Early life

Marceau was born 17 November 1966 in Paris, the second child of Simone (née Morisset), a shop assistant, and Benoît Maupu, a truck driver. Her parents divorced when she was nine years old.

Film career

In February 1980, Marceau and her mother came across a model agency looking for teenagers. Marceau had photos taken at the agency, but did not think anything would come of it. At the same time, Françoise Menidrey, the casting director for Claude Pinoteau's La Boum (1980), asked modeling agencies to recommend a new teenager for the project. After viewing the rushes, Alain Poiré, the director of the Gaumont Film Company, signed Marceau to a long-term contract. La Boum was a hit movie, not only in France, where 4,378,500 tickets were sold, but also in several other European countries. In 1981, Marceau made her singing debut with French singer François Valéry on record "Dream in Blue", written by Pierre Delanoë.

In 1982, at age 15, Marceau bought back her contract with Gaumont for one million French francs. She borrowed most of the money. After starring in the sequel film La Boum 2 (1982), Marceau focused on more dramatic roles, including the historical drama Fort Saganne in 1984 with Gérard Depardieu and Catherine Deneuve, Joyeuses Pâques (Happy Easter) in 1984, L'amour braque and Police in 1985, and Descente aux enfers (Descent Into Hell) in 1986. In 1988, she starred in L'Étudiante (The Student) and the historical adventure film Chouans!. That year, Marceau was named Best Romantic Actress at the International Festival of Romantic Movies for her role in Chouans!

In 1989, Marceau starred in My Nights Are More Beautiful Than Your Days, which was directed by her long-time boyfriend Andrzej Zulawski. In 1990, she starred in Pacific Palisades and La note bleue, her third film directed by her companion. In 1991, she ventured into the theater in Eurydice, which earned Marceau the Moliere Award for Best Female Newcomer. Throughout the 1990s, Marceau began making less-dramatic films, such as the comedy Fanfan in 1993 and Revenge of the Musketeers (La fille de d'Artagnan) in 1994—both popular in Europe and abroad. That year, she returned to the theatre as Eliza Doolittle in Pygmalion.

Marceau achieved international recognition in 1995 playing the role of Princess Isabelle in Mel Gibson's Braveheart. That year, she was part of an ensemble of international actors in the French film directed by Michelangelo Antonioni and Wim Wenders, Beyond the Clouds. In 1997, she continued her string of successful films with William Nicholson's Firelight, filmed in England, Véra Belmont's Marquise, filmed in France, and Bernard Rose's Anna Karenina, filmed in Russia. In 1999, she played Hippolyta in A Midsummer Night's Dream, and the villainess Bond girl Elektra King in The World Is Not Enough. In 2000, Marceau teamed up again with her then-boyfriend Andrzej Zulawski to film Fidelity, playing the role of a talented photographer who takes a job at a scandal-mongering tabloid and becomes romantically involved with an eccentric children's book publisher.

In recent years, Marceau has continued to appear in a wide variety of roles, mainly in French films, playing a widowed nurse in Nelly (À ce soir) in 2004, an undercover police agent in Anthony Zimmer in 2005, and the troubled daughter of a murdered film star in Trivial in 2007. In 2008, Marceau played a member of the French Resistance movement in Female Agents, and a struggling single mother in LOL (Laughing Out Loud). In 2009, she teamed up with Monica Bellucci in Don't Look Back about the mysterious connection between two women who have never met. In 2010, Marceau played a successful business executive forced to confront her unhappy childhood in With Love... from the Age of Reason (L'âge de raison).

In 2012, Marceau played a 40-something career woman who falls in love with a young jazz musician in Happiness Never Comes Alone. In 2013, she appeared in Arrêtez-moi (Arrest Me) as a woman who shows up at a police station and confesses to the murder of her abusive husband several years earlier.

She was selected to be on the jury for the main competition section of the 2015 Cannes Film Festival.

Author and director

In 1995, Marceau wrote a semi-autobiographical novel, Menteuse (the English translation, Telling Lies, was published in 2001). Marceau's work was described as "an exploration of female identity".

