Isabelle Adjani

Isabelle Yasmine Adjani (born 27 June 1955 in Paris, France) is a French actress and singer renowned for her intense performances and striking screen presence. Born to an Algerian Muslim father, Mohammed Cherif Adjani, and a German Catholic mother, Emma Augusta "Gusti" Schweinberger, she grew up bilingual in the Parisian suburb of Gennevilliers, where she began acting in amateur theater at the age of twelve after winning a school recitation contest. After a brief stint at the University of Vincennes, she entered professional acting with her first film role in Le Petit Bougnat (1970) at fourteen, and soon joined the prestigious Comédie‑Française, earning acclaim for her portrayal of Agnès in Molière’s L'École des femmes. She left the theatre to focus on cinema, where her breakthrough came with François Truffaut’s The Story of Adèle H. (1975), earning a historic Academy Award nomination at just nineteen, making her the youngest nominee for Best Actress at that time. Her career thereafter spanned a wide range of challenging roles, from the haunting heroine in Possession (1981) – for which she received a double Best Actress award at Cannes – to the tormented sculptor in Camille Claudel (1988), securing a second Oscar nomination and a record‑tying five César Awards for Best Actress. She also ventured into music, releasing the pop album Pull Marine in 1983, and continued to diversify her portfolio with appearances in international productions such as Werner Herzog’s Nosferatu the Vampyre (1979) and the Bollywood comedy Ishkq in Paris (2013).

Beyond her artistic achievements, Adjani has been a vocal public figure, advocating against anti‑immigrant sentiment in France, criticizing papal statements on contraception, and expressing concerns about mandatory vaccination. Honoured as a Chevalier of the Légion d'honneur in 2010 and a Commander of the Ordre des Arts et des Lettres in 2014, she remains a seminal figure in French cinema, celebrated for her bold character choices, emotional depth, and enduring influence across generations.