Marion Cotillard facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Marion Cotillard
|
|
|---|---|
Cotillard in 2019
|
|
| Born | 30 September 1975 |
| Other names | Simone |
| Occupation | Actress |
| Years active | 1982–present |
|
Works
|
Full list |
| Partner(s) | Guillaume Canet (2007–present) |
| Children | 2 |
| Awards | Full list |
Marion Cotillard (born 30 September 1975) is a famous French actress. She has starred in many movies, both in Europe and in Hollywood. Marion has won several big awards, including an Academy Award (also known as an Oscar), a British Academy Film Award (BAFTA), two César Awards (French Oscars), and a Golden Globe Award. In France, she was honored as a Knight of the Order of Arts and Letters in 2010 and later as an Officer in 2016. She also became a Knight of the Legion of Honour in 2016.
Marion started acting when she was just seven years old. Her first role in English was in the TV series Highlander in 1993, when she was 17. She made her first movie appearance in The Story of a Boy Who Wanted to Be Kissed (1994). She became very well-known after starring in the French film Taxi (1998). She won a César Award for Best Supporting Actress for her role in A Very Long Engagement (2004). Her first big English-speaking role was in A Good Year (2006). Marion won an Oscar for Best Actress for playing the French singer Édith Piaf in La Vie en Rose (2007). She is the only actor to win an Oscar for a role in a French-language film. She has also appeared in popular English movies like Inception (2010), Contagion (2011), and The Dark Knight Rises (2012). On stage, Marion has played Joan of Arc many times. She has also been a spokesperson for Greenpeace since 2001.
Contents
Early Life and Beginnings
Marion Cotillard was born in Paris, France, on September 30, 1975. She grew up near Orléans in a family of artists. Her father, Jean-Claude Cotillard, was an actor, teacher, and theater director. Her mother, Monique Niseema Theillaud, was an actress and drama teacher. Marion has two younger twin brothers, Quentin and Guillaume. Her father introduced her to movies. As a child, she loved to pretend to be famous actresses like Louise Brooks and Greta Garbo in her room. She started acting in her father's plays when she was very young.
At 15, Marion went to a drama school in Orléans. She finished her studies in 1994 and then moved to Paris to become a professional actress.
Career Highlights
Early Roles and First Successes (1982–1999)
Marion Cotillard first appeared on screen in 1982, at age 7, in a short film called Le monde des tout-petits. The next year, she was in another short film for French TV. After some small roles in TV and theater, Marion got her first English-speaking part in the series Highlander in 1993. She was 17 at the time. Her movie career began in the mid-1990s with small roles in films like The Story of a Boy Who Wanted to Be Kissed (1994).
In 1998, she starred in the action comedy Taxi. She played Lilly Bertineau, the girlfriend of the main character. The film was a huge success in France. Marion was nominated for a César Award for Most Promising Actress. She played Lilly again in Taxi 2 (2000) and Taxi 3 (2003). In 1999, she won the Best Actress Award at the Autrans Mountain Film Festival for her role in the war drama War in the Highlands.
.jpg)
In 2001, Marion starred in Pretty Things. She played twin sisters with very different personalities. For this role, she received another César Award nomination for Most Promising Actress.
Becoming a Star (2000–2009)
Marion started working in Hollywood with a supporting role in Tim Burton's film Big Fish (2003). She played Joséphine, the French wife of one of the main characters. This was her first English-language movie. Big Fish was a big success and helped Marion's career. She also starred in the French romantic comedy Love Me If You Dare (2003). In this film, she played Sophie Kowalsky, who plays a daring game with her childhood friend. This movie was also very popular in France.
In 2004, Marion won a César Award for Best Supporting Actress for her role in A Very Long Engagement. She also narrated a children's audio book. In 2005, she played Joan of Arc for the first time in a musical show in Orléans, France. She performed this role many times in different countries over the years.
.jpg)
In 2006, Marion had a big English-language role in A Good Year, starring opposite Russell Crowe. But her most famous role came in 2007, when she played the French singer Édith Piaf in the movie La Vie en Rose. The director chose her because he saw a similarity between her eyes and Piaf's. When the film premiered, Marion received a 15-minute standing ovation. La Vie en Rose was a huge hit. Marion won a Golden Globe, a BAFTA Award, and on February 10, 2008, she won the Academy Award for Best Actress (Oscar). She was the first French actress since 1961 to win this award for a non-English speaking role. She is still the only person to win an Oscar for a French-language performance.
After winning the Oscar, Marion continued her Hollywood career. She starred with Johnny Depp and Christian Bale in Public Enemies (2009). Later that year, she was in the musical film Nine. She played Luisa Contini, the wife of the main character, and sang two songs in the movie. Her performance in Nine was highly praised.
Major Roles and Recognition (2010–2019)
In 2010, Marion played Mal Cobb in Christopher Nolan's hit film Inception, alongside Leonardo DiCaprio. The movie made a lot of money worldwide. That same year, she also starred in the French drama Little White Lies.
In 2011, Marion appeared in Woody Allen's Midnight in Paris and Steven Soderbergh's thriller Contagion. She was named the highest-paid French actress in 2010 by Le Figaro magazine.
.jpg)
In 2012, Marion played Talia al Ghul in Christopher Nolan's Batman movie The Dark Knight Rises. She then starred in the French drama Rust and Bone. In this film, she played an orca trainer who loses her legs. Her performance received amazing reviews and a 10-minute standing ovation at the 2012 Cannes Film Festival. Many critics said she should have been nominated for an Oscar for this role.
