Les Français du cinéma américain
by misterdinguerie | created - 31 Jul 2013 | updated - 19 Feb 2020 | Public1. Maurice Tourneur
Director | Au nom de la loi
Screenwriter and director Maurice Tourneur was born Maurice Thomas in the Parisian suburb of Belleville on February 2, 1873, the son of a jewelry merchant. He was trained and employed as a graphic designer and a magazine illustrator as a young man. After serving in a French artillery unit in ...
2. Jacques Tourneur
Director | Cat People
Born in Paris in 1904, Tourneur went to Hollywood with his father, director Maurice Tourneur around 1913. He started out as a script clerk and editor for his father, then graduated to such jobs as directing shorts (often with the pseudonym Jack Turner), both in France and America. He was hired to ...
3. Charles Boyer
Actor | Gaslight
Charles Boyer studied philosophy before he went to the theater where he gave his debut in 1920. Although he had at first no intentions to pursue a career at the movies (his first movie was Man of the Sea (1920) by Marcel L'Herbier) he used his chance in Hollywood after several filming stations all ...
4. Claudette Colbert
Actress | It Happened One Night
One of the brightest film stars to grace the screen was born Emilie Claudette Chauchoin on September 13, 1903, in Saint Mandé, France where her father owned a bakery at 57, rue de la République (now Avenue Général de Gaulle). The family moved to the United States when she was three. As Claudette ...
5. René Clair
Writer | Le silence est d'or
René Clair was born on November 11, 1898 in Paris, France. He was a writer and director, known for Man About Town (1947), Beauties of the Night (1952) and The Grand Maneuver (1955). He was married to Bronia Clair. He died on March 15, 1981 in Neuilly-sur-Seine, Hauts-de-Seine, France.
6. Julien Duvivier
Writer | Panique
Revered by such legendary fellow directors as Ingmar Bergman and Jean Renoir, Julien Duvivier is one of the most legendary figures in the history of French cinema. He is perhaps the most neglected of the "Big Five" of classic French cinema (the other four being Jean Renoir, Rene Clair, Jacques ...
7. Jean Renoir
Writer | La règle du jeu
Son of the famous Impressionist painter Pierre Auguste, he had a happy childhood. Pierre Renoir was his brother, and Claude Renoir was his nephew. After the end of World War I, where he won the Croix de Guerre, he moved from scriptwriting to filmmaking. He married Catherine Hessling, for whom he ...
8. Jean Gabin
Actor | La grande illusion
Jean-Alexis Moncorgé started his career with 15 years at the theatre and debuted at the "Moulin Rouge" in Paris in 1929. Despite of his rude aspect he knew to be the gentleman of the French cinema in the time between the two World Wars. One of his most popular personalities was inspector Maigret. ...
9. Simone Simon
Actress | Cat People
Diminutive, fiery-tempered Simone Simon was born in France, but spent much of her early childhood in Madagascar, where her father managed a graphite mine. Her schooling was somewhat unsettled, her family moving from city to city (Berlin, Budapest, Turin) before finally establishing themselves in ...
10. Marcel Dalio
Actor | Sabrina
Sunday, November the 20th is the anniversary of Marcel Dalio's death in 1983. It was the end of a serendipitous life. You know him. He was a citizen of the world. Born Israel Moshe Blauschild, in Paris, in 1900, he became a much sought-after character actor. His lovely animated face with its great ...
11. Simone Signoret
Actress | Les diaboliques
The face of Simone Signoret on the Paris Metro movie posters in March 1982 looked even older than her 61 years. She was still a box-office draw, but the film L'étoile du Nord (1982) would be her last theatrical release; she played the landlady. Signoret had a long film apprenticeship during ...
12. Jeanne Moreau
Actress | Jules et Jim
When people gave Louis Malle credit for making a star of Jeanne Moreau in Elevator to the Gallows (1958) immediately followed by The Lovers (1958), he would point out that Moreau by that time had already been "recognized as the prime stage actress of her generation." She had made it to the Comédie ...
