Marion Cotillard Biography

Marion Cotillard Full Biography

Marion Cotillard

Marion Cotillard is a French actress. She garnered critical acclaim for her roles in films such as La Vie en rose, Rust and Bone, A Very Long Engagement, My S** Life... or How I Got Into an Argument, Taxi, Furia and Love Me If You Dare. 

Born: September 30, 1975 , Paris, France

Height: 1.69 m

Partner: Guillaume Canet (2007–)

Awards: Academy Award for Actress in a Leading Role, More

Children: Marcel Canet

Family and early life

Cotillard was born in Paris, and grew up around Orléans, Loiret, in an artistically inclined, "bustling, creative household". Her father, Jean-Claude Cotillard, is an actor, teacher, former mime, and 2006 Molière Award-winning director. Cotillard's mother, Niseema Theillaud, is also an actress and drama teacher. She has two younger twin brothers, Quentin and Guillaume. Guillaume is a screenwriter and director. Cotillard began acting during her childhood, appearing on stage in one of her father's plays

Personal life

Cotillard lives with French actor and director Guillaume Canet. Many reports say the couple prefer to live a simple lifestyle, and they are often spotted in cafes and shopping together in Paris. Neither star discusses their relationship with the media, although photos of the couple being affectionate regularly surface in the European tabloids. The birth of the couple's first child, a boy named Marcel, was announced on 20 May 2011.

She is a fan of Radiohead and Canadian singer Hawksley Workman; she has appeared in two of the latter's music videos, including "No Reason to Cry Out Your Eyes (On the Highway Tonight)". Workman said in interviews about his album Between the Beautifuls that he worked and wrote songs with Cotillard while they both were in Los Angeles during the movie awards season.

In 2008, Cotillard generated controversy due to the re-publishing of a 2007 interview in which she publicly questioned the official explanation of the September 11 attacks on the United States and implied the destruction of the World Trade Center towers was an intentional demolition. In August 2012, a Harris Interactive poll for Gala magazine, on France’s most popular couple, saw Cotillard and Canet ranked the third most popular. In 2012 she was voted "S***est Woman In The World" in the Hungarian magazine Periodika

Academy Award-winning French actress Marion Cotillard was born on September 30, 1975 in Paris to Jean-Claude Cotillard, an actor, playwright and director, and Niseema Theillaud, an actress and drama teacher. While still a teenager, Cotillard made her cinema debut in the film L'histoire du garçon qui voulait qu'on l'embrasse (1994). Her first prominent screen role was as "Lilly Bertineau" in Taxi (1998/I), a role which she reprised in two sequels.

In 2007, Cotillard received international recognition for her iconic portrayal of legendary French singer Édith Piaf in La Vie en Rose (2007). The role won Cotillard the Academy Award for Best Actress along with a César (France's equivalent to the Oscar), a BAFTA Award, and a Golden Globe. That made her only the second actress to win an acting Oscar performing in a language other than English next to Sophia Loren (Two Women (1960)). Only two male performers (Roberto Benigni for Life Is Beautiful (1997) and Robert De Niro for The Godfather: Part II (1974)) have won an Oscar for solely non-English parts.

Cotillard has worked much more frequently in English-language movies following her Academy Award recognition. In 2009, she acted opposite Johnny Depp in Public Enemies (2009), and later that year had a role in musical Nine (2009). The following year, she took on the main antagonist role in Christopher Nolan's Inception (2010), and in 2011 she had memorable parts in Midnight in Paris (2011) and Contagion (2011). In 2012, Cotillard received wide-spread acclaim at the Cannes Film Festival for her role in Rust and Bone (2012), and reteamed with Christopher Nolan in The Dark Knight Rises (2012). 

With long-time boyfriend Guillaume Canet, Cotillard gave birth to her first child, Marcel, in May 2011.

if she had not been an actress, she would have liked to become a singer.

She's an ecologist.

Had to learn how to sing in one month to play Marie in Pretty Things (2001).

Best friends are Cécile Cassel, Élodie Navarre.

Spokesperson for Greenpeace. Is also one of several actors, singers, and designers involved in "Dessins pour le climat," an album project originated by Greenpeace and Glénat, available for sale beginning April 2005 (all proceeds to go to Greenpeace).

French citizen.

Co-wrote and performed the song "La Fille De Joie" for her film Pretty Things (2001). Also performed the song "La Conne" for this film.

Has two younger brothers: Guillaume and Quentin, they are identical twins (born on 6 November 1977).

Born to Jean-Claude Cotillard, an actor and teacher, and his wife Niseema Theillaud, also actress and drama teacher.

Is a member of Greenpeace.

Moved to Paris at the age of 16.

Cousin of Laurent Cotillard.

Grew up in Orléans.

Being a huge fan of Canadian singer Hawksley Workman, she starred in two of his clips.

Companion of her Love Me If You Dare (2003) co-star Guillaume Canet since 2007.

