Early life

Gérard Depardieu was born in Châteauroux, Indre, France. He is one of the five children of Anne Jeanne Josèphe (née Marillier) and René Maxime Lionel Depardieu, a metal worker and volunteer fireman. Leaving school at the age of 13 he took a job at a printworks, but also began to get involved in petty crime, resulting in his being put on probation at one point. In his youth, Depardieu was also once a rent boy (prostitute), a petty thief who served three weeks in prison for stealing a car and also turned his hand to grave robbing before being saved from destitution by a gay theatre talent spotter who paid for him to study French drama.

Acting career

At the age of 16, Depardieu left Châteauroux for Paris. There, he began acting in the new comedy theatre Café de la Gare, along with Patrick Dewaere, Romain Bouteille, Sotha, Coluche, and Miou-Miou. He studied dancing under Jean-Laurent Cochet.

His breakout film role came in 1974 playing Jean-Claude in Bertrand Blier's comedy Les Valseuses (Going Places). Other prominent early roles include a starring role alongside Robert De Niro in Bernardo Bertolucci's historical epic 1900 (1976) and a role in François Truffaut's The Last Metro (1980), for which he won his first César Award for Best Actor.

His international profile rose as a result of his performance as a doomed, hunchbacked farmer in the film Jean de Florette (1986) and received critical acclaim for his starring role in Cyrano de Bergerac (1990), for which he won his second César Award for Best Actor, the Cannes Film Festival for Best Actor and received a nomination for an Academy Award.

Depardieu co-starred in Peter Weir's English language romantic comedy Green Card (1990), for which he won a Golden Globe Award. He has since had other roles in other English language films, including Ridley Scott's 1492: Conquest of Paradise (1992), Kenneth Branagh's Hamlet (1996), and Ang Lee's Life of Pi (2012).

More recently, he has played Obélix in the four live-action Astérix movies in which he is said to have discovered Mélanie Laurent when she was 14.

In 2009, he took part in a rare performance of Sardou's La Haine at the Festival de Radio France et Montpellier Languedoc Roussillon, with Fanny Ardant; subsequently broadcast on France Musique.

In 2013, he starred in an independent film entitled A Farewell to Fools.

Depardieu features as a main character in Antwerp (Edinburgh Festival 2014), a play in The Europeans Trilogy (Bruges, Antwerp, Tervuren) by Paris-based UK playwright Nick Awde.

Personal life

In 1970, Depardieu married Élisabeth Guignot, with whom he had two children, actor Guillaume (1971-2008) and actress Julie (1973). On 28 January 1992, while separated from Élisabeth, he had a daughter, Roxanne, with the model Karine Silla. In 1996 he divorced Élisabeth and began a relationship with actress Carole Bouquet, who was his partner from 1997 to 2005.

On 14 July 2006, he had a son, Jean, with French-Cambodian Hélène Bizot (daughter of François Bizot and not to be confused with actress Hélène Bizot). Since 2005, Depardieu has lived with Harvard-educated novelist, Clémentine Igou.

On 13 October 2008, his son Guillaume, whose health had been severely affected by drugs, a motorbike crash and, most importantly, a hospital infection contracted during the post-accident operations, eventually leading to the amputation of his leg, died at the age of 37 from complications linked to a sudden case of pneumonia.

In recent years, Depardieu has attracted attention from the media and legal authorities for his behavior. On August 16. 2011, he urinated on the carpet of a CityJet airplane as it departed Paris for Dublin. In August 2012, he was accused of assault and battery for punching a motorist in Paris. In November 2012, he was arrested for driving while intoxicated after he fell from his scooter, and was found to have a blood alcohol level of 1.8 grams per litre, well above the French limit for driving of 0.5.

He has been an official resident of Néchin, Belgium since 7 December 2012. French prime minister Jean-Marc Ayrault criticised his move. On 15 December 2012, Depardieu publicly stated he was handing back his French passport. On 3 January 2013, Russian President Vladimir Putin signed an Executive Order granting Russian citizenship to Depardieu. In his first interview thereafter, Depardieu attacked Putin's critics. In his autobiography Depardieu said Putin 'immediately liked my hooligan side.' In February 2013 he registered as a resident of Saransk. Also in January 2013 he was appointed a cultural ambassador for Montenegro.

During the summer 2015, Depardieu was banned from TV and movie theaters in Ukraine.