13. François Truffaut
Writer | La nuit américaine
French director François Truffaut began to assiduously go to the movies at age seven. He was also a great reader but not a good pupil. He left school at 14 and started working. In 1947, aged 15, he founded a film club and met André Bazin, a French critic, who became his protector. Bazin helped the ...
14. Isabelle Huppert
Actress | Elle
Isabelle Huppert was born March 16, 1953, in Paris, France, but spent her childhood in Ville d'Avray. Encouraged by her mother Annick Huppert (who was a teacher of English), she followed the Conservatory of Versailles and won an acting prize for her work in Alfred de Musset's "Un caprice". She then...
15. Isabelle Adjani
Actress | Possession
Isabelle Yasmine Adjani was born in Gennevilliers, Hauts-de-Seine, a suburb of Paris, to Emma Augusta "Gusti" (Schweinberger) and Mohammed Adjani. Her father was a Kabyle Algerian, from Iferhounène, and her mother was a Bavarian German. She grew up speaking German fluently. After winning a school ...
16. Emmanuelle Béart
Actress | 8 femmes
Emmanuelle Béart was born August 14, 1963, in Gassin, France. She lived with her mother, brothers, and sister on a farm not far from Saint-Tropez in Provence (southern France), because her father, singer and poet Guy Béart, did not want his children to be affected by the glamour world of Paris. ...
17. Christopher Lambert
Actor | Highlander
Though born in Great Neck, Long Island, Christopher Lambert's family left the US when he was only two years old. His father was a United Nations diplomat assigned to Switzerland and, as a result, Chris was educated at private boarding schools in Geneva. Inspired through his having appeared in a ...
18. Luc Besson
Writer | Le Cinquième Élément
Luc Besson spent the first years of his life following his parents, scuba diving instructors, around the world. His early life was entirely aquatic. He already showed amazing creativity as a youth, writing early drafts of The Big Blue (1988) and The Fifth Element (1997), as an adolescent bored in ...
19. Olivier Megaton
Director | Transporter 3
Olivier Megaton was born on August 6, 1965 in Versailles, Seine-et-Oise [now Yvelines], France. He is a director and writer, known for Transporter 3 (2008), Taken 3 (2014) and Colombiana (2011).
20. Pierre Morel
Director | Banlieue 13
Pierre Morel was born on May 12, 1964 in France. He is a cinematographer and director, known for District B13 (2004), Taken (2008) and The Gunman (2015).
21. Florent-Emilio Siri
Director | Hostage
Florent-Emilio Siri was born on March 2, 1965. He is a director and writer, known for Hostage (2005), A Minute of Silence (1998) and Intimate Enemies (2007).
22. Jan Kounen
Director | Blueberry
Jan Kounen was born on May 2, 1964 in Utrecht, Utrecht, Netherlands. He is a director and writer, known for Renegade (2004), Vibroboy (1994) and 8 (2008).
23. Maïwenn
Actress | Polisse
Maïwenn (sometimes credited as Maïwenn Besco or her birth name Maïwenn Le Besco, born 17 April 1976) is a French actress, film director and screenwriter.
Maïwenn Le Besco was born in Les Lilas, Seine-Saint-Denis, France, a suburban area east of Paris. Maïwenn is of mixed Breton, Vietnamese, French, ...
24. Léa Seydoux
Actress | La vie d'Adèle
French actress Léa Seydoux was born in 1985 in Paris, France, to Valérie Schlumberger, a philanthropist, and Henri Seydoux, a businessman. Her grandfather, Jérôme Seydoux, is chairman of Pathé, and her father is a great-grandson of businessman and inventor Marcel Schlumberger (her mother also ...
25. Marion Cotillard
Actress | La Môme
Academy Award-winning actress Marion Cotillard was born on September 30, 1975 in Paris. Cotillard is the daughter of Jean-Claude Cotillard, an actor, playwright and director, and Niseema Theillaud, an actress and drama teacher. Her father's family is from Brittany.
Raised in Orléans, France, she ...
