Yasmina Reza facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Yasmina Reza
Yasmina Reza in 2014
Born	(1959-05-01) 1 May 1959 (age 66) Paris, France
Occupation	Writer, actress
Language	French
Notable works	Art (1994) God of Carnage (2008)
Children	2

Yasmina Reza (born May 1, 1959) is a famous French writer, actress, and screenwriter. She is best known for her plays 'Art' and God of Carnage. Her plays often look at funny or tricky situations people face in everyday life. The 2011 movie Carnage, directed by Roman Polanski, was based on her play God of Carnage. This play won a Tony Award for Best Play.

Life and Career

Yasmina Reza's father was an engineer and pianist from Iran. Her mother was a violinist from Hungary. Both of her parents were Jewish. Her father faced difficulties during World War II.

When she started her career, Yasmina Reza acted in many plays. She performed in new plays and also in classic plays by writers like Molière.

In 1987, she wrote her play Conversations after a Burial. This play won the Molière Award for Best Author. The Molière Award is like the top theater award in France. Later, she helped translate Roman Polanski's play version of Kafka's Metamorphosis.

Her second play, Winter Crossing, won a Molière Award in 1990. Her next play, The Unexpected Man, was very popular in many countries, including England, France, and the United States.

In 1994, her play 'Art' first opened in Paris. It also won the Molière Award for Best Author. Since then, Art has been performed all over the world and translated into more than 30 languages. The London show of Art won the Laurence Olivier Award in 1996–97. This award is like the British version of the Tony Awards. Art also won the Tony Award for Best Play in the U.S. Another play, Life X 3, was also performed in Europe, North America, and Australia.

Yasmina Reza has also written screenplays for movies. One of her movies, See You Tomorrow, starred the famous actress Jeanne Moreau.

In 1997, her first novel, Hammerklavier, was published. She published another book, Une Désolation, in 2001. Her 2007 book, L'Aube le Soir ou la Nuit (Dawn Evening or Night), got a lot of attention in France. She wrote it after spending a year following the political campaign of Nicolas Sarkozy.

On November 24, 2007, her play Le Dieu du Carnage (God of Carnage) opened in Zürich. It won an award for being the best German-language play that season. It then opened in London in March 2008. The London production won the Laurence Olivier Award for Best New Comedy. God of Carnage also opened on Broadway in New York City. It won Best Play at the 2009 Tony Awards.

Yasmina Reza worked with Roman Polanski to write the movie script for Carnage (2011). This movie was based on her play God of Carnage. She won a César Award (a top French film award) for her screenwriting. The movie also won an award at the 68th Venice International Film Festival.

Her 2016 novel, Babylone, won the Prix Renaudot, another important French literary award.

Awards and Honours

• 1987 Molière Award for Best Author (Conversations After a Burial)
• 1988 Molière Award for Translation (Metamorphosis)
• 1990 Molière Award for Best Fringe Production (Winter Crossing)
• 1994 Molière Award for Best Author, Best Play and Best Production (Art)
• 1998 Laurence Olivier Award for Best Comedy (Art)
• 1998 Tony for Best Play (Art)
• 2000 Grand Prix du Théâtre de l’Académie Française
• 2005 Welt-Literaturpreis
• 2009 Laurence Olivier Award for Best Comedy (God of Carnage)
• 2009 Tony for Best Play (God of Carnage)
• 2012 Cinema Writers Circle Award (Spain) for Best Screenplay (Adapted), for Carnage
• 2012 César Award (France) for Best Screenplay (Adapted), for Carnage
• 2016 Prix Renaudot, Babylone
• 2020 Prix Jonathan Swift
• 2021 Premio Malaparte

Works

Plays

• Conversations après un enterrement (1987). Conversations After a Burial, translated by Christopher Hampton (2000).
• La Traversée de l'hiver (1989). The Passage of Winter.
• « Art » (1994). 'Art', translated by Christopher Hampton (1997).
• L'Homme du hasard (1995). The Unexpected Man, translated by Christopher Hampton (1997).
• Trois versions de la vie (2000). Life x 3, translated by Christopher Hampton (2003).
• Une pièce espagnole (2004). A Spanish Play.
• Le Dieu du Carnage (2006). God of Carnage, translated by Christopher Hampton (2007).
• Bella figura (2015).

Novels

• Hammerklavier (1997).
• Une désolation (1999). Desolation, translated by Carol Brown Janeway (2002).
• Adam Haberberg (2003).
• Nulle part (2005).
• Dans la luge d'Arthur Schopenhauer (2005). On Arthur Schopenhauer's Sledge.
• L'Aube le soir ou la nuit (2007). Dawn Dusk or Night: My Year With Nicolas Sarkozy, translated by Carol Brown Janeway (2008).
• Heureux les heureux (2013). Happy Are the Happy, translated by John Cullen (2015).
• Babylone (2016). Babylon, translated by Linda Asher (2018).
• Anne-Marie la Beauté (2020). Anne-Marie the Beauty, translated by Linda Asher (2021).
• Serge (2021)

Screenplays

• Jusqu'à la nuit (1983). Till Night.
• Le Pique-nique de Lulu Kreutz (2000). Lulu Kreutz's Picnic.
• Chicas (2010). (She was both the screenwriter and director for this one.)
• Carnage (2011).

As Actor

• Que les gros salaires lèvent le doigt ! (1982). Let the Fat Cats Lift a Finger!
• Jusqu'à la nuit (1983). Till Night.
• À demain (1991). Till Tomorrow.
• Loin (2001). Faraway.

See also

In Spanish: Yasmina Reza para niños