Awards

Depardieu has been nominated for the Best Actor in a Leading Role César 15 times during his career and won it twice, in 1981 and 1991. He was also nominated for an Oscar in 1990 for his role in Cyrano de Bergerac.

• 1981: César Award for Best Actor for his role in The Last Metro (Le dernier métro)
• 1985: Venice Film Festival Award for best actor for his role in Police
• 1985: Chevalier (Knight) of the Ordre national du Mérite
• 1990: Cannes Film Festival: Best actor award for his role in Cyrano de Bergerac
• 1991: César Award for Best Actor for his role in Cyrano de Bergerac
• 1991: Golden Globe Award for Best Actor for his role in Green Card
• 1996: Chevalier (Knight) of the Légion d'honneur.
• 2006: Moscow Film Festival: Stanislavsky Award for the outstanding achievement in the career of acting.

Selected filmography

Year	Film	Role	Cesar nomination	Cesar win	Director
1972	Nathalie Granger				Marguerite Duras
1973	Au rendez-vous de la mort joyeuse	Beretti			Juan Luis Buñuel (es)
1973	The Year 01				Jacques Doillon Alain Resnais Jean Rouch
1974	Going Places	Jean-Claude			Bertrand Blier
1974	Stavisky				Alain Resnais
1974	Vincent, François, Paul and the Others	Jean Lavallee			Claude Sautet
1975	Pas si méchant que ça (fr)	Pierre			Claude Goretta
	Maîtresse	Olivier			Barbet Schroeder
	Sept morts sur ordonnance	Doctor Jean-Pierre Berg	Best Actor		Jacques Rouffio
1976	Je t'aime moi non plus				Serge Gainsbourg
	The Last Woman	Giovanni	Best Actor		Marco Ferreri
	1900	Olmo Dalcò			Bernardo Bertolucci
	Barocco	Samson			André Téchiné
1977	Rene the Cane	René Bornier			Francis Girod
	The Lorry	Lui			Marguerite Duras
	Baxter, Vera Baxter	Michel Cayre			Marguerite Duras
	This Sweet Sickness	David Martinaud	Best Actor		Claude Miller
	At Night All Cats Are Crazy	Philibert Larcher			Gérard Zingg (fr)
1978	Get Out Your Handkerchiefs	Raoul			Bertrand Blier
	Bye Bye Monkey	Gérard LaFayette			Marco Ferreri
	Violanta	Fortunat			Daniel Schmid
	The Left-Handed Woman				Peter Handke
	Le Sucre	Raoul-Renaud Homecourt	Best Actor		Jacques Rouffio
1979	Traffic Jam	Franco			Luigi Comencini
	The Dogs	Morel			Alain Jessua
	Buffet froid	Alphonse Tram			Bertrand Blier
1980	Hurricane Rosy	Raoul Lamarre			Mario Monicelli
	My American Uncle	René Ragueneau			Alain Resnais
	Loulou	Loulou			Maurice Pialat
	The Last Metro	Bernard Granger		Best Actor	François Truffaut
	Inspector Blunder	Roger Morzini			Claude Zidi
	Je vous aime	Patrick			Claude Berri
1981	Choice of Arms	Mickey			Alain Corneau
	The Woman Next Door	Bernard Coudray			François Truffaut
	La Chèvre	Campana			Francis Veber
1982	The Return of Martin Guerre	Martin Guerre			Daniel Vigne (fr)
	The Big Brother	Gérard Berger / Bernard Vigo			Francis Girod
1983	Danton	Georges Danton	Best Actor		Andrzej Wajda
	Moon in the Gutter	Gérard Delmas			Jean-Jacques Beineix
	Les Compères	Jean Lucas	Best Actor		Francis Veber
1984	Fort Saganne	Charles Saganne	Best Actor		Alain Corneau
	Le tartuffe	Tartuffe			Gérard Depardieu
	Rive droite, rive gauche	Paul Senanques			Philippe Labro
1985	Police	Louis Vincent Mangin	Best Actor		Maurice Pialat