26. Tchéky Karyo
Actor | Nikita
Born in Istanbul, Turkey, Tcheky Karyo grew up in Paris. He studied drama at the Cyrano Theatre and became a member of the Daniel Sorano Company, where he played numerous classical roles. He next joined the National Theatre of Strasbourg, where he starred in contemporary theatre as well as in such ...
27. Jean Reno
Actor | Léon
Jean Reno was born Juan Moreno y Herrera-Jiménez in Casablanca, Morocco, to Spanish parents (from Andalucía) who moved to North Africa to seek work. His father was a linotypist. Reno settled in France at 17. He began studying drama and has credits in French television and theater as well as films. ...
28. Mathieu Amalric
Actor | Le scaphandre et le papillon
Mathieu Amalric was born on October 25, 1965 in Neuilly-sur-Seine, Hauts-de-Seine, France. He is an actor and director, known for The Diving Bell and the Butterfly (2007), The Grand Budapest Hotel (2014) and Munich (2005).
29. Eva Green
Actress | Casino Royale
French actress and model Eva Gaëlle Green was born on July 6, 1980, in Paris, France. Her father, Walter Green, is a dentist who appeared in the 1966 film Au hasard Balthazar (1966). Her mother, Marlène Jobert, is an actress turned children's book writer. Eva's mother was born in Algeria, of French...
30. Louis Jourdan
Actor | Gigi
Louis Jourdan was born Louis Robert Gendre in Marseille, France to Yvonne (née Jourdan) and hotel owner Henry Gendre. He was educated in France, Britain, and Turkey. He trained as an actor with René Simon at the École Dramatique. He debuted on screen in 1939, going on to play cultivated, polished, ...
31. Leslie Caron
Actress | Gigi
French ballet dancer Leslie Caron was discovered by the legendary MGM star Gene Kelly during his search for a co-star in one of the finest musicals ever filmed, the Oscar-winning An American in Paris (1951), which was inspired by and based on the music of George Gershwin. Leslie's gamine looks and ...
32. Maurice Chevalier
Actor | Gigi
Maurice Chevalier's first working job was as an acrobat, until a serious accident ended that career. He turned his talents to singing and acting, and made several short films in France. During World War I he enlisted in the French army. He was wounded in battle, captured and placed in a POW camp by...
33. Christian Marquand
Actor | Apocalypse Now
Christian Marquand was born on March 15, 1927 in Marseille, France. He was an actor and director, known for Apocalypse Now (1979), The Longest Day (1962) and The Flight of the Phoenix (1965). He was married to Tina Aumont. He died on November 22, 2000 in Ivry-sur-Seine, Val-de-Marne, France.
34. Michael Lonsdale
Actor | The Day of the Jackal
Tall, bearded, heavy-set Anglo-French character actor, best known internationally for playing Deputy Commissioner Claude Lebel in The Day of the Jackal (1973) and Bond villain Hugo Drax in Moonraker (1979). The son of an English army officer (Edward Lonsdale-Crouch) and a Franco-Irish mother (...
35. Bruno Cremer
Actor | Sorcerer
Bruno Cremer went to Paris following high school. He always knew he was made to be an actor and his mother helped him. He was admitted to the Paris Conservatory. He rose to prominence in the theater playing in Shakespeare's "Pericles," Oscar Wilde's "An Ideal Husband" and Jean Anouilh's "Poor Bitos...
36. Jean-Paul Belmondo
Actor | Pierrot le fou
The son of the renowned French sculptor Paul Belmondo, he studied at Conservatoire National Superieur d'Art Dramatique (CNSAD); after the minor stage performances he made his screen debut in À pied, à cheval et en voiture (1957) but the episodes with his participation were cut before ...
37. Philippe Nahon
Actor | Seul contre tous
Philippe Nahon was born on December 24, 1938 in Paris, France. He was an actor and producer, known for I Stand Alone (1998), Irreversible (2002) and Carne (1991). He was married to Elisabeth Weissman. He died on April 19, 2020 in Paris, France.
