Audrey Justine Tautou (born August 9, 1976) is a French actress. She began her acting career on television at age 18 and made her first appearance in a movie called Venus Beauty Institute in 1999. For this role, she received praise from critics and won the César Award for Most Promising Actress.
Tautou became famous worldwide for her lead role in the 2001 movie Amélie, which was highly praised and very popular. She has since acted in many films across different genres, including the thriller Dirty Pretty Things (2002), the mystery film The Da Vinci Code (2006), and the romantic comedy Priceless (2006). She received praise for her role in the World War I drama A Very Long Engagement (2004) and for portraying French fashion designer Coco Chanel in the biographical film Coco Before Chanel (2009). She has been nominated three times for the César Award and twice for the BAFTA Award for Best Actress in a Leading Role. In 2004, she was asked to join the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS).
Tautou has also worked as a model for companies such as Chanel, Montblanc, and L'Oréal.
Early life
Audrey Justine Tautou was born on August 9, 1976, in Beaumont, Puy-de-Dôme, and grew up in Montluçon, a town in central France. Her father, Bernard Tautou, is a dentist, and her mother, Eveline Marie Laure (born Nuret), is a teacher. She was named after the famous actress Audrey Hepburn. Audrey showed an interest in acting when she was young and began taking acting classes at the Cours Florent, where she studied English and Italian.
Acting career
In 1998, Tautou took part in "Jeunes Premiers" (The Young Debuts), a competition similar to Star Search, sponsored by Canal+. She won the Best Young Actress award at the 9th Béziers Festival of Young Actors. Tonie Marshall gave Tautou a role in her 1999 César-winning film Venus Beauty Institute (also known as Vénus beauté (institut)). In 2000, Tautou received the Prix Suzanne Bianchetti, an award recognizing her as the most promising young film actress in her country.
In 2001, Tautou gained international fame for her role as the main character in the romantic comedy Amélie (original French title: Le Fabuleux Destin d'Amélie Poulain; English: The Fabulous Destiny of Amélie Poulain). The film was directed by Jean-Pierre Jeunet and written by Jeunet and Guillaume Laurant. It tells the story of a shy waitress who tries to help others while dealing with her own loneliness. The film was produced by companies in France and Germany.
Amélie won Best Film at the European Film Awards. It also received four César Awards (including Best Film and Best Director), two BAFTA Awards (including Best Original Screenplay), and was nominated for five Academy Awards. It earned over $33 million in limited theatrical release and remains the highest-grossing French-language film in the United States.
In 2002, Tautou appeared in the British thriller Dirty Pretty Things, directed by Stephen Frears and written by Steven Knight. The film follows the story of two illegal immigrants in London. It was produced by BBC Films and Celador Films and was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay. It also won the 2003 British Independent Film Award for Best Independent British Film.
In 2004, Tautou starred in A Very Long Engagement, a romantic war film co-written and directed by Jean-Pierre Jeunet. The film is a fictional story about a young woman searching for her fiancé, who may have died in the Battle of the Somme during World War I. It was based on the 1991 novel of the same name by Sebastien Japrisot. In June 2004, Tautou was invited to join the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS).
In 2005, Tautou starred in her first full Hollywood production, The Da Vinci Code, alongside Tom Hanks. The film is based on Dan Brown’s bestselling novel and was directed by Ron Howard. It was released in May 2006.
In 2006, Tautou starred alongside Gad Elmaleh in Hors de prix (Priceless), directed by Pierre Salvadori. The film has been compared to Breakfast at Tiffany's. In 2007, she appeared in Hunting and Gathering (Ensemble, c'est tout), directed by Guillaume Canet. The film is an adaptation of the novel by Anna Gavalda.
Tautou played the lead role in the biopic Coco Before Chanel, about fashion designer Coco Chanel. The film was directed by Anne Fontaine and filmed in Paris in September 2008. It was released in France on April 22, 2009. The script was based on the book L'Irrégulière ("The Non-Conformist") by Edmonde Charles-Roux. Warner Bros. allowed Sony Pictures Classics to handle the film’s release in the United States. The film earned $6 million in the United States.
Coco Before Chanel was nominated for four BAFTA Awards, three European Film Awards, six César Awards, and the Academy Award for Best Costume Design.
In 2011, Tautou appeared in Delicacy, a French romantic comedy-drama directed by David and Stéphane Foenkinos. The film was based on David Foenkinos’ novel of the same name. David was nominated for the 2012 Best Adaptation César Award, and the film was nominated for Best Film.
Tautou appeared in the music video for "I Love Your Smile," a song by British singer-songwriter Charlie Winston. She hosted the opening and closing ceremonies of the 2013 Cannes Film Festival. She was a member of the jury at the 2015 Berlin Film Festival. In 2016, she appeared in The Odyssey as Simone Melchior Cousteau.
Public image and modelling career
Tautou started modeling when she was young, taking modeling classes and participating in other activities. She has modeled for magazines such as Vogue, Elle, Harper's Bazaar, and Marie Claire in many countries.
In 2009, Tautou was named the new spokesmodel for Chanel No. 5, replacing Nicole Kidman. The advertisement was directed by Jean-Pierre Jeunet, who also directed the films Amélie and A Very Long Engagement. The ad was released in 2009 at the same time as the movie Coco Before Chanel. She has also become the face of L'Oréal and Montblanc, as well as other advertising campaigns.
Over the years, the press has called Tautou a fashion icon, and she has appeared in many magazines related to fashion, beauty, and culture. She has attended major fashion week events around the world and smaller events as well. The press sometimes refers to her as "The Chanel Muse."
Personal life
Tautou studied at the Catholic University of Paris. She went to church when she was young but says she is not officially Catholic.
She was in a relationship with French singer Matthieu Chedid from 2007 to 2008. She was also in a relationship with Yann Le Bourbouac'h, the marketing director of French film studio Gaumont, from 2016 to 2019.
Tautou had a hard time dealing with sudden fame after the movie Amélie (2001) and disliked being in the spotlight. She also refused Hollywood roles after The Da Vinci Code (2006) because she felt her English was not strong enough and she preferred acting in French. It was also hard to find good roles for foreign actresses, and she did not want the attention that comes with Hollywood films. She preferred to stay private. In 2017, she told The i Paper that she did not want a career in Hollywood. She said, "It's very difficult to get great parts: first as a female actress; second as a foreign actress; and now as an actress over 40. But that's fine. I don't need – and I don't want – to make a career there. When nice things come, I'm happy to do them. But I'm not going to run after anybody."
Tautou said she considers France her home, where she focused her career, rather than the United States. In 2006, she told Stevie Wong of The Straits Times, "I am, at the end of the day, a French actress. I am not saying I will never shoot an English-language movie again, but my home, my community, my career is rooted in France. I would never move to Los Angeles."
In 2019, Tautou adopted a Vietnamese girl.