	Une Femme ou Deux	Julien Chayssac			Daniel Vigne (fr)
1986	Tenue de soirée / Menage	Bob			Bertrand Blier
	Jean de Florette	Jean de Florette			Claude Berri
	Les Fugitifs	Jean Lucas			Francis Veber
1987	Under the Sun of Satan	Abbé Donissan	Best Actor		Maurice Pialat
1988	A Strange Place to Meet	Charles			François Dupeyron
	Camille Claudel	Auguste Rodin	Best Actor		Bruno Nuytten
1989	Deux (fr)	Marc Lambert			Claude Zidi
	Too Beautiful for You	Bernard Barthélémy	Best Actor		Bertrand Blier
	I Want to Go Home	Christian Gauthier			Alain Resnais
1990	Cyrano de Bergerac	Cyrano de Bergerac		Best Actor	Jean-Paul Rappeneau
	Uranus	Léopold Lajeunesse			Claude Berri and Arlette Langmann
	Green Card	Georges Fauré			Peter Weir
1991	Merci la vie	Doctor Marc Antoine Worms			Bertrand Blier
	My Father the Hero	André Arnel			Gérard Lauzier
	Tous les Matins du Monde	Marin Marais			Alain Corneau
1992	The Timekeeper (Short)				Jeff Blyth
	1492: Conquest of Paradise	Christopher Columbus			Ridley Scott
1993	Hélas pour moi	Simon Donnadieu			Jean-Luc Godard
	Germinal	Toussaint Maheu			Claude Berri
1994	My Father the Hero	André Arnel			Steve Miner
	A Pure Formality	Onoff			Giuseppe Tornatore
	Colonel Chabert	Chabert	Best Actor		Yves Angelo
	La Machine (fr)	Doctor Marc Lacroix			Francois Dupeyron
1995	Élisa	Jaques "Lebovitch" Desmoulins			Jean Becker
	Les Anges gardiens	Antoine Carco			Jean-Marie Poiré
	Le Garçu	Gérard			Maurice Pialat
1996	Unhook the Stars	Big Tommy Bellaveau			Nick Cassavetes
	Bogus	Bogus			Norman Jewison
	The Secret Agent	Ossipon			Christopher Hampton
	The Best Job in the World	Laurent Monier			Gérard Lauzier
	Hamlet	Reynaldo			Kenneth Branagh
1997	XXL	Jean Bourdalou			Ariel Zeitoun
1998	The Man in the Iron Mask	Porthos			Randall Wallace
	Notes of Love	Lawyer Levi			Mimmo Calopresti
	The Count of Monte Cristo (TV miniseries)	Edmond Dantès			Josée Dayan
	Bimboland (fr)	Laurent Gaspard			Ariel Zeitoun
1999	Asterix & Obelix vs Caesar	Obelix			Claude Zidi
	Un pont entre deux rives (fr)	Georges			Frédéric Auburtin (fr)
	Balzac (fr) (TV miniseries)	Honoré de Balzac			Josée Dayan
2000	Mirka	Strix			Rachid Benhadj
	Tutto l'amore che c'è	Molotov			Sergio Rubini
	Actors	as himself			Bertrand Blier
	Vatel	François Vatel			Roland Joffé
	Les Misérables (TV miniseries)	Jean Valjean			Josée Dayan
	The Envy of Gods	Bernard			Vladimir Menshov
	102 Dalmatians	Jean Pierre Le Pelt			Kevin Lima
2001	The Closet	Félix Santini			Francis Veber
	Unfair Competition	Professor Angelo			Ettore Scola
	CQ	Andrzej			Roman Coppola
	Vidocq	Vidocq			Pitof
2002	Asterix & Obelix: Mission Cleopatra	Obelix			Alain Chabat
	I Am Dina	Jacob Grønlev			Ole Bornedal
	A Loving Father	Léo Shepherd			Jacob Berger
	Between Strangers	Max			Edoardo Ponti
	City of Ghosts	Emile			Matt Dillon
	Napoléon (TV miniseries)	Joseph Fouché			Yves Simoneau
	Blanche (fr)	D'Artagnan			Bernie Bonvoisin
2003	Le Pacte du silence (fr)	Joachim			Graham Guit (fr)
	Crime Spree	Daniel Foray			Brad Mirman (fr)
	Bon voyage	Jean-Étienne Beaufort			Jean-Paul Rappeneau
	Nathalie...	Bernard			Anne Fontaine
	Ruby & Quentin	Quentin			Francis Veber
