# Fanny Ardant

Fanny Marguerite Judith Ardant (born 22 March 1949) is a French actress and film director. She is the recipient of numerous accolades, including two César Awards and a Lumières Award.

## Early life

Ardant was born on 22 March 1949, in Saumur, Maine-et-Loire, France, to a military attaché father. She grew up in Monaco until age 17, when she moved to Aix-en-Provence to study at the Institut d'études politiques d'Aix-en-Provence. In her early twenties, her interest turned to acting and in 1974 she made her first appearance on stage.

## Career

By the early 1980s, Ardant was a major film star, gaining international recognition for her role opposite Gérard Depardieu in La Femme d'à côté (The Woman Next Door). The film, directed by François Truffaut, brought Ardant her first César Award nomination for best actress in 1982 and in 1984 she was nominated again for Vivement dimanche!. Eventually, she became Truffaut's partner, giving birth to their daughter, Joséphine Truffaut, on 28 September 1983. Initially, her youthful beauty brought popularity but over time her sophistication and acting skills made her one of France's most admired actresses. She proved her versatility, playing a comedic role in Pédale douce for which she won the 1997 César Award for Best Actress.
Fluent in English and Italian, Ardant has starred in several Hollywood and British films. Her most recent English-language film was the 2002 Franco Zeffirelli production Callas Forever, in which she portrayed opera diva Maria Callas. It opened the 14th Annual Palm Springs International Film Festival on 9 January 2003. In 2003, Ardant received the Stanislavsky Award at the 25th Moscow International Film Festival (for the outstanding achievement in the career of acting and devotion to the principles of Stanislavsky's school).
In 2009, she became a director and screenwriter, with Cendres et sang (Ashes and Blood). She also took part in a rare performance of Sardou's La Haine on 19 July 2009 at the Festival de Radio France et Montpellier Languedoc Roussillon, with Gérard Depardieu, the concert broadcast on France Musique.
In 2010, she directed a short feature, Absent Chimeras (Chimères absentes in French), in which she also stars. She made this short film in order to raise public awareness to the plight of Romani people in Europe, a cause she personally defends. In 2011, she starred in the music video for Elle me dit, the first French single by Lebanese singer Mika, and appeared in the play based on Joan Didion's 2005 novel The Year of Magical Thinking in the Théâtre de l'Atelier, Paris. She also starred in Interno Giorno that same year by Tommaso Rossellini, acting in both French and Italian. In 2013, she made a cameo appearance as herself in The Great Beauty.
In 2018, Ardant starred in the Swiss drama film Shock Waves – Diary of My Mind by Ursula Meier. It was screened in the Panorama section at the 68th Berlin International Film Festival. In 2019, Ardant directed the opera Lady Macbeth of Mtsensk at the Greek National Opera.

## Personal life

Fanny Ardant was the youngest of five children born to a cavalry officer and his wife. She was raised in Monte Carlo where she was educated at a convent school. A voracious reader, she discovered Proust at age 15 and felt as though his writings were for her.
When she was 27, her father died and the shock of his loss never left her. Ardant had started acting on stage shortly before his death. However after his death, she followed his advice and went to university in Aix-en-Provence, where she read Political Science. Upon graduation, she took a job working for the French embassy in London, from which she was sacked for poor time keeping and for being dishevelled. The latter was attributed to the social whirl she enjoyed in London.
Ardant continued working odd jobs in London before deciding, almost on a whim, to go to drama school. She returned to France for her studies and before long began acting on stage and then on television. At the age of 31 she was contacted by François Truffaut, who had spotted her in a television drama and wanted to cast her in The Woman Next Door. While working together, Ardant and Truffaut fell in love, and in 1983 she gave birth to their daughter Josephine. Truffaut died a year later from a brain tumour.
In August 2007, Ardant expressed her "admiration" for the Red Brigades leader as a "hero", adding she "considered the Red Brigades phenomenon to be very moving and passionate". For her comments, the actress was sued in the Italian courts by Piero Mazzola, the son of an Italian policeman killed by the Red Brigades.
In 2009, Ardant signed a petition in support of director Roman Polanski. While traveling to a film festival, Polanski had been detained in relation to his 1977 sexual abuse charges. The petition argued that detaining Polanski would undermine the tradition of film festivals as a place for works to be shown "freely and safely", and that arresting filmmakers traveling to neutral countries could open the door "for actions of which no-one can know the effects."