38. Niels Arestrup
Actor | Un prophète
Niels Arestrup was born on February 8, 1949 in Montreuil, Seine [now Seine-Saint-Denis], France. He is an actor and writer, known for A Prophet (2009), War Horse (2011) and Diplomacy (2014). He has been married to Isabelle Le Nouvel since September 15, 2012. They have two children.
39. Tahar Rahim
Actor | Un prophète
Tahar Rahim was born on July 4, 1981 in Belfort, Territoire de Belfort, France. He is an actor, known for A Prophet (2009), The Past (2013) and The Mauritanian (2021). He has been married to Leïla Bekhti since 2010.
40. Roschdy Zem
Actor | The Cold Light of Day
Roschdy Zem was born on September 28, 1965 in Gennevilliers, Seine [now Hauts-de-Seine], France. He is an actor and director, known for The Cold Light of Day (2012), Chocolat (2016) and Mauvaise foi (2006).
41. Sami Bouajila
Actor | The Siege
Sami Bouajila was born on May 26, 1966 in La Tronche, Isère, France. He is an actor, known for The Siege (1998), The Adventures of Felix (2000) and A Son (2019).
42. Jamel Debbouze
Actor | Le fabuleux destin d'Amélie Poulain
Jamel Debbouze was born on June 18, 1975 in Paris, France. He is an actor and producer, known for Amélie (2001), Angel-A (2005) and Asterix & Obelix: Mission Cleopatra (2002). He has been married to Mélissa Theuriau since May 7, 2008. They have two children.
43. Gérard Depardieu
Actor | Cyrano de Bergerac
Gérard Depardieu was born in Châteauroux, Indre, France, to Anne Jeanne Josèphe (Marillier) and René Maxime Lionel Depardieu, who was a metal worker and fireman. Young delinquent and wanderer in the past, Depardieu started his acting career at the small traveling theatre "Café de la Gare", along ...
44. Lino Ventura
Actor | Ascenseur pour l'échafaud
One of France's most beloved character stars from the 1950s through and including the 1980s was the Italian-born Lino Ventura. Born Angiolino Joseph Pascal Ventura to Giovanni Ventura and Luisa Borrini, on July 14, 1919, in Parma (northern) Italy, young Lino moved with his family at a young age to ...
45. Sophie Marceau
Actress | La boum
Sophie Marceau was born Sophie Danièle Sylvie Maupu in Paris, France, to Simone (Morisset), a shop assistant, and Benoît Maupu, a truck driver. She grew up far from the studio spotlights. When she was 14 she was living in the Paris suburb of Gentilly with her father. She learned from friends that ...
46. Audrey Tautou
Actress | Le fabuleux destin d'Amélie Poulain
Audrey Justine Tautou was born on August 9, 1976 in Beaumont, France, to Evelyne Marie Laure (Nuret), a teacher, and Bernard Tautou, a dental surgeon. Audrey showed an interest for comedy at an early age and started her acting lessons at 'Cours Florent'. In 1998 she won the best young actress award...
47. Jean-Pierre Jeunet
Director | Un long dimanche de fiançailles
Jean-Pierre Jeunet is a self-taught director who was very quickly interested by cinema, with a predilection for a fantastic cinema where form is as important as the subject. Thus he started directing TV commercials and video clips (such as Julien Clerc in 1984). At the same time he met designer/...
48. Éric Serra
Music_department | GoldenEye
Eric Serra was born on September 9th, 1959 near Paris in France. His mother died when he was only 7 years old. His father, Claude Serra was a well-know songwriter in France in late 50s and 60s. Serra began to learn play the guitar at 11 years old and became a professional musician for Mory Kante;, ...
49. Alexandre Desplat
Composer | The King's Speech
Composer and conductor Alexandre Desplat, Oscar winner and seven-time Academy Award nominated, for his prolific filmography and his collaborations with Stephen Frears, Terrence Malick, Ang Lee, Kathryn Bigelow, Jacques Audiard, Wes Anderson, Roman Polanski, George Clooney or Matteo Garrone is one ...
