Audrey Tautou

Audrey Tautou (IPA: [oˈd̪ʁe t̪oˈt̪u]; born August 9, 1978) is a French film actress, best known to worldwide audiences as the title character in the award-winning French film Amélie (2001, Le Fabuleux Destin d'Amélie Poulain) and as Sophie Neveu in The Da Vinci Code (2006).

Biography

Tautou was born in Beaumont in the Puy-de-Dôme department of Auvergne, and was raised in Montluçon in the nearby Allier department. Audrey showed an interest for comedy at an early age and started her acting lessons at the Cours Florent. In 1998, she participated in a Star Search-like competition sponsored by Canal+ called "Jeunes Premiers" (The Young Debut) and won Best Young Actress at the 9th Béziers Festival of Young Actors. Then, she came to the attention of Tonie Marshall, who gave her a role in the César-winning Venus Beauty Institute (1999, aka Vénus beauté (institut)). In 2000, she won the Prix Suzanne Bianchetti as her country's most promising young film actress.

Already well-known in France for her work in Venus Beauty Institute, in 2001 Tautou rose to international fame for her performance as the eccentric Amélie in the romantic French comedy of the same name.

In June 2004 she was invited to join the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS). She accepted the invitation and was still a member as of September 1, 2006.

In 2005 Tautou worked in her first full Hollywood production, opposite Tom Hanks, in the film version of Dan Brown's best-selling novel The Da Vinci Code, directed by Ron Howard and released in May 2006.

She acted alongside Gad Elmaleh in Pierre Salvadori's Hors de prix, released December 13th, 2006.

She has said that Meryl Streep, Paul Newman, Juliette Lewis, Jodie Foster and Julianne Moore are her acting idols.

She has a younger brother and two younger sisters.

Future career

Having starred in her first major Hollywood film, the cinema adaptation of The Da Vinci Code, Tautou nevertheless has stated in interview that she still considers France her base, and has expressed plans to pursue a career predominantly there rather than crossing over to the United States. As 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."

She will star with Guillaume Canet (best known outside of France for his role in the film adaptation of The Beach) in Claude Berri's french-language Ensemble, c'est tout in 2007.

Trivia

• At one time fascinated by monkeys, she wanted to be a primatologist.
• Tautou takes pictures of each reporter who interviews her and keeps them in a scrapbook.
• The Brand New song 'Tautou', from the album Déjà Entendu is named after her.
• Favourite authors are Victor Hugo, Oscar Wilde and Paul Auster.
• Favourite poets are Charles Baudelaire and Tristan Tzara.
• Favourite music composers are Ravel, Mozart and Frédéric Chopin.
• Once was told by a medium that she was going to be mother of twins at age 30.
• Convinced that she herself would not claim the part of "Sophie Neveu" in The Da Vinci Code, Tautou took a picture of Ron Howard (director) and Tom Hanks to prove to her sister that "she had met them."

Selected filmography

Awards and nominations

• 2002 : Nomination for the César Award for Best Actress for Le Fabuleux Destin d'Amélie Poulain
• 2005 : Nomination for the César Award for Best Actress for Un long dimanche de fiançailles

Quotes

• "I'm not proud of myself. I never watch me, thinking, 'Oh, you are (so great). You will be in this paper, this paper, this paper. You will have this many pages in this magazine.'"

• "Acting is ephemeral. Without having an attitude, there are some more important things in life."

• On becoming a character: "Usually, I read the script very often. I think that everything is hiding in the script. After, I try to get some information documents about the character, as much as I can know about her. After, I can imagine whatever I want."

• Commenting on the casting of Audrey Tautou, producer Brian Grazer told Daily Variety, "You get so much information out of Audrey's face and eyes that it's hardly surprising she's become one of the more esteemed actresses in France."

• "I believe in God, but I am not sure to trust Him so much."

Interviews

• NY Daily News Interview 21 November 2004
• MSNBC Interview 23 November 2004
• UK Story & Interview 16 January 2005
• Interview: This is London 19 January 2005
• Interview: From Amelie to Sophie 17 May 2006

Wikipedia information about Audrey Tautou This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article "Audrey Tautou". It may not have been reviewed by professional editors (see full disclaimer). Help contribute to Americola and edit this article.