFCS Award Best Breakthrough Performance for "Le Fabuleux Destin d'Amélie Poulain"
2002: Won the Sant Jordi Best Foreign Actress for "Le Fabuleux Destin d'Amélie Poulain"
2002: Nomination for the Golden Satellite Award Best Performance by an Actress in a Motion Picture, Comedy or Musical for "Le Fabuleux Destin d'Amélie Poulain"
2005: Nomination for the César Award for Best Actress for "Un long dimanche de fiançailles"
2005: Nomination for the European Film Awards Audience Award for Best Actress "Un long dimanche de fiançailles"
2005: Nomination for the European Film Award for Best Actress "Un long dimanche de fiançailles"
2007: Won the NRJ Ciné Award best kiss (Shared with Gad Elmaleh) for "Hors de prix"
External links
( NY Daily News Interview) 21 November 2004
(MSNBC Interview) 23 November 2004
(UK Story & Interview) 16 January 2005
(Interview: This is London) 19 January 2005
(Interview: From Amelie to Sophie) 17 May 2006
Jon Henley, ('It doesn't take much to catch a man') "The Guardian", June 13, 2008, interview about Priceless (film)
( MOViEmaven List) an article about Audrey Tautou from an online resource for foreign and American independent film.
Credit
This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article about Audrey Tautou.
