• French actress and moviemaker Mélanie Laurent born in Paris, France on 21 February 1983
• Appeared in more than 50 movies and TV series; best known for playing Shosanna in 'Inglorious Basterds' (2009)
• Raised in Paris by parents Pierre (voice actor) and Annick (ballerina); matriculated in 2001 and chose not to pursue college degree
• Starred in movies such as 'The Beat That My Heart Skipped' (2005), 'Now You See Me' (2013), and 'Oxygen' (2021); voiced character in 'Les Malheurs de Sophie' (1998)
• Won 20 of her 49 award nominations; currently married to non-celebrity Frenchman, with two children
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Who is Mélanie Laurent?
French actress and moviemaker Mélanie Laurent, was born in Paris, France on 21 February 1983, so her zodiac sign’s Pisces. She’s appeared in more than 50 movies and TV series, and is perhaps still best known for playing Shosanna in the 2009 adventure war movie “Inglorious Basterds”, which Quentin Tarantino wrote and directed, and which starred Eli Roth, Diane Kruger and Brad Pitt. It tells the story of a theatre owner and a group of Jewish US soldiers who’ve teamed up to fight the Nazis during World War II; the film won 135 of its 307 award nominations, including an Oscar win for Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role (Christoph Waltz).
Education and early life
Mélanie and her brother Mathieu Laurent were raised in Paris by their father Pierre Laurent who was a voiceover actor, and mother Annick who was a ballerina; Pierre’s probably best known for voicing Ned Flanders in the French version of the hit comedy series “The Simpsons”.
Mélanie was 15 years old when she had her debut TV series role, voicing Madeleine de Fleurville Enfant in the 1998 episode “Retour en France” of the animated comedy “Les Malheurs de Sophie”, then made her debut film appearance in the following year, playing Lisbeth in the romantic drama “The Bridge”.
Mélanie simultaneously attended a local high school and worked on her acting career; she matriculated in 2001, and chose not to pursue a college degree.
Roles in movies
In 2000, Mélanie was cast to play Francesca in the drama “Route de Nuit”, and some of her following roles were in the 2001 drama “This Is My Body”, the 2002 romantic comedy “Summer Things”, and the 2003 sports crime drama “Snowboarder”.
She began attracting attention in 2005, when she portrayed Minskov’s Girlfriend in the crime musical “The Beat That My Heart Skipped”, written and directed by Jacques Audiard, and which starred Romain Duris, Aure Atika and Emmanuelle Devos. It follows a talented pianist who has to choose between becoming a famous musician or a criminal; the movie won 22 of its 36 award nominations. Some of Mélanie’s notable performances in the remainder of the decade were in the 2006 action war drama “Days of Glory”, the 2007 drama “Hidden Love”, and the 2009 romantic comedy “Jusqu’a Toi”.
In 2013, Mélanie played Alma Dray in the critically acclaimed crime mystery thriller “Now You See Me”, which Louis Leterrier directed, and which starred Mark Ruffalo, Common and Jesse Eisenberg. It tells the story of a group of illusionists who are robbing banks during their performances, and an FBI agent who’s trying to stop them; the movie won one of its four award nominations.
Mélanie’s three most recent film roles have been in the fantasy science fiction “Oxygen” and the thriller “The Mad Women’s Ball” both in 2021, and the 2022 drama “Tempete”.
Roles in TV series
Mélanie has only five TV series credits, including the above mentioned “Les Malheurs de Sophie”.
In 2003, she played Alice Arguel in two episodes of the historical war mini-series “Jean Moulin, Une Affaire Francaise”, and her following role came in 2010, when cast to play a supporting character in several episodes of the sitcom “Vous les Femmes”.
In 2020, Mélanie began portraying the lead character Sylviane in the comedy “Little America”, created by Lee Eisenberg and Emily V. Gordon, and which also stars Peggy Lu and Haaz Sleiman. It follows the lives of immigrants to the US, the series has aired 16 episodes, and has won four of its 15 award nominations.
Most recently, in 2021, she voiced The Amazon in the episode “L’Amazonie” of the short documentary “Nature Is Speaking”.
Other credits
Mélanie received special thanks for the 2014 romantic comedy movie “French Women”.
She has seven writing and nine directing credits, and some of the movies which she’s both written and directed include the 2014 drama “Breathe”, which won two of its 12 award nominations, the 2017 drama “Diving”, and the 2021 thriller “The Mad Women’s Ball”, which won an International Emmy Award for Best Performance by an Actress (Lou de Laage).
Some of Mélanie’s most recent talk-show appearances have been in “Quotidien”, “Telematin”, and “C a Vous”.
Awards and nominations
Mélanie’s won 20 of her 49 award nominations. Some of her wins include a Women Film Journalists Award for Unforgettable Moment, an Austin Film Critics Association Award for Best Actress, and a Awards Circuit Community Award for Best Ensemble Cast all in 2009, and all for her performance in “Inglorious Basterds”.
Love life and husband
Mélanie hasn’t shared a lot regarding her love life with her fans, but she revealed in March 2013 that she had married a non-celebrity Frenchman; she also revealed that they met on a movie set, and that he was working as a crew member on a film in which she starred.
In September 2013, Mélanie gave birth to their son Leo, and their daughter Mila followed in 2019.
It’s also widely known that Mélanie was in a long-term relationship with popular French actor Julien Boisselier in the 2000s, and that they split in 2009.
She hasn’t spoken about other men whom she’s dated, and Mélanie’s married to a non-celebrity Frenchman as of January 2023, and they have two children together.
Interesting facts and hobbies
She’s a huge fan of American moviemaker Quentin Tarantino, and American recording artist Damien Rice.
Mélanie’s a Global Humanitarian Forum climate ambassador, and together with several Greenpeace activists, has visited the Climate Defenders Camp in the Indonesian Rainforest.
She’s passionate about music, and has released several songs, including “Kiss” and “Everything You Are Not Supposed To Be”.
Mélanie hosted the 64th Cannes Film Festival.
She didn’t speak English when cast to appear in “Inglorious Basterds”.
Some of Mélanie’s favorite actresses are Marion Cotillard, Kate Winslet and Angelina Jolie, and a couple of her favorite movies include “The Immigrant”, “Annette” and “Brother and Sister”.
Height, eyes and wealth
Mélanie’s age is 39. Her eyes are light blue and she has blonde hair, she’s 5ft 2ins (1.57m) tall and weighs about 110lbs (49kgs).
Mélanie’s net worth’s been estimated at over $8 million, as of January 2023.
