Sophie Marceau Biography
Summary
"Sophie Marceau" (; born 17 November 1966) is a French actress, who has appeared in 35 films. During her teens, Marceau achieved popularity by her debut films "La Boum" (1980) and "La Boum 2" (1982), for which she received a César Award for Most Promising Actress. In addition to her French language films, she has worked in international films such as "Braveheart" (1995) and as a Bond Girl in "The World Is Not Enough" (1999).
Early life
Marceau was born "Sophie Danièle Sylvie Maupu" in Paris, France, the second child of Simone (née Morisset), a shop assistant, and Benoît Maupu, a truck driver. The family lived a working class life that left Marceau with generally fond memories of childhood. During the week, she helped at the family restaurant. She spent weekends with her family in La Cabane, a small house in Vert-le-Petit in the Essonne. Her parents divorced when she was nine.
Career
In February 1980, Marceau and her mother came across a model agency looking for teenagers. Marceau had photos taken at the agency but did not think anything would come of it. At the same time, Françoise Menidrey, the casting director for Claude Pinoteau's "La Boum" (1980), asked modeling agencies to recommend a new teenager for the project. After viewing the rushes, Alain Poiré, the director of the Gaumont Film Company, signed Marceau to a long-term contract. "La Boum" was a hit not only in France, where 4.5 million tickets were sold, but several other European countries and Japan.
In 1981, Marceau made her singing debut with French singer François Valéry on 'Dream in Blue,' written by Delanoë.
Early film career
In 1982, at the age of 16, Marceau bought back her contract with Gaumont for one million French francs. She borrowed most of the money. After starring in the sequel film "La Boum 2" in 1982, Marceau focused on more dramatic roles, including "Fort Saganne" (co-starring Gérard Depardieu and Catherine Deneuve) and "Joyeuse Pâques" ("Happy Easter") in 1984, "L'Amour Braque" and "Police" in 1985, and "Descente aux Enfers" ("Descent Into Hell") in 1986. In 1988, she starred in "L'Etudiante" ("The Student") and "Chouans!". That year, Marceau was named Best Romantic Actress at the International Festival of Romantic Movies for her role in Chouans.
In 1989, she starred in "Mes nuits sont plus belles que vos jours" ("My Nights are more Beautiful than your Days"), which was directed by her long-time boyfriend Andrzej Zulawski. In 1990, she starred in "Pacific Palisades" and "La Note Bleue", her third film directed by her companion. In 1991, she ventured into the theater in "Eurydice", which earned Marceau the Moliere Award for Best Female Newcomer.
Marceau began making less-dramatic films, such as the comedy "Fanfan" in 1993 and "La Fille de D'Artagnan" in 1994 - both popular in Europe and abroad. That year, she returned to the theatre as Eliza Dolittle in "Pygmalion".
International success
Marceau achieved international recognition in 1995 as Princess Isabelle in Mel Gibson's "Braveheart". That year, she was part of an ensemble of international actors in the French film directed by Michelangelo Antonioni and Wim Wenders, "Beyond the Clouds".
In 1997, she continued with William Nicholson's "Firelight", filmed in England, Véra Belmont's "Marquise", filmed in France, and Bernard Rose's "Anna Karenina".
She played Hippolyta in "A Midsummer Night's Dream" (1999). She became a villainess Bond girl by playing Elektra King in "The World Is Not Enough" (1999).
Marceau teamed up again with her then-boyfriend Andrzej Zulawski to film " La Fidélité" in 2000.
Author and director
In 1995, Marceau wrote a semi-autobiographical novel, "Menteuse" (engl. translation "Telling Lies" published in 2001), in which the narrator is a beautiful actress who is confident in her beauty and talent and yet insecure. The unnamed narrator takes the reader into a world of memories, fantasies, and impressions, but never reveals herself completely. Marceau's work was described as 'an exploration of female identity'. Marceau describes what the narrator is going through:
In 2002, Marceau made her directorial debut in the feature film "Speak to Me of Love" for which she was named "Best Director" at the Montreal World Film Festival. The film starred Judith Godrèche. It was her second effort at directing (she made the nine-minute short film "L'Aube à l'envers" in 1995, which also starred Godrèche).
Entering an award ceremony (Cannes in 2005), the shoulder strap on Marceau's dress fell off, exposing what was still considered 'the perfect bosom'.
Personal life
Marceau had a 17 year relationship with director Andrzej ?u?awski, who is 26 years her senior. Their son Vincent was born in June 1995. In 2001, Marceau separated from Zulawski and became involved with producer Jim Lemley and later gave birth to her second child, Juliette, born in London in 2002. She is now dating actor Christopher Lambert.
Filmography
Actress
"La Boum" ("The Party") (1980) - Victoire Beretton
"La Boum 2" (1982)
"Fort Saganne" (1984) - Madeleine de Saint-Ilette
"Joyeuses Pâques" ("Happy Easter") (1984) - Julie
"L'Amour braque" ("Mad Love") (1985) - Mary
"Police" ("Police") (1985) - Norya
"Descente aux enfers" ("Descent Into Hell") (1986) - Lola Kolber
"L'Étudiante" ("The Student") (1988) - Valentine Ezquerra
"Chouans!" (1988) - Céline
"Mes nuits sont plus belles que vos jours" ("My Nights are more Beautiful than your Days") (1989) - Blanche
"Pacific Palisades" (1990) - Bernadette
"Pour Sacha" ("For Sacha") (1991) - Laura
"La Note bleue" ("The Blue Note") (1991) - Solange Sand
"Fanfan" ("Fanfan & Alexandre") (1993) - Fanfan
"La Fille de d'Artagnan" ("The Daughter of D'Artagnan") (1994) - Eloïse d'Artagnan
"Braveheart" (1995) - Princess Isabelle
"Beyond the Clouds" ("Al di là delle nuvole") (1995)
"Anna Karenina" (1997) - Anna Karenina
"Marquise" (1997, by Véra Belmont) - Marquise du Parc
"Firelight" (1997, by William Nicholson) - Élisabeth Laurier
"Lost & Found" (1999) - Lila Dubois
"A Midsummer Night's Dream" (1999) - Hippolyta
"The World Is Not Enough" (1999) - Elektra King
"La Fidélité" ("Fidelity") (2000) - Clélia
"Belphégor - Le fantôme du Louvre" ("Belphegor, Phantom of the Louvre") (2001) - Lisa
"Alex and Emma" (2003) - Polina Delacroix
"Je reste!" (2003) - Marie-Dominique Delpire
"Les clefs de bagnole" ("The Car Keys)" (2003)
"A ce soir" (2004) - Nelly
"Anthony Zimmer" (2005) - Chiara Manzoni
"La Disparue de Deauville" (2007) - Lucie/Victoria
"Les Femmes de l'Ombre (Female Agents)" (2008)
"Don't Look Back" (2009)
Writer and director
"L'Aube à l'envers" (short film) (1995)
"Speak to Me of Love" (2002)
"La Disparue de Deauville" (2007)
Credit
This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article about Sophie Marceau.
