Marie GillainBirth Place: Liège, Belgium Date of Birth: June 18, 1975 Heritage: Belgian Contact Marie Gillain | 
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My My Father the Hero Background: Belgian actress Marie Gillain rose to fame at age 16 thanks to her coveted portrayal of the precious teenager on the French hit “Mon père, ce héros/My My Father the Hero” (1991), opposite Gerard Depardieu. The role brought the relatively newcomer a César nomination. She continued to establish good reputation with awesome performances in such movies as “Marie” (1994), from which she picked up a Giffoni Film Festival Award and a Paris Film Festival Award, “L'Appât/The Bait” (1995), where she earned a Gramado Film Festival Award and her next César nomination, “Affinità elettive, Le/ The Elective Affinities” (1996), in which she won a Cabourg Romantic Film Festival Award, but it was her role as Aurore, the adopted daughter of Daniel Autiel, on the 1997 lunatic “Le Bossu/On Guard” that made her a popular name in America. The recipient of the1996 Prix Romy Schneider also nabbed a César nomination for her work in the movie. Gillain's more recent and upcoming credits include “Le Dîner/The Dinner” (1998), “Absolument Fabuleux” (2001), “Laissez-Passer/Safe Conduct” (2002), “Tout le plaisir est pour moi/ The Pleasure Is All Mine” (2004), “Enfer, L'/Hell” (2005), “Pars vite et reviens tard/Have Mercy on Us All” (2007), “Clef, La/The Key” (2007), “Femmes de l'ombre, Les/Female Agents” (2008), “Très très grande entreprise, La” (2008) and “Magique!” (2008). The three-time César nominee has also acted in such successful plays as “Le Journal d'Anne Frank/The Diary Of Anne Frank” (1995) and “Hysteria” (2002). The mother of one girl has become one of the faces for the cosmetics firm Lancôme since 1998.
Childhood and Family: Marie Gillain was born on June 18, 1975, in Liège, Belgium. She was educated at the Saint-Louis College in Liège and later spent four months studying singing, dancing, drama and acrobatics at the “École du Cirque” (Circus School) in Brussels. Marie has a younger sister named Céline, with whom she used to perform at the attic of her home when she was a young. On April 12, 2004, Marie welcomed her first child, daughter Dune.
Career: Marie Gillain developed a love for performing arts at an early age. As a young, she often organized small plays in the loft of her home with she herself acting in the shows in addition to her little sister and the children of her village. When she grew older, Gillain honed her acting skills by joining a local theater company and by this period, she had had an ambition of becoming an actress. At age 14, Gillain saw an advertisement in a Belgian weekly newspaper for the film “L'Amant/The Lover,” which was directed by Jean-Jacques Annaud, and decided to send an audio tape on which she read a selection from Marguerite Duras' novel. She received a call for audition although lost the part she auditioned for to the British actress Jane March. It was in the following year that Gillain finally hit the big time when she landed a major role on “Mon père, ce héros/My My Father the Hero” (1991), along side Gérard Depardieu. As Depardieu's teen daughter, Véronique “Véro” Arnel, she was nominated for a César for Most Promising Actress, and the film itself was a worldwide hit. A Hollywood version of the film was made in 1994, but she decided not to reprise her part although Gérard Depardieu was seen in the humble remake as the father. She was replaced by American actress Katherine Heigl. Following the promising debut, Gillain made her TV movie bow with a small role in “Un Homme à la Mer/A Man at Sea” (1993), directed by Jacques Doillon, and scored her next success with her starring role on her next big screen outing, “Marie” (1994). Under the direction of Marian Handwerker, she was handed a Bronze Gryphon for Best Actress at the Giffoni Film Festival and a Paris Film Festival Award at the same category. She went on to offer a compelling performance as Nathalie on “L'Appât/The Bait,” a critically acclaimed crime/drama by director Bertrand Tavernier, and netted a Golden Kikito for Best Actress at the Gramado Film Festival as well as her second César nomination for her work in the movie. Also in 1995, the talented performer professionally launched her stage career by having a part in “Le Journal d'Anne Frank/The Diary Of Anne Frank,” a play which went on to earn massive success in Paris after several dates in Lyon. A Belgium tour was soon scheduled in response of its attainment in Paris. Gillain revisited the big screen in 1996 in “Affinità elettive, Le/ The Elective Affinities,” in which her portrayal of Ottilia, opposite Isabelle Huppert as Carlotta, won her a Cabourg Romantic Film Festival for Best Actress. Directed by the Taviani brothers, the comedy/drama was shown at the Cannes Film Festival. Returning from Poland after shooting “Un Air Si Pur/An Air So Pure” (1997), Gillain participated in L'Orchestre à la Portée des Enfants with the Philharmonic Orchestra of Liège, a series of concerts organized by the Musical Youth of Liège and Brussels intended to help children discover and acknowledge classical music. She narrated “La Boîte à Joujoux/The Toy Box” by Claude Debussy, “L'Histoire de Babar/The Story Of Babar” by Francis Poulenc and “Pierre et Le Loup/Peter and The Wolf” by Serge Prokofiev. She did the same duty for the next year's projects such as “Casse-Noisette/The Nutcracker” by Peter Ilitch Tchaikovsky, “L'Apprenti Sorcier/The Sorcerer's Apprentice” by Paul Dukas and “Ma Mère L'Oye/Mother Goose by Maurice Ravel. Gillain again received notice for her performance in the film “Le Bossu/On Guard,” directed by Phillipe de Broca. While the drama/adveture enjoyed commercial success at the international market, the actress was nominated for a 1998 César for Best Actress. In “Le Dîner/The Dinner” (1998), an Italian drama helmed and written by Ettore Scola, she was cast as in the small role of Allieva. She closed out the decade with a starring role on Ferzan Ozpetek's “Le Dernier Harem/ Harem Suare,” which was presented in the section “ Un Certain Regard' at the Cannes Film Festival in 1999. Entering the new millennium, Gillain could be seen working with such new directors as Emmanuel Mouret in “Laissons Lucie Faire!/Leave It To Lucie!” (2000) and Bruno Chiche in “Barnie et Ses Petites Contrarietes/Barnie and His Minor Annoyances” (2001) before emerging as a good comic actress with Gabriel Aghion's “Absolument Fabuleux” (2001), a French adaptation of the cult British television series “Absolutely Fabulous” and reuniting with director Bertrand Tavernier for “Laissez-Passer/Safe Conduct” (2002) and teaming up with Cédric Klapisch on the director's crime/drama “Ni pour, ni contre (bien au contraire)/ Not For or Against, Quite the Contrary” (2002). Also in 2002, she was discovered on the stage playing a role in “Hysteria,”a play directed by American actor John Malkovich. The production was a huge success in Paris. The following years saw Gillain act in “Tout le plaisir est pour moi/ The Pleasure Is All Mine” (2004), helmed by Isabelle Broué, “Enfer, L'/Hell” (2005), “Voie de Laura, La” (2005, TV), “Pars vite et reviens tard/Have Mercy on Us All” (2007), “Ma vie nest pas une comédie romantique” (2007), “Fragile(s)” (2007) and “Clef, La/The Key” (2007). Recently costarring with Sophie Marceau and Julie Depardieu in “Femmes de l'ombre, Les/Female Agents” (2008), helmed by Jean-Paul Salomé, Gillain is set to star in the comedy film “Très très grande entreprise, La” (2008), by director/writer Pierre Jolivet, and play Betty in “Magique!” (2008), a comedy directed by Philippe Muyl.
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