In 2013, Marion was named Woman of the Year by Harvard University's Hasty Pudding Theatricals. She had her first main role in an American movie in James Gray's The Immigrant. She played Ewa Cybulska, a Polish woman who moves to New York in the 1920s. Marion learned 20 pages of Polish dialogue for the role. Her performance was highly praised, and she won several awards from film critics. She also had a small role in the comedy film Anchorman 2: The Legend Continues.
In 2014, Marion starred in the drama Two Days, One Night. She played Sandra, a factory worker who has one weekend to convince her co-workers to give up their bonuses so she can keep her job. The film received a 15-minute standing ovation at the 2014 Cannes Film Festival. Marion's performance was called "a career-high" and she received her second Oscar nomination for Best Actress.
In 2015, Marion played Lady Macbeth in a movie version of William Shakespeare's play Macbeth. Her performance was highly praised, especially her famous "Out, Damned Spot" speech. That same year, she voiced characters in the animated films The Little Prince, Minions, and April and the Extraordinary World.
In 2016, Marion starred in the romantic drama From the Land of the Moon and the Canadian-French film It's Only the End of the World. She also starred with Brad Pitt in the spy film Allied, set during World War II. Later that year, she reunited with her Macbeth co-star Michael Fassbender in the film Assassin's Creed, based on the video game.
In 2017, Marion received a special award for her career in France. She also starred in the comedy Rock'n Roll and the drama Ismael's Ghosts. In 2018, she played Marlene in the drama Angel Face. In 2019, she was part of the jury at the 2019 Cannes Film Festival.
Recent Work (2020–Present)
In 2020, Marion voiced a fox in the comedy film Dolittle. In 2021, she starred as an opera singer in the musical film Annette, which earned her a Golden Globe Award nomination. Marion also produced the documentary Bigger Than Us, which is about young people working for change in the world. She also voiced a German artist in the animated film Charlotte.
.jpg)
In 2022, Marion starred in Brother and Sister, playing one of two siblings who reunite after their parents' death. She also launched her own production company, Newtopia, which aims to create content about environmentalism and social issues. In 2023, she appeared in the TV series Extrapolations and played Cleopatra in the adventure comedy film Asterix & Obelix: The Middle Kingdom. She also voiced a character in the animated film The Inventor and played a fashion editor in the drama Lee. Marion starred in the docudrama Little Girl Blue, where her performance was highly praised. She received her eighth César Award nomination for this role, making her the first actress to be nominated for a documentary film.
Other Activities
Music
Marion Cotillard enjoys music. She sings and plays guitar, bass guitar, keyboard, and tambourine. She has written and performed songs for some of her films, like Pretty Things. She has also worked with musicians like Hawksley Workman and the French rock band Yodelice. She even toured with Yodelice under the name "Simone," which was her grandmother's name. Marion also recorded a song with the band Franz Ferdinand for a Dior campaign.
Helping Others (Philanthropy)
Marion Cotillard is very active in helping the environment and social causes. She has been a member and spokesperson for Greenpeace since 2001. In 2003, she let Greenpeace test her home for toxic chemicals to raise awareness. She is also Greenpeace's Ocean Ambassador and supports the Maud Fontenoy Foundation, which teaches children about protecting the oceans. She also supports the Wayanga association, which helps indigenous people and protects the Amazon Forest.
In 2010, Marion traveled to Congo with Greenpeace to see rainforests threatened by logging. In 2009, she designed a doll for UNICEF France to help vaccinate children. In 2013, she put herself in a cage near the Louvre museum in Paris to protest for the release of 30 Greenpeace activists jailed in Russia. She held a sign that said "I am a climate defender."
In 2014, she signed The Tiger Manifesto, a campaign by Greenpeace to stop products from being made by destroying forests, especially in Indonesia, where the Sumatran tiger is in danger. In 2015, she went to the Philippines with the French President to encourage action on climate change. She also voiced the French version of a short film called Home for Conservation International, reminding people to care for the Earth.
In 2018, she signed a letter asking for strong action to stop climate change and the loss of different kinds of plants and animals. She also supports the French group Collectif 50/50, which works for gender equality. In 2018, Marion was one of 82 women who marched at the Cannes Film Festival to protest against gender inequality in the film industry. In 2020, she participated in a public service announcement to educate people about COVID-19. In 2022, Marion and other French actresses cut locks of their hair in a video to support Iranian protesters.
Endorsements
.jpg)
In 2008, Marion was chosen to be the face of Dior's "Lady Dior" handbag. She starred in a series of short films set in different cities to promote the handbags. She even designed her own handbag for Dior in 2012. Her contract with Dior ended in 2017.
In 2013, Marion became the first actress to wear jewelry from the Chopard Green Carpet Collection at the Cannes Film Festival. This jewelry is made from ethically sourced gold. In 2020, she designed her own sustainable jewelry collection for Chopard, using ethical gold and diamonds.
In 2020, Marion became the new face of the Chanel No. 5 perfume. Her first commercial for Chanel No. 5 was released in October 2020. It showed her dancing on the moon and singing a cover of the song "Team."
Personal Life
Marion Cotillard was a vegetarian for twelve years when she was younger. She lives in Paris with her partner, French actor and director Guillaume Canet. They have been together since 2007. They first worked together in the 2003 film Love Me If You Dare. Marion and Guillaume are not married. They have two children: a son named Marcel, born in 2011, and a daughter named Louise, born in 2017.
In 2018, Marion said she would slow down her filming schedule to spend more time with her children. She explained in 2023 that she often chooses serious roles, and she wanted to protect her children from the intense emotions of her characters. She said, "Since becoming a mother, I have put boundaries to protect my children."
Images for kids
-
Cotillard in 2018