50. Nathalie Baye
Actress | Catch Me If You Can
Nathalie Baye was born on July 6, 1948 in Mainneville, Eure, France. She is an actress and writer, known for Catch Me If You Can (2002), Laurence Anyways (2012) and Venus Beauty Institute (1999).
51. Capucine
Actress | The Pink Panther
With classic patrician features and an independent, non-conformist personality, Capucine began her film debut in 1949 at the age of 21 with an appearance in the film Rendezvous in July (1949). She attended school in France and received a BA degree in foreign languages. Married for six months in her...
52. Michel Hazanavicius
Writer | The Artist
Michel Hazanavicius was born and raised in Paris, France. His grandparents were originally from Lithuania, but relocated to France in the 1920s. Hazanavicius attended art school, and moved on to work as a director for commercials and television projects. In 1999, he wrote and directed his first ...
53. Jean Dujardin
Actor | The Artist
In 1995 he began his first one man show, the same year he met Bruno Salomone, Eric Collado, Emmanuel Joucla and Eric Massot with whom he created the "Nous Ç Nous". In 1999, he became "Loulou" in Un gars, une fille (1999). This part permitted him to show his talent to a larger public. Since the end ...
54. Bérénice Bejo
Actress | The Artist
Actress Bérénice Bejo was born in Buenos Aires, the daughter of Silvia De Paoli, a lawyer, and Miguel Bejo, a filmmaker. When she was three, Bejo's family relocated to Paris, France. She embarked on a successful acting career in the 1990s, with various roles in French television and film ...
55. Ludovic Bource
Composer | The Artist
Ludovic Bource is known for The Artist (2011), Escape from Planet Earth (2012) and OSS 117: Cairo, Nest of Spies (2006).
56. Bérénice Marlohe
Actress | Skyfall
French actress Bérénice Marlohe first came to international attention when she was cast as the glamorous and enigmatic Severine in the twenty-third Bond film Skyfall (2012), alongside Daniel Craig which grossed over 1.11 billion dollars worldwide. Marlohe will continue to expand her presence in the...
57. Clémence Poésy
Actress | In Bruges
Clémence Poésy was born Clémence Guichard in Paris in 1982. She took her mother's maiden name, Poésy, as her stage name. She attended an alternative school for most of her education, but spent her last year at L'École alsacienne.
She trained at the "Conservatoire National Supérieur d'Art Dramatique",...
58. Gilles Lellouche
Actor | Ne le dis à personne
Gilles Lellouche was born on July 5, 1972 in Savigny-sur-Orge, Essonne, France. He is an actor and director, known for Tell No One (2006), Sink or Swim (2018) and Beating Hearts (2024).
Had a bit part in "Sherlock Holmes: A Game Of Shadows" that was cut.
59. Roger Vadim
Writer | Barbarella
Roger Vadim was born on January 26, 1928 in Paris, France. He was a writer and director, known for Barbarella (1968), The Game Is Over (1966) and No Sun in Venice (1957). He was married to Marie-Christine Barrault, Catherine Schneider, Jane Fonda, Annette Stroyberg and Brigitte Bardot. He died on ...
60. Claudine Auger
Actress | Thunderball
Claudine Auger, a former Miss France 1st Runner-up (1958), received her dramatic training at the Paris Drama Conservatory and is best known to US / UK audiences as the stunning brunette "Domino" opposite Sean Connery in the James Bond thriller Thunderball (1965), She has kept fairly busy since her ...
61. Catherine Deneuve
Actress | 8 femmes
Catherine Fabienne Deneuve was born October 22, 1943 in Paris, France, to actor parents Renée Simonot and Maurice Dorléac. She made her movie debut in 1957, when she was barely a teenager and continued with small parts in minor films, until Roger Vadim gave her a meatier role in Vice and Virtue (...
62. Juliette Binoche
Actress | The English Patient
Juliette Binoche was born in Paris, France, to Monique Yvette Stalens, a director, teacher, and actress, and Jean-Marie Binoche, a sculptor, director, and actor. Her mother was born in Czestochowa, Poland, of French, Walloon Belgian, and Polish descent, while her father is French. Juliette was only...
