We have compiled the biography of actress and singer Marion Cotillard, who started her career with small roles in many TV series and movies, quickly and successfully upgraded it with awards.
Cotillard was born on September 30, 1975 in Paris, France. She was born to her Breton father, Jean-Claude Cotillard, an actor, teacher, former mime and theater director, and her mother, Monique Niseema Theillaud, an actress and drama teacher. Raised in an artistic home near Orléans, Cotillard has two younger twin brothers, Quentin and Guillaume. Cotillard, who was introduced to cinema by her father and imitated "Louise Brooks" and "Greta Garbo" in her bedroom as a child, began acting as a child by playing in one of her father's plays.
Enrolling at the "Conservatoire d'art dramatique" in Orléans at the age of 15, Cotillard graduated in 1994 and decided to move to Paris to pursue her acting career. Cotillard started her career with minor appearances and performances in theatre. At the age of 17, she got a small role in the science fiction adventure TV series "Highlander", where she played her first English-speaking role. Her career as a film actor began in the mid-1990s, when she made her feature film debut in the romantic drama film "The Story of a Boy Who Wanted to Be Kissed" (1994), directed by Philippe Harel, and in the drama film "My Sex Life... or How I Got In an Argument" (1996) directed by Arnaud Desplechin. She also appeared in minor roles in and the film "La Belle Verte"(1996) written and directed by Coline Serreau.
Also that year, Cotillard landed her first leading role in Dennis Berry's television drama "Chloé" as a teenage fugitive forced into prostitution with Anna Karina. In 1998, she starred alongside Samy Naceri in the action comedy film "Taxi" directed by Gérard Pirès, playing Lilly Bertineau, the girlfriend of Daniel the courier. The film received mixed reviews and became a hit in France, earning her a César Award nomination for Most Promising Actress for her performance. At the same time, the movie was also successful at the box office.
The following year, Cotillard debuted in films about science fiction with Alexandre Aja's post-apocalyptic science fiction film "Furia." In the same year, she appeared in the war drama film "War in the Highlands" directed by Francis Reusser and won the Best Actress Award at the Autrans Film Festival for her performance. In 2001, she played both the lead role and the younger version of Jeanne Moreau's character, with Benoît Magimel and Sagamore Stévenin, in the romantic drama war film "Lisa" directed by Pierre Grimblat and based on the novel of the same name. Later that year, she starred in the drama film "Pretty Things" (French name: Les Jolies Choses), based on the novel by feminist writer Virginie Despentes, written and directed by Gilles Paquet-Brenner, playing Lucie and Marie, twins of completely opposite characters. She received a César Award nomination for Most Promising Actress for her performance.
In 2002, Cotillard appeared as the mysterious Clarisse in the crime thriller "A Private Affair" (Une Affaire Privée), written and directed by Guillaume Nicloux. She reprized her role in the sequels "Taxi 2"(2000) and "Taxi 3"(2003). Both sequels were moderately successful at the box office, but not critically.
The following year, Cotillard appeared as Joséphine in "Big Fish," a fantasy comedy drama film directed by Tim Burton and based on the novel of the same name, alongside Helena Bonham Carter, Albert Finney, Ewan McGregor, Jessica Lange, and Allison Lohman. It was Cotillard's first English-language film in a supporting role, thus making the transition to Hollywood. The film ended up being both a critical and commercial success. That same year, she starred with Guillaume Canet as Sophie Kowalsky, the daughter of Polish immigrants, in the French romantic comedy "Love Me If You Dare" (French title: Jeux d'enfants), directed by Yann Samuell. The film was a box office hit in France with over 1 million ticket sales and garnered mixed reviews from critics.
In 2004, she won the Chopard Female Revelation Award at the Cannes Film Festival. In the same year, she appeared as the vengeful Tina Lombardi in the romantic war movie "A Very Long Engagement" (French title: Un Long Dimanche de Fiançailles) directed by Jean-Pierre Jeunet and adapted from the novel of the same name. She won the César Award for Best Supporting Actress for her performance. At the same time, the film resulted in positive reviews and moderate box office success. Later in the year, she starred as Mademoiselle Eva in the psychological drama film "Innocence" written and directed by Lucile Hadžihalilović. The movie was acclaimed by critics.
The following year, Cotillard appeared in six different films. These are: "Cavalcade" directed by Steve Suissa, "Mary" directed by Abel Ferrara, "The Black Box" (French title: La Boîte Noire) directed by Richard Berry, "Love Is in the Air" directed by Rémi Bezançon (French title: Ma vie en l'air), "Burnt Out" (French title: Sauf le respect que je vous dois) and "Edy" directed by Stéphan Guérin-Tillié.
In 2006, she co-starred with Russell Crowe as Fanny Chenal in the romantic comedy-drama film "A Good Year" directed by Ridley Scott. Released on September 9, 2006, the movie was a box office bombshell, with mixed or average reviews. In the same year, she appeared in the comedy film "Dikkenek" directed by Olivier Van Hoofstadt as Nadine with Mélanie Laurent. At the same time, she got the role of Nicole in the movie "Fair Play". She also starred as Léna in the satirical coming-of-age comedy-drama film "Toi et moi" directed by Julie Lopes-Curval. Cotillard learned to play the cello for her role.
