Biography
Rising to teenage idol status as the star of the hit romantic comedy
La Boum (1980) and its sequel
La Boum 2 (1982), Sophie Marceau has since managed to become more than "just another pretty face." She developed her dramatic skills in the romantic epic
Fort Saganne (1984) and, most notably, in three films directed by her long-time companion, Polish/French director
Andrzej Zulawski. As her career progressed during the early '90s, Marceau preferred to appear in such lighter fare as the romantic comedy
Fanfan (1993), a huge hit in France, or the swashbuckler La Fille de D'Artagnan (1994). Meanwhile, her stage debut in
Jean Anouilh's Euridyce in 1991 brought Marceau a Moliere award for Most Promising Newcomer. She also starred as Eliza Dolittle in Pygmalion at the Theatre des Arts Hebertot. In 1995, Marceau rose to international film stardom playing Princess Isabelle in
Mel Gibson's epic
Braveheart; that same year, she made her directorial debut with a nine-minute film,
L'Aube à l'envers, which opened "Un Certain Regard" at the Cannes Film Festival. Marceau's international profile continued to grow throughout the decade thanks to her increasing appearances in both British and American productions, particularly
A Midsummer Night's Dream and the 19th
James Bond outing,
The World Is Not Enough (both 1999). She stepped in front of the camera for Zulawski again the following year as the star of his
La Fidélité. ~ Yuri German, All Movie Guide