63. Vincent Cassel
Actor | Black Swan
Blue-eyed Vincent Cassel was born in Paris to a leading actor father, Jean-Pierre Cassel, and a journalist mother, Sabine Litique. Often labeled as a tough guy because of his roles, eclectic choices and talent have made of him a star of European cinema. First in La haine (1995), the young actor, ...
64. Saïd Taghmaoui
Actor | Wonder Woman
Saïd Taghmaoui was born July 19th 1973 in Villepinte, Seine-Saint-Denis, France, to Moroccan immigrant parents. He has 9 siblings. He dropped out of school at a young age and became a boxer; at one point ranking number 2 in France in his category. He met Mathieu Kassovitz with whom he co-wrote the ...
65. Hubert Koundé
Actor | La haine
Hubert Koundé was born on December 30, 1970. He is an actor and director, known for La haine (1995), The Constant Gardener (2005) and Menhir - C'est citer (1998).
66. Omar Sy
Actor | Intouchables
Omar Sy was born on January 20, 1978 in Trappes, Yvelines, France. He is an actor and producer, known for The Intouchables (2011), Jurassic World (2015) and X-Men: Days of Future Past (2014). He has been married to Hélène Sy since July 6, 2007. They have four children.
67. François Cluzet
Actor | Intouchables
François Cluzet was born on September 21, 1955 in Paris, France. He is an actor, known for The Intouchables (2011), Tell No One (2006) and French Kiss (1995). He has been married to Narjiss Slaoui-Falcoz since 2011. He was previously married to Chantal Perrin.
68. Jean-Pierre Cassel
Actor | Le charme discret de la bourgeoisie
He made his movie debut at the invitation of Gene Kelly, who cast Cassel in the 1956 Paris-filmed seriocomedy The Happy Road (1957). At least, that's what the press releases claimed; actually, the tall, elastic-faced Cassel had been plugging away in films on a minor basis since 1950. Shortly after, ...
69. Olivier Rabourdin
Actor | Taken
Olivier Rabourdin was born on March 3, 1959 in Nanterre, Seine [now Hauts-de-Seine], France. He is an actor and writer, known for Taken (2008), Midnight in Paris (2011) and Taken 2 (2012).
70. Denis Ménochet
Actor | Inglourious Basterds
Denis Ménochet was born on September 18, 1976 in Enghien-les-Bains, Val-d'Oise, France. He is an actor and director, known for Inglourious Basterds (2009), Beau Is Afraid (2023) and The Beasts (2022).
71. Carla Bruni
Actress | Midnight in Paris
Carla Bruni was born on December 23, 1967 in Turin, Piedmont, Italy. She is a composer and actress, known for Midnight in Paris (2011), 500 Days of Summer (2009) and The Lake House (2006). She has been married to Nicolas Sarkozy since February 2, 2008. They have one child.
72. Alain Delon
Actor | Le Samouraï
Alain Fabien Maurice Marcel Delon was born in Sceaux, Hauts-de-Seine, France, to Édith (Arnold) and Fabien Delon. His father was of French and Corsican Italian descent, and his mother was of French and German ancestry. His parents divorced early on, and Delon had a stormy childhood, being ...
73. Romy Schneider
Actress | L'important c'est d'aimer
Romy Schneider was born on 23 September 1938 in Vienna, Austria into a family of actors. Making her film debut at the age of 15, her breakthrough came two years later in the very popular trilogy Sissi (1955). Her mother, supervising her daughter's career, immediately approved Romy's participation ...
74. Michèle Morgan
Actress | La symphonie pastorale
A classic beauty, blonde French actress Michèle Morgan was one of her country's most popular leading ladies for over five decades. Born Simone Renee Roussel on Leap Year Day (February 29) in 1920, she ran away from home as a teenager and studied acting under René Simon, beginning her film career at...
75. Danielle Darrieux
Actress | 8 femmes
Danielle Darrieux was born in 1917 in Bordeaux, France, to Marie-Louise (Witkowski) and Germain Jean Darrieux, a physician. She was raised in Paris. She was only fourteen when she auditioned for a secondary role in Le bal (1931): she got the part, and the producer offered her a five-year contract. ...