Cotillard had the lead role as French singer Édith Piaf in the biopic "La Vie en Rose" directed by Olivier Dahan. Cotillard received a standing ovation for her performance in the film, which premiered at the Berlin International Film Festival. Additionally, the film was a box office success with over 5 million views in France. In addition, it was a financial gain with the revenue it obtained against the production budget. Cotillard became the first actress to win a Golden Globe for a non-English performance since 1972, and the first person to win a Golden Globe in a non-English language. In 2008, Cotillard became the first French actress to be awarded the BAFTA Award for Best Actress since 1973. She also achieved another feat as the first woman and second person to win both a César Award and an Oscar Award, as well as winning Best Actress at the Academy Awards.
Additionally, Cotillard is the second French actress to win this award and the third French actress overall to win an Oscar. She is also known as the first person to win the Best Actress Oscar for a non-English performance since 1961. She is also the first and only person to win an Academy Award for a performance in French, she. Cotillard was one of those invited to the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences on June 24, 2008.
The following year, Cotillard appeared as Billie Frechette in the Michael Mann biographical crime film "Public Enemies," alongside Johnny Depp and Christian Bale. The movie, which was released on July 1, 2009, received both positive reviews and resulted in a success at the box office. That same year, she played the role of Luisa Acari Contini in the romantic musical drama film "Nine" directed by Rob Marshall and based on the musical and film of the same name. Cotillard performed two musical pieces, "My Husband Makes Movies" and "Take It All" in her role. Upon its release, it resulted in mixed reviews from critics and a box office failure. She was ranked fifth by Time magazine as the best female performance of 2009. With her performance, she received nominations and awards in many award ceremonies in various categories. That same year, Cotillard posed with her co-star on the cover of the November issue of Vogue and alone on the July 2010 cover.
Cotillard was featured as Honorary President of the 35th César Awards ceremony on February 27, 2010. That same year, she played the role of Mal Cobb in the sci-fi action movie "Inception" directed by Christopher Nolan, alongside Leonardo DiCaprio, Ken Watanabe, and Joseph Gordon-Levitt. The movie, which was released on July 16, 2010, resulted in generally positive reviews and great results. It also became the fourth highest-grossing film of 2010 with its gross. Later that year, she played Marie, an environmentalist, in the comedy-drama film "Little White Lies" (French title: Les petits mouchoirs), written and directed by Guillaume Canet. It enjoyed a healthy commercial success alongside mixed reviews.
In 2011, Cotillard played the character of Adriana, Pablo Picasso's fictional mistress, in love with the Woody Allen fantasy comedy film "Midnight in Paris". The film was a success with its worldwide gross for its production budget. She also appeared in the medical thriller "Contagion" directed by Steven Soderbergh with Kate Winslet, Jude Law, Gwyneth Paltrow and Matt Damon.
In the same year, she was listed by Le Figaro magazine as "The highest paid French actors in 2010", for the first time in nine years that a woman was at the top of the list. In addition, she tied with actress Kate Winslet as the highest-paid foreign actress in Hollywood. In 2012, Cotillard was ranked on the list of the highest-paid French actresses of 2011. Later in the year, she played Miranda Tate in the superhero movie "The Dark Knight Rises", the last movie in the series directed by Christopher Nolan. The film resulted in both positive reviews and a financial win.
Later, she played the character of a killer whale trainer who lost her legs after a work accident in the romantic drama movie "Rust and Bone" (French title: De rouille et d'os), directed by Jacques Audiard and starring with Matthias Schoenaerts. Premiering at the 2012 Cannes Film Festival, the film received a standing ovation at the end of its screening. Cotillard received praise for her performance and received a César Award nomination, a Screen Actors Guild Award nomination, a Golden Globe Award nomination, and a Lumières Award nomination.
It also won the Critics' Choice Award. In addition, it has garnered other awards and accolades at the Telluride Film Festival, Hollywood Film Festival, AFI Fest, Gotham Awards, and Harper's Bazaar Awards. The following year, Cotillard was named "Woman of the Year" by Hasty Pudding Theatricals. She was also named by Le Figaro magazine as the second highest-paid actress and the seventh-highest-paid actress in France in 2012.
Cotillard got her first lead role as Polish-born Ewa Cybulska, who immigrated to 1920s New York in hopes of living the American dream, in James Gray's drama "The Immigrant Immigrant." For her performance, she received critical acclaim and won the New York Film Critics Circle Award, the National Film Critics Circle Award, and the Toronto Film Critics Circle Award. That same year, she starred alongside Clive Owen, Billy Crudup and Matthias Schoenaerts in the crime thriller "Blood Ties" directed by Guillaume Canet. Later in the year, she starred in the sequel Adam McKay's comedy "Anchorman 2: The Legend Continues". The film was met with both positive reviews and box office success.
