Who is Juliette Binoche?
Juliette Binoche first attracted the attention of international film critics with The Unbearable Lightness of Being (1988). Roger Ebert, Chicago Sun-Times film critic with an international following of his books on film and TV reviews, wrote that she was "almost ethereal in her beauty and innocence". That innocence was gone by the time Binoche completed Louis Malle's Damage (1992) (aka "Fatale"). In an interview after the film was released, Binoche said: "Malle was trying direct and wanted something more sophisticated". A year later, Krzysztof Kie?lowski's Trois couleurs : Bleu (1993) was added to her film credits. After a sabbatical from film-making in 1994, Binoche was selected as the heroine of France's most expensive ($35 million) movie ever: Le hussard sur le toit (1995). More recently, she has made The English Patient (1996), for which she won an Oscar for 'Best supporting actress' and Chocolat (2000).
Overview
- Nicknames
- Juliette B
Trivia
- In 1996, she was nominated for a Best Supporting Actress Oscar for her role in The English Patient (1996). Legendary actress Lauren Bacall was roundly expected to win in that category for her performance in The Mirror Has Two Faces (1996), but Binoche won the Oscar instead, in one of the biggest surprise wins in Oscar history. In her acceptance speech, she said, "I don't have a speech prepared. I thought Lauren would get it." Bacall was given an honorary Oscar in 2010.
- She was the highest paid French actress in history in the 90s and early 2000s. (2002).
- Joanne Harris, the author of Chocolat (2000), was stunned one weekend when she opened the front door of her small house in Barnsley, Yorkshire. On her doorstep was French actress Juliette Binoche, who had landed the lead role for the Film version of Joanne's book. Juliette loved the book and wanted to meet Joanne and she spent the weekend at the house as they discussed the book and the film to come. Juliette returned the favour by inviting her to the States as a guest of Miramax films for the Oscars.
- Accepted the role in Godzilla (2014) for two reasons: First of all, she was a major fan of the original franchise and second of all, she was sent a charming letter from director Gareth Edwards in which he claimed that she was "The Queen of Acting".
- Chosen by "People" magazine as one of "the 50 Most Beautiful People in the World" (1997).