Juliette Binoche
Juliette Binoche was born March 9, 1964, in Paris, to a sculptor father and an actress mother. Her parents divorced when she was four years old and Binoche was sent to a boarding school with her sister.
She began to perform in school plays at the age of 17 and after graduation she enrolled at the National Conservatory of Dramatic Arts of Paris. A friend introduced her to a theatrical agent and she joined a theatre troupe, travelling through France, Belgium and Switzerland, using the pseudonym Juliette Adrienne. Her film debut was a small role in the television film “Dorothée, danseuse de corde” (1983), followed by “Fort bloque,” another television production and her big screen debut, "Liberty Belle" in the same year.
In 1985, she performed under Jean-Luc Godard's guidance in "Hail Mary/Je vous salue, Marie" (1985), he was so impressed by the young actress that wrote a role specially for her. She performed in her first leading role in Andre Techine's "Rendezvous" (1985) and in the next year she was critically acclaimed in Philip Kaufman's adaptation of Milan Kundera’s novel “The Unbearable Lightness of Being” (1986). After committing three years of her life to shoot "Les Amants du Pont-Neuf/The Lovers on the Bridge" (1991), she landed on American television performing in Mike Figgis-directed segment of HBO's "Women & Men II" (1991) and delivered another acclaimed performance in "Damage" (1992).
She received a "Best Actress" trophy at the Venice film festival for her role in “Blue” (1993), the first movie of Krzysztof Kieslowski's French trilogy "Trois Couleurs", reprising the role in his following movies “Red” and “White” (both 1994). She shared the screen two times with actor Ralph Fiennes in a remake of "Emily Bronte's Wuthering Heights" (1992) and in Anthony Minghella's "The English Patient," for which she received an Academy Award as “Best Supporting Actress.”
After the Oscar she disappeared from American screens, performing on stage in London with "Naked" (1997) and in Broadway with "Betrayal" (2000) while acting in French films. She returned to an English language film in “Chocolat” (2000) alongside Johnny Depp, receiving an Academy Award nomination as “Best Actress” and continued acting in French productions like "Children Of The Century” (released in the U.S. in 2002) and “Jet Lag” (2003). Her last screen credits were in John Boorman's “In My Country” (2004), the French language film “Caché” (2005), “Bee Season” (2005) opposite Richard Gere, “Mary” (2005), “Paris, je t'aime” (2006), “Quelques jours en septembre” and teamed with Anthony Minghella again for “Breaking and Entering” (2006).
Juliette Binoche is not married and was quoted saying “Why do I need to get married? To reassure me? No, I don't need reassurance.” She is currently working in her following films, having four pictures scheduled to be release in 2007 and four others in 2008.