Biography: life and films
Juliette Binoche was born on 9th March 1964,
in Paris. Her father was a sculptor and her mother a French teacher who gave drama
classes. After a happy childhood growing up in Loir-et-Cher, Juliette and her sister
Marion moved to Paris to persue their studies. Juliette developed a strong interest
in the theatre, studying drama and mounting a school production of Ionesco's
Le
Roi se meurt at the age of 16. Having chosen to opt for a career as an
actress, she studied drama at the théâtre au Conservatoire de Paris.
To earn a living, she worked as a shop assistant at the Bazar de l'Hotel de Ville in Paris,
which she later claimed allowed her to make a close study of human behaviour.
Attracted by her beauty, the influential
New Wave director Jean-Luc Godard gave her a small role in his contraversial film
Je
vous salue Marie. Her big break came in 1985 with a leading role in André
Téchiné's film
Rendez-vous
, which earned her instant recognition with critics and public alike. This
was followed by appearances in two of Leos Carax's films which cemented her reputation
as a promising acting talent,
Mauvais Sang (1986) and
Les
Amants de Pont-Neuf(1991). International stardom came her way in 1988 for
her role in Philip Kaufman's
The Unbearable Lightness of Being.
Since, Juliette Binoche's career has blossomed
and she is now regarded as one of the finest actresses of her generation, much sought
after by the world's leading film directors. She appeared opposite Jeremy Irons
in Louis Malle's Fatale (1992)
and later starred in Krzysztof Kieslowski's Trois
Couleurs: Blue (1993) (for which she won a César and the best actress award
at Venice). Further success followed with Jean-Paul Rappeneau's Le Hussard sur
le toit (1995), before Téchiné's comparatively unsuccessful Alice
et Martin (1998).
Binoche was awarded an Oscar in 1997 for
her supporting role in Anthony Minghella's The
English Patient (1996). In 1999, she starred opposite Daniel Auteuil in
Patrice Leconte's moving historical drama La
Veuve de Saint-Pierre.
With the success of Lasse Hallström's
English language film Chocolat
(2000), for which she was nominated for an Oscar, Binoche has been able to consolidate
her international reputation.
© James Travers 2002
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