Isabelle Adjani

Birthday: 27 June 1955, Paris, France

Birth Name: Isabelle Yasmine Adjani

Height: 163 cm

Isabelle Yasmine Adjani was born in Gennevilliers, Hauts-de-Seine, a suburb of Paris, to Emma Augusta "Gusti" (Schweinberger) and Mohammed Adjani. Her father was a Kabyle Algerian, from Iferhounène, and her mother was a Bavarian German. She grew up speaking German fluently. After winning a school recitation contest, she began acting in amateur theater by the age of twelve. At the age of 14, she starred in her first motion picture, Le petit bougnat (1970). Adjani has appeared in 30 films since 1970. She holds the record for most César Award for Best Actress (5), which she won for Possession (1981), L'été meurtrier (1983) (aka "One Deadly Summer"), Camille Claudel (1988), La reine Margot (1994) (aka "Queen Margot") and La journée de la jupe (2008) (aka "Skirt Day"). She was also given a double Cannes Film Festival Best Actress Award in 1981. She also received two Academy Award nominations for Best Actress. She performs in French, English, Italian and German. Adjani was made a Chevalier de la Légion d'honneur in 2010. Show less «

I like films that rest in the memory so I try and choose parts which have some kind of social or emo...Show more »

I like films that rest in the memory so I try and choose parts which have some kind of social or emotional force. For me, being an actress is not just a profession but a profession of faith. Show less «

The Method is Judeo-Christian: if you go through pain, you can't miss. Rubbish. I'm more interested ...Show more »

The Method is Judeo-Christian: if you go through pain, you can't miss. Rubbish. I'm more interested in the box itself than what's in it. How vs. why. Show less «

[on the differences between American and French films] For me, there is no difference, for in both c...Show more »

[on the differences between American and French films] For me, there is no difference, for in both cases I remain myself. But as American budgets are more important, everything is in proportion and much more hierarchical, with a star system that, basically, exists only there, and that brings along constraints and a discipline unknown on European sets. In Europe, there are, even for a star, limits that can't be exceeded, or one risks being rejected by the crew. In America, the crew is really a proletariat in service of the star system, a system that functions like a true dictatorship and that no one, by the way, seems to challenge. No one says no, no one says stop. It's very strange. Show less «

It's rare to find a director who really likes and knows how to look at a woman through the camera.

[in 1977] This is all very funny. Today I am a star - and tomorrow?

[about her role in Possession]: "Possession" is only the type of film you can do when you are young....Show more »

[about her role in Possession]: "Possession" is only the type of film you can do when you are young. He is a director that makes you sink into his world of darkness and his demons. It is okay when you are young, because you are excited to go there. His movies are very special, but they totally focus on women, as if they are lilies. It was quite an amazing film to do, but I got bruised, inside out. It was exciting to do. It was no bones broken, but it was like, "How or why did I do that?" I don't think any other actress ever did two films with him. Show less «

Isabelle Adjani

Isabelle Adjani's FILMOGRAPHY

Isabelle Adjani'S roles

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