Having won the Best Actress Oscar for La Vie en Rose (2007) on 24 February 2008, she has become the second French actress to do so. The other one is Simone Signoret for Room at the Top (1959). Claudette Colbert, who won in 1934 for It Happened One Night (1934), was French-born, but raised in the U.S.

Her brother Quentin works as a sculptor, living in San Francisco, California with his Irish-American wife Elaine O'Malley Cotillard, a former Dutch National Ballet dancer and fashion designer.

Her younger brother, Guillaume Cotillard, is a screenwriter and director.

The first leading lady to receive the best actress Oscar for a non-English speaking role since Sophia Loren in 1962 for Two Women (1960).

Is the fifth actress to win the Best Actress Oscar for portraying a female singer in a biography; the first being Luise Rainer as Anna Held in The Great Ziegfeld (1936), followed by Barbra Streisand in Funny Girl (1968), Sissy Spacek as Loretta Lynn in Coal Miner's Daughter (1980) and Reese Witherspoon as June Carter Cash in Walk the Line (2005).

Is one of six performers to win an Oscar playing a character that mostly spoke in a foreign language. The others are Sophia Loren, Robert De Niro, Roberto Benigni and Benicio Del Toro.

One of 105 people invited to join AMPAS in 2008.

First French actress to win Best Leading Actress at BAFTA Film Awards since the integration of Best British Actress and Best Foreign Actress to one category: Best Leading Actress in 2008.

The dress she wore to the Academy Awards (where she won the Best Actress Oscar) was especially designed for her by Jean-Paul Gaultier. [2008]

Was considered for the role of Hanna Schmitz in The Reader (2008) after Nicole Kidman dropped out due to pregnancy. However the part eventually went to Kate Winslet.

First artist to win a Best Actress Oscar for a performance in the French language.

Has been romantically linked to singer Sinclair and to Gaspard Ulliel.

When she won the Best Actress Oscar for La Vie en Rose (2007), the statuette was presented to her by former co-star Forest Whitaker (2008).

Announced that she and long-time boyfriend Guillaume Canet are expecting their first child together. [10 January 2011].

Ranked #48 in a 2011 study on the favorite celebrities of French kids aged 7 to 14, who gave her a grade of 6.21 on 10. The same study ranked her as the 53rd best-known celebrity by these kids, with 33.8% of the surveyed knowing her, either by name or by picture.

Gave birth to her son Marcel Canet, with partner Guillaume Canet, in Paris (19 May 2011).

Was six months pregnant with her son Marcel when she completed filming on Contagion (2011).

Was originally set to star in Cosmopolis (2012) but was replaced by Sarah Gadon after dropping out due to her pregnancy.

Was in consideration for the role of Ryan in Gravity (2013) but Sandra Bullock was cast instead.

Returned to work two months after giving birth to her son Marcel to begin filming The Dark Knight Rises (2012).

Ranked as having one of the most "Beautiful Famous Faces" by "The Annual Independent Critics List of the 100 Most Beautiful Famous Faces From Around the World." She was ranked #12 in 2010, #15 in 2009, #4 in 2008, #3 in 2007, #8 in 2006, #17 in 2005, #35 in 2004, #20 in 2003, and #31 in 2002.

Three of her films, Chloé (1996) (TV), Love Me If You Dare (2003) and Inception (2010) have featured a song by Edith Piaf - Marion won the Best Actress award portraying Edith in La vie en rose (2007) (V).

Is one of 5 French actors to have won an Academy Award. The others in chronological order are: Claudette Colbert for It Happened One Night (1934), Simone Signoret for Room at the Top (1959), Juliette Binoche for The English Patient (1996) and Jean Dujardin for The Artist (2011/I).

Is one of 12 French actresses to have received an Academy Award nomination. The others in chronological order are: Claudette Colbert, Colette Marchand, Leslie Caron, Simone Signoret, Anouk Aimée, Isabelle Adjani, Marie-Christine Barrault, Catherine Deneuve, Juliette Binoche, Bérénice Bejo and Emmanuelle Riva.

Is a fan of the British sitcom "Absolutely Fabulous" (1992).

Ranked #39 on Askmen's list of the Top 99 Most Desirable women for 2013.

She and Tilda Swinton are the only actors to receive a Golden Globe, SAG, BAFTA and Critics' Choice nomination for the same performance and then fail to be Oscar-nominated for it.

Her name is pronounced "mah-ree-ahn ko-tee-ar".

Personal Quotes

I don't think you learn how to act. You learn how to use your emotions and feelings, and my first teacher was my mother [Niseema Theillaud] and then I worked with my father [Jean-Claude Cotillard], who helped me to find in myself all those emotions and how to play with the emotions.

(On accepting the best actress Oscar for La Vie en Rose (2007) (aka "La Vie en Rose")) Thank you life, thank you love, and - it is true - there [are] some angels in this city.

Did a man really walk on the moon? I saw plenty of documentaries on it, and I really wondered. And in any case I don't believe all they tell me, that's for sure.

The first thing I have to do to erase my French accent is think that it is actually possible, whereas for the moment, I think it's not. I have a lot of work.