76. Chiara Mastroianni
Actress | Persepolis
Chiara Mastroianni was born on May 28, 1972 in Paris, France. She is an actress, known for Persepolis (2007), Ready to Wear (1994) and Beloved (2011). She was previously married to Benjamin Biolay.
77. Anouk Aimée
Actress | 8½
The daughter of actress Geneviève Sorya, in 1948 she played the part of Juliette in The Lovers of Verona (1949). During the 1950s and 1960s she made various films, including Montparnasse 19 (1958) and La Dolce Vita (1960), but only Lola (1961) , Jacques Demy, and A Man and a Woman (1966) Claude ...
78. Tom Novembre
Actor | Prêt-à-Porter
Tom Novembre was born on November 8, 1959 in Nancy, Meurthe-et-Moselle, France. He is an actor and composer, known for Ready to Wear (1994), An American Werewolf in Paris (1997) and Nicolas Le Floch (2008).
79. Jean Rochefort
Actor | L'homme du train
French character star Jean Rochefort expressed an interest in acting early in life. Born in 1930, he trained at the Paris Conservatoire but had to halt his studies due to military service. Relocating to Paris, he developed a minor name for himself in cabaret and stage plays. He also worked with the...
80. Michel Blanc
Actor | Grosse fatigue
Michel Blanc was born on April 16, 1952 in Courbevoie, Seine [now Hauts-de-Seine], France. He is an actor and writer, known for Dead Tired (1994), Monsieur Hire (1989) and The Minister (2011).
81. Julie Delpy
Actress | Trois couleurs: Blanc
Julie Delpy was born in Paris, France, in 1969 to Albert Delpy and Marie Pillet, both actors.
She was first featured in Jean-Luc Godard's Detective (1985) at the age of fourteen. She has starred in many American and European productions since then, including Disney's The Three Musketeers (1993), ...
82. Thierry Lhermitte
Actor | Le dîner de cons
One of France's most popular actors, writers, and producers, Thierry Lhermitte has been appearing in films since the 1970s. Perhaps best known for work in farcical comedies, the tall, handsome actor has appeared in some of France's more outrageous films over the course of his prolific career.
...
83. Jean-Paul Gaultier
Costume_designer | Le Cinquième Élément
Jean-Paul Gaultier was born on April 24, 1952 in Arcueil, Seine [now Val-de-Marne], France. He is a costume designer and actor, known for The Fifth Element (1997), The City of Lost Children (1995) and The Cook, the Thief, His Wife & Her Lover (1989).
84. Francis Veber
Writer | Le dîner de cons
Francis Veber was born on July 28, 1937 in Neuilly-sur-Seine, Hauts-de-Seine, Île-de-France, France. He is a writer and director, known for Le Dîner de Cons (1998), The Birdcage (1996) and Ruby & Quentin (2003). He has been married to Françoise Veber since January 11, 1964. They have two ...
85. Jean-Marie Poiré
Writer | Les visiteurs
Jean-Marie Poiré was born on July 10, 1945 in Paris, France. He is a writer and director, known for The Visitors (1993), Just Visiting (2001) and Operation Corned Beef (1991).
86. Christian Clavier
Actor | Les visiteurs
Christian Clavier was born on May 6, 1952 in Paris, France. He is an actor and writer, known for The Visitors (1993), Just Visiting (2001) and Asterix and Obelix vs. Caesar (1999). He was previously married to Marie-Anne Chazel.
87. Georges Guétary
Actor | An American in Paris
When we hear songs like "Rambino" and " Ciao Ciao Bambino" the name of Georges Guétary cames to one's mind. But also as a producer of " Bless the bride", "Latin Quartier" in London and "Arms and the girl" on Broadway, he added light and charm to show business. The last show to celebrate 50 years of...
88. Alain Chabat
Actor | La science des rêves
Born in Oran, French Algeria in 1958, Alain Chabat moved with his family to Massy, a suburb of Paris, as the Algeria War came to an end in 1963. In 1987, he started a comedy sketch group for television called Les Nuls which developed a cult following. His acting career led to four Césars awards for...
