With more than 60 films over an illustrious career spanning four decades, actress Juliette Binoche is one of France’s brightest stars, known for her unconventional roles and unmatched ability to entrench herself in particularly challenging characters.
“I live for the present always. I accept this risk. I don’t deny the past, but it’s a page to turn.”
-Juliette Binoche
Once firmly established in the arthouse firmament, beginning with her lead role in 1993’s Three Colors: Blue for which she won France’s prestigious César Award, Binoche went on to earn global acclaim when, while still learning English, she took on the lead role in Anthony Minghella’s The English Patient (1996) Binoche played a French Canadian nurse taking care of a severely burned Englishman played by Ralph Fiennes. Her heart-wrenching performance earned her a Best Supporting Actress Oscar in 1996.
Binoche intentionally chooses complex roles, and one she most identified with was that of sculptor Camille Claudel, Rodin’s troubled lover, in Camille Claudel 1915. It was a role that initially terrorized her, but she grew with the character throughout her performance. The process nourished her soul, she says.
Movies are open doors, and at every door, I change character and life.”
—Juliette Binoche
In addition to her Oscar, Binoche has won awards across the globe for equally stunning roles that reflect great emotion. Apart from the Oscar and César, Binoche has also won a British Academy Film Award, the Venice Film Festival’s Volpi Cup, and the Cannes Film Festival Award for Best Actress.
Her love for acting continues. Look for her in the series The New Look where she plays the role of Coco Chanel, or in the upcoming “The Return“, a retelling of Homer’s “The Odyssey“, once again alongside co-star Ralph Fiennes.
Known simply as “La Binoche” in France, the actress continues to shine brightly, reflecting emotion, depth and subtlety in every remarkable performance.
