Sophie Marceau Biography

Sophie Marceau
Biography

Birth Name
Sophie Danièle Sylvie Maupu
Date of birth (location)
17 November 1966
Paris, France

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This sultry, ravishingly beautiful brunette began as a teenaged as the star of the top-grossing French film "La Boum/The Party" (1980) and its popular 1982 sequel, which earned her a Cesar as Most Promising Newcomer. Marceau's subsequent films alternated between comedies ("Joyeuses Paques" 1984, with Jean-Paul Belmondo) and historical features ("Fort Saganne" 1983, with Gerard Depardieu). She won acclaim as a teenaged prostitute in "L'Amour Braques" (1985), directed by her longtime companion, Polish director Andrzej Zukawski. Marceau gave spirited, capable performances in Maurice Pialet's "Police" (1984), "L'Etudiante/The Student" (1988) and "Fanfan" (1993).

She broke into English-language films as the Princess of Wales in Mel Gibson's Oscar-winning epic "Braveheart" (1995). The luminous actress brought a much needed injection of passion and smoldering sexuality amidst the battle scenes. Impressed with Marceau, Gibson (as producer) hired her for the lead in yet another screen version of "Anna Karenina" (1997). Also in 1997, Marceau was cast as a Swiss governess in the romance "Firelight", which marked the directorial debut of screenwriter William Nicholson.

She was featured as Hippolyta in "A Midsummer Night’s Dream" opposite Kevin Kline and Michelle Pfeiffer and in the lighthearted "Lost and Found" opposite comedian David Spade (both in 1999). After co-starring in the French features "La Fidélité" (2000) for Poland’s acclaimed director Andrzej Zulawski and "Le fantôme du Louvre" (2001), for director Jean-Paul Salomé, Marceau returned to the States for the romantic feature, "Alex and Emma" (2003), which starred Kate Hudson and Luke Wilson.