Marie Gillain is a Belgian actress, who was born on June 18th, 1975, in Liège, Wallonia. Marie Gillain is a Belgian actress , born onJune 18, 1975in Rocourt ( Liège ). She was revealed at a very young age, in 1991, for her role in the film My Father, This Hero , which earned her a nomination for the César Award for Most Promising Actress . In 1995, her role in The Bait was acclaimed by audiences and critics. It earned her another nomination for the César Award for Most Promising Actress and the Romy-Schneider Prize in 1996 . She subsequently worked on film projects in genres as varied as comedy, drama, adventure and crime, and was nominated for the César Award for Best Actress for her roles in The Hunchback (1997) and All Our Desires (2011). She also devotes herself to theater. In 2015, she won the Molière for Best Actress in a Private Theater Performance for Venus in Fur . Since 2008, she has been a volunteer ambassador for the organization Plan Belgium, which campaigns for children in developing countries . Biography Childhood and early life Marie Gillain spent her childhood in Belgium in the place called Fêchereux, near the village of Neufchâteau , part of the commune of Dalhem in the Pays de Herve . She studied at the Saint-Louis college in Liège . As she herself pointed out, she had a simple and happy childhood in contact with nature: "I come from a small Belgian village of 600 inhabitants. When I was little, it was rubber boots , walks in the grass. I kept this visceral need for greenery " [ 1 ] . This simplicity will be a strength for her, when she is exposed as an actress. At a very young age, she developed a passion for the world of entertainment and, during her adolescence, participated in a theater workshop. In 1989, she tried her luck in the world of cinema. Then aged 14, she auditioned for The Lover , by Jean-Jacques Annaud , but was ultimately rejected. Critical Revelation (1990s) Marie Gillain waited a year before her breakthrough in My Father, This Hero , a film in which she starred alongside Gérard Depardieu and which earned her her first César nomination . She starred in Belgium, her native land, for her second film, Marie , in 1993. This year was marked by her meeting with Bertrand Tavernier , who offered her a role in his next film, The Bait . This role, which earned her the Romy-Schneider Prize and another César nomination , marked a turning point in her film career. She became an actress to watch, and her career was well underway. This year of cinematic recognition was nevertheless marked by a first major experience in the theater: she played Anne Frank in an adaptation by Frances Goodrich and Albert Hackett . The year 1997 saw the actress confirm her new status in cinema, she was directed by Paolo and Vittorio Taviani in the Franco-Italian co-production Les Affinités électives . She played opposite André Dussollier and Fabrice Luchini in the dramatic comedy Un air si pur... , written and directed by Yves Angelo , and finally played Aurore de Nevers, again alongside Luchini, and the star of the moment, the Swiss Vincent Perez , in the big production Le Bossu , directed by Philippe de Broca . She then ventured into less popular cinema: first by accepting a secondary role in an Italian production, The Dinner , released in 1998 , directed by Ettore Scola and carried by the performance of Fanny Ardant , then by carrying herself a European co-production, The Last Harem , co-written and directed by the Turkish-Italian director Ferzan Ozpetek . She then returned to French productions. Discreet progression (2000s) Marie Gillain at the 2006 Cannes Film Festival . In 2000 , at the age of 25, Marie Gillain made a discreet return to French cinema, entrusting an unknown, Emmanuel Mouret , for her first feature film as a writer/director, the offbeat romantic comedy, Laissons Lucie faire! . She really returned to the forefront the following year with the schoolboy comedy Absolument fabuleux , an adaptation of the eponymous British series by Gabriel Aghion , with Nathalie Baye and Josiane Balasko in the lead roles. Finally, she reunited with Fabrice Luchini for the comedy of manners Barnie et ses petites contrariétés , by Bruno Chiche . She plays Margot, the charming and light-hearted lover of the main character (played by Luchini). In 2002, she returned to the theatre for a long-awaited project: she was directed by John Malkovich in the play Hysteria , by Terry Johnson, at the Marigny Theatre . Following the critical flop of Ab Fab , she returned to drama for her next projects: in 2002, she reunited with Bertrand Tavernier , playing one of the main roles in his ambitious