Audrey Tautou

Biography: life and films

Audrey Justine Tautou was born on 9th August 1976 at Beaumont, in the Auvergne region of France. Her father, a dentist, and mother, a schoolteacher and local councillor, claim to have named her after the actress Audrey Hepburn. She made her acting debut in the mid-1990s, appearing in several films and series on French television before, aged 22, she landed her first notable film role, in Tonie Marshall's 1999 film Vénus Beauté (Institut), which won her the 2000 César for the Most Promising Actress.

Tautou's international breakthrough came shortly after with Jean-Pierre Jeunet's phenomenally successful 2001 film Le Fabuleux Destin d'Amélie Poulain, in which she played the lead role Amélie opposite the actor-director Mathieu Kassovitz. On the back of this success, she has become one of the most sought-after and highly paid actresses in France. She has worked with some of France's leading filmmakers, including Cédric Klapisch (L'Auberge espagnole, 2002), Alain Resnais (Pas sur la bouche, 2003) and Anne Fontaine (Coco avant Chanel, 2009).

Whilst Tautou's career has so far been largely confined to France, she has also starred in some well-publicised English language films: Stephen Frears's Dirty Pretty Things (2002) and Ron Howard's The Da Vinci Code (2006). In 2009, she leant her image to the promotion of the luxury perfume Chanel No. 5. Although she has proved herself equally adept at playing light comedy and serious drama, Tautou is still concerned about moving beyond her Amélie persona. This may be partly what prompted her to make her stage debut in 2010, in a production of Ibsen's A Doll's House at the Théâtre de la Madeleine in Paris.

A highly popular actress, loved by film audiences and admired by the critics, Audrey Tautou is blessed with a special combination of gamine charm, glamour and acting talent. Having made her name, she now looks set for a long and distinguished career on both stage and screen.

Filmography