2004	RRRrrrr!!!	Chief			Alain Chabat
	La Femme Musketeer (TV film)	Cardinal Mazarin			Steve Boyum
	San-Antonio (fr)	Lieutenant Alexandre-Benoît Bérurier			Frédéric Auburtin (fr)
	Nouvelle-France	Father Thomas Blondeau			Jean Beaudin
	36 Quai des Orfèvres	Denis Klein			Olivier Marchal
	Changing Times	Antoine Lavau			André Téchiné
2005	Je préfère qu'on reste amis... (fr)	Serge			Olivier Nakache and Éric Toledano
	Boudu	Boudu			Gérard Jugnot
	How Much Do You Love Me?	Charly			Bertrand Blier
	The Accursed Kings (TV miniseries)	Jacques de Molay			Josée Dayan
	Olé! (fr)	François Veber			Florence Quentin
2006	Last Holiday	Chef Didier			Wayne Wang
	Paris, je t'aime (Anthology film)				Joel and Ethan Coen, Gus Van Sant, Wes Craven, Gérard Depardieu and Frédéric Auburtin (fr)
	When I Was a Singer	Alain Moreau	Best Actor		Xavier Giannoli
2007	La Vie en Rose	Louis Leplée			Olivier Dahan
	Michou d'Auber (fr)	Georges			Thomas Gilou (fr)
2008	Asterix at the Olympic Games	Obelix			Frédéric Forestier and Thomas Langmann
	Vsyo mogut koroli (ru)				Alexandr Chernyaev
	Disco	Jean-François Civette			Fabien Onteniente
	Babylon A.D.	Gorsky			Mathieu Kassovitz
	Mesrine	Guido			Jean-François Richet
	Bouquet final (fr)	Hugo			Michel Delgado (fr)
	Hello Goodbye	Alain Gaash			Graham Guit (fr)
	Trouble at Timpetill	General Igor			Nicolas Bary
2009	Diamant 13	Mat			Olivier Marchal
	Coco	Doctor			Gad Elmaleh
	Bellamy	Inspector Paul Bellamy			Claude Chabrol
	In the Beginning	Abel			Xavier Giannoli
2010	L'Autre Dumas	Alexandre Dumas			Safy Nebbou
	Mammuth	Serge Pilardosse	Best Actor		Benoît Delépine and Gustave de Kervern
	Le Grand Restaurant (fr) (TV)	Gérard			Gérard Pullicino
	My Afternoons with Margueritte	Germain Chazes			Jean Becker
	Potiche	Maurice Babin			François Ozon
	Pozdnyaya Lyubov	Gueorgui			Sabit Kurmanbekov
	Small World (fr)	Konrad Lang			Bruno Chiche (fr)
2011	Grenouille d'hiver (fr) (Short)	Benjamin			Slony Sow
	Un baiser papillon (fr)				Karine Silla (fr)
	Rasputin (fr)	Rasputin			Josée Dayan
2012	Le grand soir	Juvénal			Benoît Delépine and Gustave de Kervern
	The Man Who Laughs (fr)	Ursus			Jean-Pierre Améris
	Life of Pi	The cook			Ang Lee
	Asterix and Obelix: God Save Britannia	Obelix			Laurent Tirard
2013	Turf (fr)	Monsieur Paul			Fabien Onteniente
	A Farewell to Fools	Ipu			Bogdan Dreyer (ro)
	Niente può fermarci (it)	Henry			Luigi Cecinelli (it)
	La marque des anges - Miserere	Lionel Kasdan			Sylvain White
	Les Invincibles (fr)	Jacky Camboulaze			Frédéric Berthe (fr)
	Cadences obstinées	Père Villedieu			Fanny Ardant
2014	Zaytsev+1 (ru) (TV series)	Zhora			Michael Starchak
	Welcome to New York	Devereaux			Abel Ferrara
	United Passions	Jules Rimet			Frédéric Auburtin (fr)
	La voix des Steppes				Yermek Shinarbayev and Gérard Depardieu
	Viktor	Victor Lambert			Philippe Martinez
	Sex, Coffee, Cigarettes				Sergey Oldenburg
2015	Valley of Love	Gérard	Best Actor		Guillaume Nicloux
2016	Saint-Amour	Jean			Benoît Delépine and Gustave de Kervern
2016	Marseille (TV series)	Robert Taro			Florent Emilio Siri and Samuel Benchetrit
2016	Tour de France

[ Source: Wikipedia ]