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Sophie Marceau (born November 17, 1966) is a French actress. She has worked in international films such as Braveheart and The World Is Not Enough. This sultry, ravishingly beautiful brunette began as a teenaged as the star of the top-grossing French film "La Boum/The Party" (1980) and its popular 1982 sequel, which earned her a Cesar as Most Promising Newcomer. Marceau's subsequent films alternated between comedies ("Joyeuses Paques" 1984, with Jean-Paul Belmondo) and historical features ("Fort Saganne" 1983, with Gerard Depardieu). She won acclaim as a teenaged prostitute in "L'Amour Braques" (1985), directed by her longtime companion, Polish director Andrzej Zukawski. Marceau gave spirited, capable performances in Maurice Pialet's "Police" (1984), "L'Etudiante/The Student" (1988) and "Fanfan" (1993). Sophie Marceau was born Sophie Danièle Sylvie Maupu, the second child of Benoît and Simone Maupu. Her father, Benoît, a veteran of the Algerian War, worked as a truck driver, painter, and bartender; her mother, Simone, was a demonstrator in department stores. Her brother Sylvain is three years older. Marceau started her career at 14 when Claude Pinoteau cast her in the starring role of the teenager movie La Boum (1980). 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. Marceau enjoyed school but not studying, although liked reading Molière. She collected stray and abandoned animals with her older brother. She had a dog named Scotch, a cat called Bidule and adopted a German shepherd at the Société de Protection des Animaux. 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, casting director for Claude Pinoteau's La Boum, asked modeling agencies for a new teenager. A month after her photo session, Marceau was invited to audition. Marceau was called back to read for director Claude Pinoteau, who was won over by her "surprising simplicity". Filming began on July 17 and finished in time for her school's fall term. After viewing the rushes, Alain Poiré, the director of the Gaumont Film Company, signed Marceau to a long-term contract. Before the film opened, Marceau changed her name following her agency's advice. She chose "Marceau" to retain her initials. La Boum was a hit not only in France, where 4.5 million tickets were sold, but in Italy, Japan and elsewhere. Marceau, 14, posed for magazine covers, gave interviews and made commercials for the soap Lux Beauté, which made her a star in Japan. In 1981, Marceau made her singing debut with French singer François Valéry on "Dream in Blue," written by Delanoë. In 1985, she recorded her only album Certitude, which contained nine songs written by Étienne Roda-Gil and composer Franck Langolff. In 1982, at f 16, Marceau bought back her contract with Gaumont for one million French francs. She borrowed most of the money. In 1983, Marceau received the César Award (France's equivalent of an Oscar) for Most Promising Actress. 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 a Marceau a Moliere Award for Most Promising 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. She broke into English-language films as the Princess of Wales in Mel Gibson's Oscar-winning epic "Braveheart" (1995). The luminous actress brought a much needed injection of passion and smoldering sexuality amidst the battle scenes. Impressed with Marceau, Gibson (as producer) hired her for the lead in yet another screen version of "Anna Karenina" (1997). Also in 1997, Marceau was cast as a Swiss governess in the romance "Firelight", which marked the directorial debut of screenwriter William Nicholson. In 1995, Marceau achieved international recognition 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, Marceau continued with William Nicholson's Firelight, filmed in England, Véra Belmont's Marquise, filmed in France, and Bernard Rose's Anna Karenina. In 1999, two films defined her as an international star. For A Midsummer Night's Dream, she played Hippolyta. That same year, she became a Bond girl by playing Elektra King in The World Is Not Enough. In 2000, Marceau teamed up again with her then-boyfriend Andrzej Zulawski to film La Fidélité. She was featured as Hippolyta in "A Midsummer Night’s Dream" opposite Kevin Kline and Michelle Pfeiffer and in the lighthearted "Lost and Found" opposite comedian David Spade (both in 1999). After co-starring in the French features "La Fidélité" (2000) for Poland’s acclaimed director Andrzej Zulawski and "Le fantôme du Louvre" (2001), for director Jean-Paul Salomé, Marceau returned to the States for the romantic feature, "Alex and Emma" (2003), which starred Kate Hudson and Luke Wilson. In 2001, Marceau wrote a semi-autobiographical novel, Telling Lies, 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 describes what the narrator is going through:" It's the day of separation, and from that second she realises she has gone, like an everyday lifetime with memories coming back. Because she's in the middle of something new that hasn't been yet, and something done already. How time can be elastic; how it can betray you, be capricious and play with you." Marceau produced an exploration of female identity. 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 last year, the shoulder strap on Marceau's dress fell off, exposing what was still considered "the perfect bosom". Marceau married the producer Andrzej Żuławski, 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. In 2007, French newspapers and magazines reported that Marceau was dating Christopher Lambert, with whom she acted in La Disparue de Deauville. |
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