## Selected filmography

| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
| 1976 | Marie-poupée | Marie-Paule | |
| 1979 | The Dogs | Missing Girl | |
| 1981 | Les Uns et les Autres | Véronique | |
| 1981 | The Woman Next Door | Mathilde Bauchard | Nominated—César Award for Best Actress |
| 1982 | Life Is a Bed of Roses | Livia Ceraskier | |
| 1982 | Confidentially Yours | Barbara Becker | Nominated—César Award for Best Actress |
| 1983 | Swann in Love | Duchesse de Guermantes | |
| 1983 | Benvenuta | Benvenuta | |
| 1984 | L'Amour à mort | Judith Martignac | |
| 1986 | Mélo | Christiane Levesque | |
| 1987 | The Family | Adriana | |
| 1988 | Love and Fear | Velia | |
| 1989 | Australia | Jeanne Gauthier | |
| 1992 | Afraid of the Dark | Miriam | |
| 1994 | Colonel Chabert | Countess Ferraud | |
| 1994 | A Hundred and One Nights | The star who works at night | |
| 1995 | Beyond the Clouds | Patricia | |
| 1995 | Sabrina | Irene | |
| 1996 | Désiré | Odette | |
| 1996 | Pédale douce | Evelyne, called Eva | César Award for Best Actress |
| 1996 | Ridicule | Madame de Blayac | |
| 1998 | Elizabeth | Mary of Guise | |
| 1998 | Le Dîner | Flora | |
| 1999 | Augustin, King of Kung-Fu | Herself | |
| 1999 | Le fils du Français | Anne | |
| 2000 | Le Libertin | Madame Therbouche | |
| 2001 | Don't Tempt Me | Marina D'Angelo | |
| 2002 | 8 Women | Pierrette | Nominated—César Award for Best Actress |
| 2002 | Callas Forever | Maria Callas | |
| 2003 | Nathalie... | Catherine | |
| 2004 | El año del diluvio | Sor Consuelo | |
| 2006 | Paris, je t'aime | Fanny | |
| 2007 | Roman de Gare | Judith Ralitzer | |
| 2007 | Il Divo | The wife of the French ambassador | |
| 2008 | Hello Goodbye | Gisèle | |
| 2008 | The Secrets | Anouk | |
| 2009 | Ashes and Blood | (Director) | |
| 2009 | Face | The producer/Queen Hérodias | |
| 2011 | Interno Giorno | Maria Toricello | |
| 2011 | Raspoutine | Empress Alexandra Feodorovna | |
| 2013 | Bright Days Ahead | Caroline | Nominated—César Award for Best Actress |
| 2013 | The Great Beauty | Cameo appearance as herself | |
| 2013 | Cadences obstinées | (Director) | |
| 2014 | Casanova Variations | Lucrecia | |
| 2015 | Chic! | Alicia Ricosi | |
| 2016 | For This Is My Body | The Woman | |
| 2017 | Waiting for You | Madeleine Brown | |
| 2017 | O Turno da Noite | | Short film |
| 2017 | Lola Pater | Lola Chekib | |
| 2018 | Ma mère est folle | Nina Renner | |
| 2019 | Perdrix | Thérèse Perdrix | |
| 2019 | La Belle Époque | Marianne Drumond | César Award for Best Supporting Actress |
| 2020 | DNA | Caroline | Nominated—César Award for Best Supporting Actress |
| 2021 | The Young Lovers | Shauna Loszinsky | Nominated—César Award for Best Actress |
| 2022 | The Green Shutters | Jeanne Swann | |
| 2022 | The Colors of Fire | Solange Gallinato | |
| 2023 | The Palace | Constance Rose Marie de La Valle | |
| 2023 | Mr. Blake At Your Service! | Nathalie | |
| 2024 | American Star | Anne | |

## Awards and nominations

| Institution | Category | Year | Work | Result |
| Berlin International Film Festival | Silver Bear for Outstanding Artistic Achievement (shared with the cast) | 2002 | 8 Women | Won |
| Cannes Film Festival | Caméra d'Or | 2009 | Ashes and Blood | Nominated |
| CinEuphoria Awards | Best Film – National Competition | 2018 | Le divan de Staline | Nominated |
| CinEuphoria Awards | Best Director – National Competition | 2018 | Le divan de Staline | Nominated |
| CinEuphoria Awards | Best Actress in a Short Film – National Competition | 2018 | O Turno da Noite | Nominated |
| CinEuphoria Awards | Top Ten of the Year – National Competition | 2018 | Le divan de Staline | Won |
| César Awards | Best Actress | 1982 | The Woman Next Door | Nominated |
| César Awards | Best Actress | 1984 | Confidentially Yours | Nominated |
| César Awards | Best Actress | 1997 | Pédale douce | Won |
| César Awards | Best Actress | 2003 | 8 Women | Nominated |
| César Awards | Best Actress | 2014 | Bright Days Ahead | Nominated |
| César Awards | Best Supporting Actress | 2020 | La Belle Époque | Won |
| César Awards | Best Supporting Actress | 2021 | DNA | Nominated |
| César Awards | Best Actress | 2023 | The Young Lovers | Nominated |
| European Film Awards | Best Actress (shared with the cast) | 2002 | 8 Women | Won |
| European Film Awards | People's Choice Award for Best European Actress | 2004 | Nathalie... | Nominated |
| Globe de Cristal Awards | Best Actress | 2020 | La Belle Époque | Nominated |
| Yerevan International Film Festival | Lifetime Achievement Award | 2011 | — | Won |
| Golden Goblets Awards | Career Goblet | 1995 | — | Won |
| Hellenic Film Academy Awards | Honorary Award | 2015 | — | Won |
| Nastro d'Argento | Best Foreign Actress | 1997 | The Family | Nominated |
| Nastro d'Argento | European Silver Ribbon | 2004 | — | Won |
| Lumières Award | Best Actress | 1997 | Ridicule | Won |
| Lumières Award | Best Actress | 2020 | La Belle Époque | Nominated |
| Molière Award | Best Actress | 1993 | L'Aide-mémoire | Nominated |
| Molière Award | Best Actress | 1997 | Master Class | Nominated |
| Moscow International Film Festival | Stanislavsky Award | 2003 | — | Won |