89. Bourvil
Actor | The Longest Day
At the age of three, André Zacharie Raimbourg and his family moved to a town in the region of Normandy called Bourville. He finished school at the age of 15 and began to work as a baker. He was already playing harmonica, mandoline and cornet when he engaged himself in a village band. In the ...
90. Arletty
Actress | Les enfants du paradis
Before Arlette-Leonie Bathiat went to the movies she was a secretary and had posed several times as a model for different painters and photographers. In 1920 she debuted on stage at a theatre. She only began to work in movies after 1930. After World War II she was condemned to prison for having ...
91. Mélanie Laurent
Actress | Inglourious Basterds
Mélanie Laurent was born in Paris, France. She is the daughter of Annick, a ballet teacher, and Pierre, a voice actor, who is most recognized for the French version of The Simpsons (1989). She has a younger brother, Mathieu, and has both Sephardi Jewish (from Tunisia) and Ashkenazi Jewish (from ...
92. Mathieu Kassovitz
Actor | Le fabuleux destin d'Amélie Poulain
Mathieu Kassovitz was born on August 3, 1967 in Paris, France. He is an actor and director, known for Amélie (2001), La haine (1995) and The Fifth Element (1997).
93. Jacky Ido
Actor | Inglourious Basterds
Jacky Ido was born on May 14, 1977 in Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso. He is an actor and director, known for Inglourious Basterds (2009), Lockout (2012) and The Catch (2016).
94. Jean Bouise
Actor | Le grand bleu
Jean Bouise was born on June 3, 1929 in Le Havre, Seine-Inférieure [now Seine-Maritime], France. He was an actor, known for The Big Blue (1988), La Femme Nikita (1990) and Z (1969). He was married to Isabelle Sadoyan. He died on July 6, 1989 in Lyon, Rhône, France.
95. Lambert Wilson
Actor | The Matrix Reloaded
Lambert Wilson was born in Paris and studied acting at the Drama Centre in London.
A fluent English speaker, he made his feature film debut at the age of twenty-two in Fred Zinnemann's Five Days One Summer (1981) starring opposite Sean Connery. He went on to work with many of France's most ...
96. Fernand Ledoux
Actor | The Longest Day
Fernand Ledoux was born on January 24, 1897 in Tirlemont, Belgium. He was an actor, known for The Longest Day (1962), It Happened at the Inn (1943) and Monseigneur (1949). He was married to Fernande Thabuy. He died on September 21, 1993 in Villerville, Calvados, France.
97. Roman Polanski
Director | Chinatown
Roman Polanski is a Polish film director, producer, writer and actor. Having made films in Poland, Britain, France and the USA, he is considered one of the few truly international filmmakers. Roman Polanski was born in Paris in 1933.
His parents returned to Poland from France in 1936, three years ...
98. Yves Montand
Actor | Jean de Florette
Yves Montand was born on October 13, 1921 in Monsummano Terme, Tuscany, Italy. He was an actor, known for Jean de Florette (1986), Z (1969) and The Wages of Fear (1953). He was married to Simone Signoret. He died on November 9, 1991 in Senlis, Oise, France.
99. Charles Vanel
Actor | Le salaire de la peur
Charles Vanel was a French actor. His film career lasted for 76 years, from 1912 to 1988. He appeared in over 200 films.
Vanel often worked under famous directors, such as Luis Buñuel, Henri-Georges Clouzot, Jacques Feyder, and Alfred Hitchcock. A career highlight was his role as truck driver Jo in ...
100. Claude Rich
Actor | Astérix & Obélix : Mission Cléopâtre
Claude Rich was born on February 8, 1929 in Strasbourg, Bas-Rhin, France. He was an actor and writer, known for Asterix & Obelix: Mission Cleopatra (2002), I Love You, I Love You (1968) and Le souper (1992). He was married to Catherine Rich. He died on July 20, 2017 in Orgeval, Yvelines, France.
Tell Your Friends