Sophie Marceau

French actor Sophie Marceau initially found fame in her home country before taking her success international during the 1990s with films such as Braveheart and The World Is Not Enough. In the years since, she has starred in a huge number of successful French films, including LOL, Arretez-Moi, and With Love…From the Age of Reason. She has also enjoyed acclaim as a writer and director, most notably for 2002’s Parlez-Moi d’Amour (AKA Speak to Me of Love), which won her the Montreal World Film Festival Award for Best Director.

Marceau was born in Paris. Aged 14, she submitted some photos for a local modelling agency, which led to her being cast in La Boum (known The Party or Ready for Love in English-speaking territories), a 1980 comedy movie that became a hit across Europe. Aged 16, she showed her tenacity by buying herself out of the long-term contract she’d initially signed with La Boum’s production company and set about establishing herself as one of France’s most promising dramatic actors, winning award nominations and critical acclaim for films such as Descente aux Enfers (Descent into Hell) and Chouans!

The success of Marceau’s 1994 film Revenge of the Musketeers was followed by her transition to international film success, first with a role in Mel Gibson’s Braveheart and subsequently in the likes of Firelight, Anna Karenina, A Midsummer Night’s Dream, and the Bond film The World is Not Enough. She turned to writing and directing in the 2000s with much success and remains one of France’s most treasured acting talents.