Marion Cotillard, born on September 30, 1975, in Paris, France, is an acclaimed French actress, singer-songwriter, and environmentalist.
Renowned for her versatility and emotional depth, Cotillard has captivated audiences with performances that range from intense dramas to lighthearted comedies.
Raised in an artistic household in Orléans, France, with parents Jean-Claude Cotillard, an actor, director, and former mime, and Niseema Theillaud, an actress and drama teacher, Cotillard was immersed in the performing arts from a young age.
Siblings
Marion has two younger twin brothers, Quentin Cotillard and Guillaume Cotillard, who have carved their own paths in creative fields, reflecting the artistic influence of their family.
Quentin Cotillard is a sculptor and painter based in San Francisco, California.
His work explores visual arts, and he is married to Elaine O’Malley Cotillard, a former Dutch National Ballet dancer turned fashion designer.
Guillaume Cotillard, on the other hand, has pursued a career in the film industry as a screenwriter and director.
While Marion has achieved global fame, her brothers have maintained relatively private lives, focusing on their respective crafts.
Career
Cotillard studied drama at the Conservatoire d’Art Dramatique in Orléans and made her screen debut at age seven in the short film Le monde des tout-petits (1982).
Her early roles included minor parts in television series like Highlander (1993) and films such as The Story of a Boy Who Wanted to Be Kissed (1994).
Cotillard gained prominence in France with her role as Lilly Bertineau in the action-comedy Taxi (1998), which led to two sequels and her first César Award nomination for Most Promising Actress in 1999.
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Her international breakthrough came with Tim Burton’s Big Fish (2003), where she played Josephine, introducing her to American audiences.
Cotillard’s career-defining performance came in 2007 as Édith Piaf in La Vie en Rose, a role that showcased her ability to fully inhabit a character, earning her widespread acclaim.
She continued to take on diverse roles in films like Inception (2010), Midnight in Paris (2011), Rust and Bone (2012), and The Dark Knight Rises (2012), solidifying her status as a versatile actress.
In 2022, she starred in Brother and Sister, playing a sibling navigating a strained familial relationship, and launched her production company, Newtopia, focusing on socially conscious content.
Her recent work includes roles in Extrapolations (2023), Asterix and Obelix: The Middle Kingdom (2023), and the docudrama Little Girl Blue (2023), where her performance earned her an eighth César Award nomination.
Accolades
Cotillard’s portrayal of Édith Piaf in La Vie en Rose (2007) earned her an Academy Award for Best Actress, making her the first actor to win an Oscar for a French-language performance.
She also won a Golden Globe, a BAFTA, a César Award, and a Lumière Award for the same role, receiving a 15-minute standing ovation at the Berlin International Film Festival.
Cotillard’s performance in Rust and Bone (2012) garnered critical praise, earning her nominations for a Golden Globe, a Screen Actors Guild Award, and a César Award, among others.
In 2014, her role in Two Days, One Night secured her a second Oscar nomination for Best Actress and further accolades from critics’ circles.
She won a César Award for Best Supporting Actress for A Very Long Engagement (2005) and has been nominated for eight César Awards in total, including a historic nomination for Little Girl Blue (2023), the first for a documentary performance.
Cotillard was honored as a Knight of the Order of Arts and Letters in France in 2010, promoted to Officer in 2016, and named a Knight of the Legion of Honour in 2016.
Her contributions to cinema were also recognized by Harvard University’s Hasty Pudding Theatricals, naming her Woman of the Year in 2013.
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