HUPPERT, ISABELLE

(1953- )

Actress. Isabelle Huppert is one of France's major film actresses of the 1970s and beyond. She was born in Paris and grew up in Ville d'Avray. She studied at the Versailles Conservatory and the Conservatoire National d'Art Dramatique in Paris. Huppert debuted in film during her teens in Nina Companéez'sFaustine et le bel été(1972). She then acted inBertrand Blier'sLes Valseuses(1974), Jean-Louis Bertucelli'sDocteur Françoise Gailland(1975), and Liliane de Kermadec'sAloïse(1975), for which she received her firstCésarnomination for Best Supporting Actress. One of her major early roles was in Claude Goretta'sLa Dentellière(1976). For her work therein she earned a César nomination for Best Actress, a British Film Academy Award for Best Newcomer, and Best Foreign Actress at the David di Donatello Awards. Soon after that acclaimed performance, Huppert was named Best Actress at theCannes Film Festivalfor her title role inClaude Chabrol'sViolette Nozière. Later in the decade, she acted inJean-Luc Godard'sSauve qui peut(la vie) (1979) andAndré Téchiné'sLes sœurs Brontë(1979). In the 1980s, Huppert won the Volpi Cup at the Venice Film Festival for her performance in Chabrol'sUne Affaire des femmes(1988). She received César nominations for Best Actress for her interpretations inMaurice Pialat'sLoulou(1980),Bertrand Tavernier'sCoup de torchon(1981), andUne affaire de femmes(1988). In the same decade, she played leading roles inBenoît Jacquot'sLes Ailes de la colombe(1980), Joseph Losey'sLa Truite(1982),Diane Kurys'sCoup de foundre(1983), Blier'sLa femme de mon pote(1983), Godard'sPassion(1984),Josiane Balasko'sSac de Nœuds(1985), and Andrzej Wajda'sLes possédés(1988).She also appeared in the Anglophone filmsHeaven's Gate(1980), by Michael Cimino, andCactus(1986), by Paul Cox.

In the 1990s, Huppert finally took the César for Best Actress for her performance in Chabrol'sLa Cérémonie(1995). She remained a favorite of Chabrol's and played the title role in hisMadame Bovary(1991) and a starring role in hisRien ne va plus(1997). In the same decade, she played principal roles in Jacques Doillon'sLa Vengeance d'une femme(1990), Werner Schroeter'sMalina(1991),Christian Vincent'sLa Séparation(1994), Hal Hartley'sAmateur(1994),Claude Pinoteau'Les Palmes de M.Schulz(1996), and three films by Jacquot:L'Ecole de la chair(1998),Pas de scandale(1998), andLa Fausse suivante(1999). At the beginning of the twenty-first century, Huppert reaped more awards. She won a second Best Actress award at Cannes and a European Film Award for her work in Michael Haneke'sLa pianistein 2001. She won Best Actress at the Montreal World Film Festival and the Lumière Award for her artful interpretation in Chabrol'sMerci pour le chocolat(2000). She also shared a European Film Award and a Silver Berlin Bear for her role in François Ozon's8 femmes(2002). Huppert remains an actress in high demand, starring in Patricia Mazuy'sSaint-Cyr(2000), Schroeter'sDeux(2002), Raoul Ruiz'sComédie de l'innocence(2000), Olivier Dahan'sLa Vie promise(2002), Haneke'sLe Temps du loup(2003), David Russell'sI Heart Huckabees(2004), Alexandra Leclère'sLes Sœurs fâchées(2004), Christophe Honoré'sMa mère(2004), andPatrice Chéreau'sGabrielle(2005). She also works in the theater, inspiring standing ovations as Hedda Gabler at the Odeon Theater in Paris in 2005. Her range as an actress demonstrates her versatility and talent.