historical drama Laissez-passer , which tells the story of everyday life shooting films during the Occupation. In 2003, Cédric Klapisch , fresh from the success of L`Auberge espagnole , directed her, opposite Vincent Elbaz , in Ni pour ni contre (quite the contrary) . In 2004, she played the lead role in the comedy-drama Tout le plaisir est pour moi , Isabelle Broué `s first directorial effort . In 2005, she assisted Emmanuelle Béart and Karin Viard in L`Enfer , the first French effort by Bosnian-born director Danis Tanović . The year 2007 was very prolific: she first returned to comedy by sharing, with the then virtually unknown Gilles Lellouche , the poster for the offbeat comedy Ma vie n`est pas une comédie romantique , co-written and directed by Marc Gibaja , then she was part of the choral cast of the dramatic comedy Fragile(s) , by Martin Valente , notably led by Jacques Gamblin and François Berléand , she then ventured into a dark register by being directed by Régis Wargnier in his thriller Pars vite et reviens tard , with a José Garcia against type, she finally played the leading female role, opposite Guillaume Canet , in the thriller La Clef , by Guillaume Nicloux . In 2008, she replaced Laura Smet at the drop of a hat by joining the "four-star" female cast assembled by Jean-Paul Salomé for his historical film Les Femmes de l`ombre , a major production that failed to convince the critics. Then she played opposite the musician Cali in his first film role, with the dramatic comedy Magique , by Philippe Muyl . She then became part of the band formed by Pierre Jolivet for his fake sequel La Très Très Grande Entreprise . In 2009, she played Adrienne Chanel, Coco Chanel`s sister, played by Audrey Tautou in the biopic Coco Avant Chanel , co-written and directed by Anne Fontaine . While Tautou is the star of the film, Gillain is preparing her return to the forefront with her next project. Recognition on stage (2010s) Marie Gillain at the 2012 César nominees` lunch . In 2011, Marie Gillain played Claire, the heroine of Philippe Lioret `s film Toutes nos envies alongside Vincent Lindon , which earned her another nomination for the César Award for Best Actress . She followed this with François-Xavier Vives ` first film , Landes , with Jalil Lespert and Miou-Miou as partners . In December of the same year, she was a member of the short film jury at the Marrakech Festival , chaired by Sigourney Weaver . In 2014, she took part in the comedy of manners Valentin Valentin , by Pascal Thomas . Between 2014 and 2015, she devoted herself to theater: she first played Lapin blanc, lapin rouge , by Nassim Soleimanpour , at the Le Public theater in Brussels . Then she played the heroine of Venus in Fur , a play by David Ives , directed by Jérémie Lippmann , and presented at the Tristan-Bernard theater in Paris . Her cover of Lui magazine, where she posed topless, inJanuary 2015[ 2 ] and excellent reviews draw attention to the play. TheApril 27, 2015, at the age of 40, she won the Molière for actress . It is in the theater that she persists: in 2016, she is on the bill for Constellations by Nick Payne , directed by Marc Paquien , and performed at the Théâtre du Petit Saint-Martin . The same year, the feature film in which she is the headliner, Mirage d`amour avec fanfare , by Hubert Toint , goes unnoticed. Participation in festivals In 2020 she was a member of the jury of the 7th Saint -Jean-de-Luz International Film Festival , under the presidency of Xavier Legrand . In 2014, she was a member of the jury at the 6th Beaune International Crime Film Festival . InAugust 2015, she is a member of the jury of the Angoulême Francophone Film Festival chaired by Jean-Hugues Anglade . InSeptember 2015, she was part of Benoît Jacquot `s jury at the 41st Deauville American Film Festival . InSeptember 2018, she chairs the jury of the 20th La Rochelle TV Fiction Festival . She is a member of the jury at the Biarritz Latin America Festival 2018 , under the presidency of Laurent Cantet . In 2019, she was a member of the jury of the 29th Gérardmer International Fantastic Film Festival . Engagements Marie Gillain signed a contract with Lancôme in 1998, then in 2005 with the jewelry brand Piaget for several years [ 3 ] . Since 2008, she has been a volunteer ambassador for the non-governmental organization Plan International Belgium, which campaigns for children in developing countries [ 4 ] . Privacy Marie Gillain has two children: Dune, born in 2004 from a union with her partner, the musician Martin Gamet [ 5 ] , and Vega, born in 2009 from her union with her partner, the Franco-Italian actor Christophe d`Esposti [ 6 ].