My parents always told me that if you want something, you can do whatever you have to do to get it. As long as it's not against someone else.

I have a tendency to often share the point of view of the conspiracy theory.

I do like extreme characters, but I think they are extreme because they are full of passion - they are rich inside. Tina Lombardi [from A Very Long Engagement (2004)] was such a beautiful character. What I love in her is that she's not a cliché of the femme fatale. She's just a girl who loves her man and feels desperate about losing him. It's not just about revenge. She is in that huge country, searching for something. She's lost, destroyed inside.

I started in musicals when I was very young. Both my parents are stage actors, and I was fascinated by their jobs. My father was a mime. When I was 5, a director friend of my family put me in his movie. I played a little girl with a dog, but I remember my scenes and I was entranced by acting. It was a dream to me - the passion of the profession was contagious.

The first English-language movie I saw might have been E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial (1982). I remember I was so into it, I cried so loud that the audience around me wanted to take me out of the theater.

[on her Public Enemies (2009) character] She's a real product of this really tough period in American history. Out of the Depression came all of these people who struggled to live. Billie had no money, and she came from an Indian tribe, which, at the time, was not easy. By the time she came to Chicago and met Dillinger, she had already lived several lives - she had been to military boarding school, to learn military manners, to "get the Indian out." She's a mix of someone really sweet and tough.

When I was a little girl, I always wanted to be in a musical, an American musical. I knew Singin' in the Rain (1952) by heart.

I think that when you don't see the boundaries, you cross them without even knowing they exist in the first place.

I need to feel that for a director it's a matter of life and death; he needs to tell this story.

I adore my own life, more and more I love being myself, but I love this work of totally changing personalities, of creating something radically different from myself. I want to go profoundly into my roles. If not, what's the point?

[on 'Rust and Bone' in which she plays a woman who has lost both legs in an accident] In the beginning of the film she is empty, she doesn't know who she is or why she;'s alive. She is numb. It's as if she were drugged. I have never experimented with hard drugs, but I've been at certain moments of my life in a state of shock close to something where you lose your footing, your sense of reality. I think that's the gift of the actor, the ability to put ourselves in a state.

[on working with director Jacques Audiard] Once he stopped a scene and said, 'How dramatic are YOU? Dramatic, dramatic, dramatic! It's boring!' We laughed, and it could seem a bit rude, but he was right. We were happy to have someone with that kind of genius to help us avoid going in the direction of things that are perhaps realistic but are not at all cinematic. And that's why he's a great director.

I don't know if we have many lives of if I will be reincarnated into a next life, but I really do think that when you die, it doesn't stop.

A friend called me up who is an amazing singer who goes by the name Yodelice. He said, "Would you come to the studio? I would love for you to sing one of my songs." So I went down and ended up going from a background singer to being in a duet. Then my friend said he was playing at the Olympia in Paris. So he asked me if I would sing with him there and I said, "Oh, yeah, of course." I went to rehearsals with them and he asked me, "Would you play bass guitar?" I had never played bass guitar before but it has always been my dream to play bass guitar. He said, "Just try it for a few songs." I took the bass guitar and suddenly it was so organic. So he said to me, "Would you play piano on this song?" I said, "I don't even play piano!" He told me to try. I took piano lessons when I was like 5 or 6 but that was a long time ago. I stopped when I was 13. But suddenly it was very organic when I started playing it. So he said, "How about playing the drums?" He made me try, and it went on and on like this for a week. I was part of the band, playing all of the instruments. One day I arrived at rehearsal and my friend said, "Okay, now that you've done everything else, how about singing a song by yourself alone?" I said, "Man, you are way out of your mind." But we did it and I ended up on tour with Yodelice for two months, traveling around to shows in different cities in France and Belgium.

I didn't have a major part in the Batman movie, but I had to be available for it at all times. The script changed constantly, and I needed to be ready to get on the next plane and be on set as soon as they needed me.

I'm not somebody who opens up to people very easily. With this form of expression,I think I've found a way to speak to a lot of people and share something of myself, while still keeping my distance. I don't have anything against people who bare their souls to the media. I just know I can't do it. I want to share things that seem practical to me. It's the same if I go to a dinner party with guests I don't know. I'm not going to share my life story with them.

At school I was that black thing in the corner. I was not popular at all. I think I was very boring... not boring because I didn't talk, no, no it was terrible. I was not interesting at all. I thought I had no personality. I thought everybody was so cool, and I was not. You think things about yourself and then you start to give a little bit of love at least enough, to enjoy life. But I was, oooh.

I couldn't leave the character on La Vie en Rose (2007). It was weird because I used to kind of judge actors who would stay in character on set or who would have a hard time leaving the character behind when the movie was done. I had this very dumb idea that "Okay, it's a big part of your life but it's your job. Go home and go back to yourself." It turns out it's not that easy. In the process I was in character almost all the time. Even when I went home, there was something that was not entirely me.

Don't touch me, I am so sick. L.A. doesn't know how to deal with cold weather, I guess... I never think it's going to be cold!