Va savoir

Background:

French actress Helene De Fougerolles is known for her César nominated performances in “Que la lumière soit” (1998) and “Va savoir” (2001). She was handed the Prix Romy Schneider in 2001. Other films in which Fougerolles has acted in include “Queen Margot” (1994), “When the Cat's Away” (1996), “Fanfan la tulipe” (2003), “Innocence” (2004), “Forgive Me” (2006), “Jeanne Poisson, Marquise de Pompadour” (2006, TV) and “Mutants” (2009). She also worked with Leonardo DiCaprio and Tilda Swinton in the hit film “The Beach” (2000).

Fougerolles has one daughter named Shana with her former husband Eric Hubert (together from 1997 to 2004).

France

Childhood and Family:

Helene Christine Rigoine de Fougerolles was born on February 25, 1973, in Vannes, France. She is the daughter of Alain Rigoine de Fougerolles and Anne Saumay de Laval. She originally wanted to become a beautician, but later switched to acting. She began studying the craft at age 15 in Paris and later trained briefly at the Actors Studio in New York City.

In 1997, Helene married Eric Hubert. Their daughter, Shana, was born in 2003. The couple divorced in 2004.

Que la lumière soit

Career:

Helene De Fougerolles made her television debut in 1992 when she landed the role of Anne-Marie in the French sitcom “Le collège des coeurs brisés,” opposite Muriel Deantoni and Nathalie Dudeck. She remained with the show until it ended in 1995. Fougerolles then branched out to the big screen with the supporting role of Geneviève in Jean-Pierre Mocky's “Le mari de Léon” (“Leon's Husband,” 1993), an adaptation of Frédéric Dard's novel. She also appeared in the biographical movie “Jeanne la Pucelle II - Les prisons” (1994), “La cité de la peur” (1994), “L'histoire du garçon qui voulait qu'on l'embrasse” (1994), a drama starring Julien Collet, Marion Cotillard and Hélène Médigue, and Cédric Klapisch's “Le péril jeune” (1994), where she portrayed Christine. She then had an unaccredited part in “La reine Margot” (“Queen Margot,” 1994). Starring Isabelle Adjani, Daniel Auteuil, Virna Lisi and Vincent Pérez, “La reine Margot” was nominated for an Oscar for Best Costume Design.

Fougerolles made her TV film debut in “Été brulant” (1995), playing Natacha. The same year, she portrayed Marie Moretti in an episode of “Avocat d'office” called “Les enfants d'abord.” She would reprise the role for an additional episode in 1997 called “ L'amour piégé.” The following year, she costarred with Jean Yanne, Bernard Fresson and Guillaume Canet in the TV film “Le cheval de coeur” and starred as Charlotte in “Long cours,” a TV film adaptation of a novel by Georges Simenon. She was reunited with director/writer Cédric Klapisch for “Chacun cherche son chat” (“When the Cat's Away,” 1996), which won a FIPRESCI Prize at the 1996 Berlin International Film Festival. The romantic comedy also starred Garance Clavel, Zinedine Soualem, Renée Le Calm, Olivier Py and Romain Duris.

Fougerolles next portrayed Karine in “La divine poursuite” (“The Gods Must Be Daring,” 1997), a film starring Antoine de Caunes, Emmanuelle Seigner and Élodie Bouchez that was directed by Michel Deville. She then appeared with Michel Serrault, Mathieu Kassovitz and Mehdi Benoufa in Mathieu Kassovitz's “Assassin(s)” (1997), which received a Golden Palm nomination at the 1997 Cannes Film Festival. Her career gained an important boost after her portrayal of Jeanne in Arthur Joffé's “Que la lumière soit” (“Let There Be Light,” 1998). She was nominated for a 1999 César for Most Promising Actress for her effort. She closed out the decade with appearances in the short films “Un café... l'addition” and “De source sûre” and the thriller “The Fall” (all 1999).

Entering the new millennium, Fougerolles landed a small part in the British film “The Beach” (2000), starring Leonardo DiCaprio. Helmed by Danny Boyle, with the screenplay by John Hodge based on Alex Garlan's novel of the same name, the movie was largely panned by critics but enjoyed success at the box office. She returned to the French cinema to star with Jean-Hugues Anglade and Yvan Attal in the comedy “Le prof” (also 2000). Next up for Fougerolles, she starred with Jean-Hugues Anglade in “Mortal Transfer” (2001), a Franco/German thriller adapted from the novel of the same name by Jean-Pierre Gattégno. She then portrayed the supporting role of Léonore de Segonzac in Djamel Bensalah's “Le raid” (“The Race,” 2002) and costarred with Gunnar Eyjólfsson, Hilmir Snær Gudnason and Elva Ósk Ólafsdóttir in the film “The Sea” (2002) for director Baltasar Kormákur. She picked up her second César nomination for her acting in Jacques Rivette's “Va savoir” (“Who Knows,” 2001). Costars of the film included Jeanne Balibar, Marianne Basler and Catherine Rouvel.

In 2003, Fougerolles delivered a good performance as Mme de Pompadour in “Fanfan la tulipe,” a remake of the 1952 film “Fanfan la Tulipe” that starred Vincent Perez and Penelope Cruz and was directed by Gérard Krawczyk. She also starred in the short “Lapin intégral,” by Cécilia Rouaud, and briefly returned to the small screen as a guest star in “Vertiges” (also 2003). She was next cast in Lucile Hadzihalilovic's award winning film “Innocence” (2004), opposite Marion Cotillard, costarred in Arthur Joffé's “Ne quittez pas” (2004), portrayed Lola in Julie Lipinski's “Le plus beau jour de ma vie” (2004) and worked with Thierry Lhermitte and Alexia Portal in the television film “Si j'étais elle,” where she starred as Alice. Fougerolles was then seen in such films as “Les gens honnêtes vivent en France” (2005), “E=mc²” (TV), “Incontrôlable” (2006, as Marion), “Les aristos” (2006), “Jeanne Poisson, Marquise de Pompadour” (2006, TV), “Des fleurs pour Algernon” (2006, TV) and Maïwenn Le Besco's “Pardonnez-moi” (“Forgive Me,” 2006), which received nominations for César Awards in the categories of Best First Film and Best Female Newcomer. She also appeared in episodes of “Nova” (2005) and “Sable noir” (2006).

Following work in the comedy “New délire” (2007), where she provided the voice of Paula, Fougerolles starred with Laurent Lucas in Vincenzo Marano's “Sans état d'âme” (“Destiny Ride,” 2008), supported Patrick Mille, Frédérique Bel and Julie Fournier in “Les dents de la nuit” (“Vampire Party,” 2008) and was cast alongside Eric Cantona and Stéphane Freiss in the TV thriller “Papillon noir” (2008). She then starred as Sonia in “Mutants” (2009), a film directed and co-written by David Morlet. In addition, she starred as Clémence in Jean-François Davy's “Tricheuse” (2009, with Zinedine Soualem and Valérie Kaprisky), Mathilda Stembert in the TV film “Fausses innocences” (2009) and Camille in Jean-Paul Guyon's drama “Sommeil blanc” (2009).

Recently, in 2011, Fougerolles directed, wrote and starred in the short “Maman.”

Awards:

• Prix Romy Schneider: 2001