In 2002, Marceau made her directorial debut in the feature film Speak to Me of Love, for which she was named Best Director at the Montreal World Film Festival. The film starred Judith Godrèche. It was her second directorial effort, following her nine-minute short film L'aube à l'envers in 1995, which also starred Godrèche. In 2007, she directed Trivial, her second feature film.

Personal life

From 1985 to 2001, Marceau had a relationship with director Andrzej Żuławski. Their son Vincent was born in July 1995. In 2001, Marceau separated from Żuławski and began a six-year relationship with producer Jim Lemley. They have a daughter, Juliette (born June 2002 in London).

From 2007 to 2014, she had a relationship with Christopher Lambert, with whom she appeared in the films Trivial and Cartagena. On July 11, 2014 the couple announced their amicable separation.

Honours and awards

• 1983 César Award for Most Promising Actress for La Boum 2
• 1988 Cabourg Award for Best Actress for Chouans!
• 2000 Cabourg Award for Best Actress for La fidélité
• 2000 Goldene Kamera for Film International
• 2000 Blockbuster Entertainment Award for Favorite Supporting Actress for The World Is Not Enough
• 2002 Montréal World Film Festival Award for Best Director for Speak to Me of Love
• 2002 Montréal World Film Festival Grand Prix Special des Amériques Nomination
• 2007 Montréal World Film Festival Grand Prix Special des Amériques
• 2008 Monte-Carlo Comedy Film Festival Jury Prize for LOL (Laughing Out Loud)

Filmography

Actress

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1980	La Boum	Vic Beretton	The Party
1982	La Boum 2	Vic Beretton	The Party 2
1984	Fort Saganne	Madeleine de Saint-Ilette
1984	Joyeuses Pâques	Julie	Happy Easter
1985	L'amour braque	Mary	Mad Love
1985	Police	Noria
1986	Descente aux enfers	Lola Kolber	Descent Into Hell
1988	L'Étudiante	Valentine Ezquerra	The Student
1988	Chouans!	Céline
1989	My Nights Are More Beautiful Than Your Days	Blanche	Mes nuits sont plus belles que vos jours
1990	Pacific Palisades	Bernadette
1991	Pour Sacha	Laura	For Sacha
1991	La note bleue	Solange Sand	The Blue Note
1993	Fanfan	Fanfan	Fanfan & Alexandre
1994	Revenge of the Musketeers	Eloïse d'Artagnan	La fille de d'Artagnan D'Artagnan's Daughter
1995	Braveheart	Isabella of France
1995	Beyond the Clouds	The Girl in Portofino	Al di là delle nuvole
1997	Anna Karenina	Anna Karenina
1997	Marquise	Marquise du Parc
1997	Firelight	Élisabeth Laurier
1999	Lost & Found	Lila Dubois
1999	A Midsummer Night's Dream	Hippolyta
1999	The World Is Not Enough	Elektra King
2000	Fidelity	Clélia	La fidélité
2001	Belphegor, Phantom of the Louvre	Lisa	Belphégor - Le fantôme du Louvre
2003	Alex & Emma	Polina Delacroix
2003	Je reste!	Marie-Dominique Delpire	I'm Staying!
2003	Les clefs de bagnole	La clapman	The Car Keys
2004	Nelly	Nelly	À ce soir
2005	Anthony Zimmer	Chiara Manzoni
2007	Trivial	Lucie / Victoria	La disparue de Deauville
2008	Female Agents	Louise Desfontaines	Les femmes de l'ombre
2008	LOL (Laughing Out Loud)	Anne
2008	De l'autre côté du lit	Ariane Marciac	Changing Sides
2009	Don't Look Back	Jeanne #1	Ne te retourne pas
2009	Cartagena	Muriel	L'homme de chevet
2010	With Love... from the Age of Reason	Marguerite alias Margaret Flore	L'âge de raison
2012	Happiness Never Comes Alone	Charlotte	Un bonheur n'arrive jamais seul
2013	Arrêtez-moi	La coupable	Stop Me
2014	Quantum Love	Elsa	Une rencontre
2014	The Missionaries	Judith Chabrier	Tu veux ou tu veux pas

Writer and director

Year	Title	Notes
1995	L'aube à l'envers
2002	Speak to Me of Love	Parlez-moi d'amour
2007	Trivial	La disparue de Deauville

[ Source: Wikipedia ]