Biography

Isabelle Huppert, a renowned French actress, was born on 16 March 1953. Since 1971 she has acted in over ninety films and TV productions. She has had 14 films in official competition at the Cannes Film Festival, and won the Best Actress Award twice, for Violette Noziere in 1978 and The Piano Teacher in 2001. Isabelle Huppert is also the most nominated actress for the César Award for Best Actress (even 13 nominations), which she received in 1996 for the role in the film La Cérémonie. She is one of two womens ever which have twice received the `Volpi Cup` for Best Actress at the Venice Film Festival - first in 1988 for her part in Story of Women (Une affaire de femmes), and the second time in 1995 for La Cérémonie. Both films were directed by Claude Chabrol. Additionally, she received a Special Lion in 2005 for her role in Gabrielle. Huppert was twice voted Best Actress at the European Film Awards: in 2001 for playing Erika Kohut in The Piano Teacher and in 2002 with the entire cast of 8 Women (directed by François Ozon). She was decorated with the Legion of Honour (Légion d'honneur)

Isabelle Huppert made her first prominent role in The Lacemaker (La Dentelliere, 1977) by the Swiss director Claude Goretta, for which she won a BAFTA award for Most Promising Newcomer to Leading Film Role. Her greater success was the film Violette Noziere directed by Claude Chabrol, which at the same time was the beginning of their long and fruitful collaboration. Huppert has played in his seven movies, hence being often regarded as this director’s muse.

She has worked with numerous major directors: Jean-Luc Godard, Marco Ferreri, Werner Schroeter, Michael Haneke,etc. Famous Serbian director, the pioneer of Yugoslav ‘Black Wave’, Aleksandar Saša Petrović, chose her for the role of Dafina Isakovič in Migrations (Seobe) – the film adaptation of the novel by Miloš Crnjanski.

Some of her prominent film achievements were: Gabriella (2005), The taste of power (2006), 8 women (2002), Thanks for chocolate (2000), as well as Madam Bovary from 1991.

Apart from film career, Isabelle Huppert played in major productions of both classic and contemporary theatre.

Isabelle Huppert was the President of the Jury at the 2009 Cannes Film Festival. Huppert is married to writer, producer and director Ronald Chammah and has three children