Isabelle Huppert
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Biography
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Biography
A cool, innocent-looking leading lady with honey-colored hair and an unflappable, world-weary gaze in her green eyes, Isabelle Huppert made her screen debut at age 16 and had appeared in over 15 films by the age of 21, demonstrating an enviable dramatic range that propelled her into international stardom. Raised as the youngest of five daughters in an affluent family, Huppert announced at age 13 her intention to be an actor. By 1971, she had played her first screen role in Nina Companeez's "Faustine et le Bel Ete." The next year, she was Romy Schneider's younger sister in "Cesar and Rosalie" and made her English-language debut in "Rosebud" (1974), directed by Otto Preminger. Her performance as a madwoman in "Aloise" (also 1974) garnered much praise at the Cannes Film Festival. Not yet 20, Huppert was considered one of France's leading thespians. Her decidedly different turn as a simple provincial heroine, a country girl ruined by a summer romance. in "The Lacemaker" (1977) won her a BAFTA award. The following year, Huppert earned the Best Actress honors at Cannes for her effective portrayal of "Violette," a 1930s French woman who casually killed her father and sensationalized France. The actress found herself in the midst of controversy in 1979 when the insistence by Michael Cimino to cast her as the female lead in "Heaven's Gate" was one of the earlier uproars between the director and the studio in what proved to be one of the biggest box office disasters in Hollywood history. In demand internationally, Huppert never wanted to abandon the film industry in her native land, and when she starred in "Story of Women" for Chabrol in 1988, it was hailed as her French "comeback," earning her some of the best reviews of her career. In 1995, she was again directed by Chabrol in "Le Ceremonie" playing a shy local postmistress in a French village. Huppert starred in "Elective affinities" (1996), which looked at couples swapping, and was a sensuous Madame Curie in "Les Palmes de M. Schutz" (1997). One of her more intriguing roles was as a former nun writing pornography in Hal Hartley's "Amateur" (1994). Huppert has not sought work on TV, but did do the voice of the mistress heard by Ted Danson in the NBC miniseries version of "Gulliver's Travels" (1996). Huppert continued to act steadily in French films for he next several years. Appearing in "La Vie moderne" (1999), "La Fausse suivante" (2000) which was based on Marivaux's play and "Les Destinees sentimentales" (2000) among many others. In 2002, she appeared in "8 Femmes" with Catherine Deneuve and also received a fair amount of attention in the U.S. press with the release of the crime thriller, "Merci pour le chocolat." Her biggest splash in the U.S. followed shortly thereafter when her film "The Piano Teacher" (2002), in which she plays a sexually alienated music instructor who embarks on a dark journey into sado-masochism with a love-struck young man, garnered rave reviews and earned her several critical awards and nominations internationally. She also had a plum role in writer-director David O. Russell's "existential comedy" "I [Heart] Huckabees" (2004) as the nemesis of a pair of existential detectives (Dustin Hoffman and Lily Tomlin) who threatens to bring their confused client (Jason Schwartzman) under her sway. Her lead role in "Gabrielle" (2005) garnered another César nomination, kicking off a period of prolific activity in which she appeared in two to five films per year, including turns in Michael Haneke's "Amour" (2012), Claire Denis' "White Material" (2009), Ned Benson's "The Disappearance of Eleanor Rigby" (2013), and Joachim Trier's "Louder Than Bombs" (2015). After years of almost being taken for granted as a screen icon, Huppert garnered international acclaim for her lead role in Paul Verhoeven's psychological revenge thriller "Elle" (2016), which brought the actress her first Academy Award nomination at the age of 63.
Filmography
Cast (Feature Film)
Producer (Feature Film)
Misc. Crew (Feature Film)
Cast (Special)
Cast (TV Mini-Series)
Life Events
1971
Film debut, "Faustine et le bel ete/Growing Up"
1973
Stage acting debut, "Viendra-t-il un autre ete?"
1974
Made English-language debut in "Rosebud"
1978
Won Best Actress award at Cannes for "Violette"
1979
Cast as female lead in Michael Cimino's infamous "Heaven's Gate"
1984
Directed by sister Caroline Huppert in "Sincerely, Charlotte"
1988
Returned to work with Claude Chabrol in "Story of Women"
1991
Starred as "Madame Bovary"
1994
Played former nun in "Amateur," directed by Hal Hartley
1994
Named president of France's Advances Film Commission
1996
Voiced the character Mistress in NBC's "Gulliver's Travels" miniseries
1997
Starred for Chabrol in "Rien ne va plus/The Swindle"
1999
Portrayed a wealthy older women who keeps a young hustler in "L'Ecole de la chair/The School of Flesh"
2000
Starred in "Merci pour le chocolat"
2000
Starred in "Nightcap"
2001
Garnered rave reviews for performance in "The Piano Teacher/La Pianiste"
2002
Featured in Francois Ozon's "8 Femmes"
2004
Cast as a hooker whose illegitimate daughter commits a crime in "The Promised Life"
2004
Cast as French radical Caterine Vauban in David O. Russell's "I Heart Huckabees"
2010
Made U.S. TV series debut with guest appearance on "Law & Order: Special Victims Unit" (NBC)
2012
Co-starred with Jean-Louis Trintignant and Emmanuelle Riva in French drama "Amour"
2013
Cast opposite Colin Farrell in neo-noir crime thriller "Dead Man Down"
2013
Appeared as Mary Rigby in "The Disappearance of Eleanor Rigby"
2016
Played Nathalie Chazeaux in "Things to Come"
2016
Gave a critically acclaimed and award-winning performance as Michele in "Elle"
2017
Starred in drama "Barrage"
2017
Played the title character in the drama "Madame Hyde"
2017
Was Nominated for the 2017 Academy Award for Best Actress in a Leading Role for "Elle"; lost to Emma Stone for "La La Land"
2017
Co-starred in Sang-soo Hon's "Claire's Camera"
2017
Starred in Michel Haneke's "Happy End"
2018
Appeared on an episode of "The Romanoffs"
2019
Starred as Lucile Wood in "Golden Youth"
2019
Starred opposite Chloë Grace Moretz in the thriller "Greta"
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