Mélanie Laurent

Mélanie Laurent
Laurent at the 41st César Awards.
Born	(1983-02-21) 21 February 1983 (age 33) Paris, Île-de-France, France
Nationality	French
Occupation	Actress Singer Screenwriter Director
Years active	1998–present
Spouse(s)	unnamed (m. c. 2012/2013)
Partner(s)	Julien Boisselier (2005–2009)
Children	1

Mélanie Laurent (French pronunciation: [melani loʁɑ̃]; born 21 February 1983) is a French actress, singer, pianist, screenwriter and director. Born in Paris to a Jewish family, she was introduced to acting at the age of sixteen by French filmmaker Gérard Depardieu, who cast her in a minor role in the romantic drama The Bridge (1999). The recipient of two César Awards, a Étoiles d'or du cinéma français, and a Lumières Award, Laurent has established herself as an accomplished actress in the French film industry.

Laurent gained recognition for her supporting work in several French films, most notably the 2006 Franco-Belgian comedy Dikkenek, for which she won Étoiles d'Or for Best Female Newcomer. Her breakthrough role came in the 2006 French drama film Don't Worry, I'm Fine, for which she later won the César Award for Most Promising Actress, and the Prix Romy Schneider. Laurent made her Hollywood debut in 2009 with the starring role as Shosanna Dreyfus in Quentin Tarantino's blockbuster war film Inglourious Basterds. She garnered critical acclaim for her performance in the film and won the Online Film Critics Society and the Austin Film Critics Association Award for Best Actress.

While she has worked mainly in independent films, including Paris (2008) and Enemy (2013), Laurent also appeared in commercially successful Hollywood films including, the comedy drama Beginners (2011), and the caper film Now You See Me (2013), the former earning her a nomination at the San Diego Film Critics Society Award for Best Supporting Actress. Laurent's other notable works include the art-house drama The Round Up (2010), the comedy drama Et soudain, tout le monde me manque (2011), and Night Train to Lisbon (2013). She is also known for voicing Mary Katherine and Disgust in the French dubs of Epic (2013) and Inside Out (2015) respectively. Laurent made her theater appearance in 2010 in Nicolas Bedos's Promenade de santé.