Elodie Bouchez
About
Biography
Biography
A natural and photogenic performer with the gamine air of a young Leslie Caron, French-born Elodie Bouchez decided early on a career in acting. A model at thirteen, she auditioned for the late Serge Gainsbourg at 16 and two weeks later was working on his "Stan the Flasher" (1990). Her feature debut led to a good role in Christine Lipinska's "Le Cahier vole" (1992), after which her career in essence stalled until Andre Techine's "Les Roseaux sauvages/Wild Reeds" (1994) vaulted her to the front ranks of French actresses. Bringing an extra measure of life to her character of Maite, the platonic best friend of the sensitive gay Francois (Techine's alter ego played by Gael Morel), she richly deserved the Cesar she took home as Most Promising Female. She also acted with Morel that year in "Those Were the Days," appeared in his directorial debut, "A Toute Vitesse" (1996) and performed with him again in Laurent Bouhnik's "Zonzon" (1998).
Erick Zonca's "La Vie revee des anges/The Dreamlife of Angels" (1998) raised her profile further. Its emotionally powerful study of the deterioration of a friendship between two women cast her as the free-spirited, unaffected Isa opposite the turbulent, tragic Marie (Natacha Regnier). Though Regnier was excellent (and shared the Cannes Award for Best Actress with her co-star), it was Bouchez's female drifter who really dominated the picture, a fact finally acknowledged when she beat out the favorite Catherine Deneuve ("Place Vendome") for the Best Actress Cesar. Also shown at Cannes that year was Siegfried's "Louise (Take 2)," in which she played another free spirit, this time drawn to the risks of petty crime until her arrest makes her realize she is not who she is pretending to be. She starred opposite Jean-Marc Barr in Didier Le Pecheur's controversial, fact-based "J'aimerais pas crever un dimanche" (also 1998) playing a presumed deceased woman whom a necrophilic mortician has sex with only to discover she is not dead and the pair begin a relationship. Bouchez reteamed with Barr for his directorial debut, the English-language "Lovers" (1999).
Filmography
Cast (Feature Film)
Music (Feature Film)
Life Events
1986
Worked as a model
1990
Film debut in Serge Gainsbourg's "Stan the Flasher"
1992
Acted in Christine Lipinska's "Le Cahier vole"
1994
Her Cesar Award-winning role in Andre Techine's "Les Roseaux sauvages/Wild Reeds" vaulted her to the front ranks of young French talent; co-starred opposite Gael Morel
1994
Also acted with Morel in "Those Were the Days"
1996
Appeared in Morel's feature directing debut, "A Toute vitesse/Full Speed"
1996
Had a small part as a young girl in Ismail Merchant's "The Proprietor"
1997
First film with director Graham Guit, "Le ceil est a nous"
1997
Served as jury member at the 23rd Deauville Festival of American Cinema; jury president was Sophie Marceau
1998
Widely acclaimed for her role as Isa in Erick Zonca's "La Vie revee des anges/The Dreamlife of Angels"; role written especially for her; shared Cannes Film Festival Best Actress Award with co-star Natacha Regnier; also won second Cesar as Best Actress
1998
Reteamed with Morel in Laurent Bouhnik's "Zonzon"
1998
Second film with Guit, "Les Kidnappers", a Tarantino-style adventure about a gang of young safecrackers
1998
Portrayed a woman thought to be dead from a drug overdose who receives the attentions of a necrophiliac mortician (Jean-Marc Barr) in Didier Le Pecheur's controversial "J'aimerais pas crever un dimanche", inspired by a true story
1998
Co-starred with Roschdy Zem, Gerald Thomassin and Antoine du Merle in Siegfried's "Louise (Take 2)", a love story set among petty criminals living in rough Paris
1999
Acted in first English-language film, Jean-Marc Barr's directorial debut "Lovers"
2000
Reteamed with director Morel for French TV-movie "Grand Surface/Shopping Mall"
2005
Co-starred in the independent comedy "Shooting Vegetarians"
2005
Joined the cast of "Alias" (ABC) as Zoe Rienne, an internationally wanted criminal who had secretly been working with Vaughn (Michael Vartan)
2006
Cast in Jeff Stanzler's "Sorry, Haters" a drama set against the anxieties and fears of post-9/11 America
