Fanny Ardant facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Fanny Ardant
Ardant at the 45th César Awards in 2020
Born	Fanny Marguerite Judith Ardant (1949-03-22) 22 March 1949 (age 76) Saumur, Maine-et-Loire, France
Occupation	Actress
Years active	1974–present
Partner(s)	François Truffaut (1981–1984; his death)
Children	3

Fanny Marguerite Judith Ardant, born on March 22, 1949, is a famous French actress and film director. She has won many important awards, including two César Awards and a Lumières Award, which are like the Oscars of France.

Early Life and Education

Fanny Ardant was born in Saumur, France. Her father worked for the military in different countries. She spent her childhood in Monaco until she was 17 years old.

After that, she moved to Aix-en-Provence to study at a special school called the Institut d'études politiques d'Aix-en-Provence. When she was in her early twenties, she became very interested in acting. She first performed on stage in 1974.

Acting Career Highlights

Fanny Ardant at a press conference for Shock Waves – Diary of My Mind in 2018

By the early 1980s, Fanny Ardant became a big movie star. She became known around the world for her role in the film La Femme d'à côté (The Woman Next Door). In this movie, she acted alongside Gérard Depardieu.

This film was directed by François Truffaut. It earned Ardant her first nomination for a César Award in 1982. She was nominated again in 1984 for another film called Vivement dimanche!.

Over time, her acting skills and elegant style made her one of France's most admired actresses. She showed she could play many different kinds of roles. For example, she won the 1997 César Award for Best Actress for her funny role in the movie Pédale douce.

International Films

Fanny Ardant speaks English and Italian very well. This allowed her to star in several movies made in Hollywood and Britain. One of her English-language films was Callas Forever in 2002. In this movie, she played the famous opera singer Maria Callas.

In 2003, she received the Stanislavsky Award at the 25th Moscow International Film Festival. This award recognized her amazing acting career and her dedication to acting.

Directing and Other Projects

In 2009, Fanny Ardant started directing and writing films. Her first film as a director was Cendres et sang (Ashes and Blood). She also performed in a play called La Haine with Gérard Depardieu in 2009.

In 2010, she directed a short film called Absent Chimeras. She also acted in this film. She made it to help people understand the challenges faced by Romani people in Europe.

She also appeared in a music video for the song Elle me dit by the singer Mika in 2011. That same year, she acted in a play in Paris and in an Italian film called Interno Giorno. In 2013, she had a small appearance as herself in the movie The Great Beauty.

More recently, in 2018, Ardant starred in the Swiss film Shock Waves – Diary of My Mind. In 2019, she directed an opera called Lady Macbeth of Mtsensk at the Greek National Opera.

Personal Life

Fanny Ardant was the youngest of five children. Her father was a cavalry officer. She grew up in Monte Carlo and went to a convent school there. She loved to read and discovered the writer Marcel Proust when she was 15.

Her father passed away when she was 27. This was a very difficult time for her. She had started acting on stage just before his death. After his passing, she followed his advice and went to university to study Political Science.

Later, she worked for the French embassy in London. She then decided to go to drama school. She returned to France for her studies and soon began acting on stage and television.

When she was 31, the famous director François Truffaut contacted her. He had seen her in a TV show and wanted her for his film The Woman Next Door. While working together, Fanny Ardant and François Truffaut fell in love. In 1983, they had a daughter named Josephine. Sadly, Truffaut passed away a year later.

Selected Filmography

Ardant at the 2005 Cannes Film Festival

Awards and Nominations

See also

In Spanish: Fanny Ardant para niños