In 2014, she played Sandra, a factory worker, in the drama film "Two Days, One Night" (French title: Deux jours, une nuit) written and directed by the Dardenne brothers. The film, which premiered at the 2014 Cannes Film Festival, received a standing ovation. In addition, Cotillard's performance was praised as a "career-breaking performance" and "the best performance of the festival". For her performance, she received a European Film Award for Best Actress, an Academy Award nomination and a César Award, as well as several critics' awards. In November 2014, Cotillard performed a duet with Nathan Fielder to "Can't Help Falling in Love" by Elvis Presley.
The following year, she took on the role of Lady Macbeth with Michael Fassbender in the historical drama film "Macbeth", adapted from the play by William Shakespeare and directed by Justin Kurzel. She was nominated for a British Independent Film Award for Best Actress and was widely praised for her performance. Later in the year, she voiced The Rose in both the English and French versions of the animated fantasy adventure movie "The Little Prince" directed by Mark Osborne and based on the novel of the same name.
In 2016, Cotillard starred as Gabrielle, a free-spirited woman, in Nicole Garcia's film "From the Land of the Moon" (French title: Mal de Pierres) based on the novel. She earned a César Award nomination for her performance. Later, she played the role of Catherine in the drama film "It's Only the End of the World" directed by Xavier Dolan. The movie was a box office hit with over 1 million tickets sold in France.
Later that year, she appeared alongside Brad Pitt as Marianne Beausejour in the romantic war drama thriller Allied directed by Robert Zemeckis. While reviews were mixed, it grossed at the box office on par in the production budget. Later, she reunited with Michael Fassbender in the sci-fi action movie "Assassin's Creed" directed by Justin Kurzel. It received both negative reviews and was a box office failure.
In 2017, she appeared in the satirical comedy film "Rock 'n Roll" directed by Guillaume Canet with Mathieu Amalric, Charlotte Gainsbourg and Louis Garrel. She then appeared in the drama film "Ismael's Ghosts" (French title: Les Fantomes d'Ismaël) directed by Arnaud Desplechin. The following year, she played Marlene in the lead role in the drama film "Angel Face" (French title: Gueule d'ange) directed by Vanessa Fialho. In 2019, Cotillard reprized her role in the sequel, "Little White Lies 2," directed by Guillaume Canet.
The following year, she voiced the fox character Tutu in the fantasy comedy movie "Dolittle" directed by Stephen Gaghan. It was negative both at the box office and critically. In 2021, she starred with Adam Driver in the musical drama film "Annette" directed by Leos Carax. Her performance earned her a Golden Globe Award nomination for Best Actress in a Musical or Comedy. In 2021, she produced the documentary film "Bigger Than Us" directed by Flore Vasseur and received a nomination for the César Award for Best Documentary Feature in 2022.
In 2021, she voiced and executive produced the lead role Charlotte Salomon in the animated biopic "Charlotte", directed by Eric Warin and Tahir Rana, about German artist Charlotte Salomon. In 2022, she co-starred with Melvil Poupaud in the drama film "Brother and Sister" (French title: Frère et Sœur) directed by Arnaud Desplechin. Later that year, Cotillard founded her new production company, "Newtopia", with filmmaker Cyril Dion and producer Magali Payen.
In June 2022, Cotillard voiced Joan of Arc in the oratorio "Joan of Arc at the Stake" directed by Juanjo Mena and Coco Chanel in "Rencontre(s)", a virtual reality project directed by Mathias Chelebourg. In 2023, she portrayed the character of Cleopatra in the anthology series "Extrapolations" on Apple TV+ and the adventure comedy movie "Asterix & Obelix: The Middle Kingdom" directed by Guillaume Canet. In the same year, she played French writer and photographer Carole Achache in the biographical documentary film "Little Girl Blue" directed by Mona Achache and was praised for her performance.
In October 2021, she is scheduled to star alongside Kate Winslet to portray French Vogue magazine Solange D'Ayen in the biographical drama film "Lee" directed by Ellen Kuras. Later, she voiced Louise de Savoy in "The Inventor," a stop-motion animated biopic about the life of Leonardo da Vinci, written and directed by Jim Capobianco.
Personal life
In the 1990s, Cotillard had an affair with actor Julien Rassam. From 2000 to 2005, she had a long-term relationship with actor Stéphan Guérin-Tillié. Then from 2005 to 2007, she dated French singer Sinclair. Since October 2007, Cotillard has been in a relationship with actor and director Guillaume Canet. The couple had two children, Marcel, born in 2011, and Louise, born in 2017.
Cotillard can sing and play the guitar, bass guitar, keyboard and tambourine. Cotillard sang "The Eyes of Mars" with Franz Ferdinand for the fashion house Dior. In 2014, Cotillard wrote and duetted "Snapshot in LA" with singer John Cameron Mitchell.
Cotillard is known for being active in the fields of philanthropy and environmental activism, as well as her acting career. In 2008, the bag of the Dior brand was chosen as the face of "Lady Dior" and she designed her own bag, the "360° bag" for the brand. In 2012, Cotillard posed on the cover of the first issue of Dior Magazine. In 2020, Cotillard designed seven products for the Chopard brand, its own sustainable jewelery collection called "Ice Cube Capsule". By 2022, Cotillard has appeared on more than 300 magazine covers worldwide. In addition, she was included in many different lists of magazines.