Gérard Depardieu
| Gérard Depardieu, CQ | |
|---|---|
 Gérard Depardieu at the 2010 Cannes Film Festival |
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| Born | Gérard Xavier Marcel Depardieu 27 December 1948 Châteauroux, Indre, France |
| Citizenship | French, Russian |
| Spouse(s) | Élisabeth Guignot (m. 1971–1996, divorced) |
| Partner(s) | Carole Bouquet (1997–2005) Clémentine Igou (2005–present) |
| Children | Guillaume (deceased), Julie, Roxanne, Jean |
Gérard Xavier Marcel Depardieu (French: [ʒeʁaʁ dəpaʁdjø] (
listen); born 27 December 1948) is a French actor, film-maker, businessman and vineyard owner. He is one of the most prolific character actors in film history, having completed approximately 170 movies since 1967. He has twice won the César Award for Best Actor as well as the Golden Globe award for Best Actor in Green Card. After he garnered huge critical acclaim for the title role in Cyrano de Bergerac, which landed him a nomination for an Academy Award, Depardieu acted in many big budget Hollywood movies. He is a Chevalier of the Légion d'honneur, Chevalier of the Ordre national du Mérite. He was granted Russian citizenship on 3 January 2013 by Russian President Vladimir Putin.
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Early life[edit]
Gérard Depardieu was born in Châteauroux, Indre, France. He is one of five children of Anne Jeanne Josèphe (née Marillier) and René Maxime Lionel Depardieu, a metal worker and volunteer fireman.[1][2]
Depardieu spent more time on the street than in the classroom and left school at 15.[3]
Acting career[edit]
At the age of 16, Depardieu left Châteauroux for Paris. There, he began acting in the new comedy theatre Café de la Gare, along with Patrick Dewaere, Romain Bouteille, Sotha, Coluche, and Miou-Miou.[4] His breakout film role came in 1974 playing Jean-Claude in Bertrand Blier's comedy Going Places.[5] He studied dancing under Jean-Laurent Cochet, and went on to become one of France's most renowned actors. In 1986, his international fame grew as a result of his performance as a doomed, hunchbacked farmer in the film Jean de Florette. Five years later he won a César for his starring role in Cyrano de Bergerac.
Gerard crossed over into the American film market by co-starring in the 1990 film Green Card. He has since had other roles in five English-language films, My Father the Hero, The Man in the Iron Mask, 102 Dalmatians, Last Holiday, and Life of Pi.
More recently, he has played Obélix in the four live-action Astérix movies in which he is said to have discovered Mélanie Laurent when she was 14.[6]
Personal life[edit]
In 1970, Depardieu married Élisabeth Guignot, with whom he had two children, actor Guillaume (1971–2008) and actress Julie (1973). On 28 January 1992, while separated from Élisabeth, he had a daughter, Roxanne, with the model Karine Sylla. In 1996 he divorced Élisabeth and began a relationship with actress Carole Bouquet, who was his partner from 1997 to 2005.[7]
On 14 July 2006, he had a son, Jean, with French-Cambodian Hélène Bizot (daughter of François Bizot and not to be confused with actress Hélène Bizot), according to the issue 3089 (31 July 2008) of Paris Match and the Phnom Penh Post.[8] Since 2005, Depardieu has lived with a Harvard-educated novelist, Clémentine Igou.
On 13 October 2008, his son Guillaume, whose health had been severely affected by drugs, a motorbike crash and, most importantly, a hospital infection contracted during the post-accident operations, eventually leading to the amputation of his leg, died at the age of 37 from complications linked to a sudden case of pneumonia.[9]
In recent years, Depardieu has attracted attention from the media and legal authorities for his behavior. In August 2012, he was accused of assault and battery for punching a motorist in Paris.[10] In November 2012, he was arrested for driving while intoxicated after he fell from his scooter, and was found to have a blood alcohol level of 1.8 grams per litre, well above the French limit for driving of 0.5.[11]
He has been an official resident of Néchin, Belgium since 7 December 2012.[12] French prime minister Jean-Marc Ayrault claimed the reason for the move was to avoid a looming 75% top rate of tax.[13] On 15 December 2012, Depardieu publicly stated he was handing back his French passport.[14][15] On 3 January 2013, Russian President Vladimir Putin signed an Executive Order granting Russian citizenship to Depardieu.[16] Depardieu soon returned the favor by attacking Putin's critics.[17]
Awards[edit]
Depardieu has been nominated for the Best Actor in a Leading Role César 15 times during his career and won it twice, in 1981 and 1991. He was also nominated for an Oscar in 1990 for his role in Cyrano de Bergerac.
- 1981: César Award for Best Actor for his role in The Last Metro (Le dernier métro)
- 1985: Venice Film Festival Award for best actor for his role in Police
- 1985: Chevalier (Knight) of the Ordre national du Mérite
- 1990: Cannes Film Festival: Best actor award for his role in Cyrano de Bergerac
- 1991: César Award for Best Actor for his role in Cyrano de Bergerac
- 1991: Golden Globe Award for Best Actor for his role in Green Card
- 1996: Chevalier (Knight) of the Légion d'honneur.[18]
- 2006: Moscow Film Festival: Stanislavsky Award for the outstanding achievement in the career of acting.[19]
Filmography[edit]
See also[edit]
References[edit]
- ^ "Gerard Depardieu Biography (1948–)". Filmreference.com. Retrieved 26 February 2010.
- ^ "Les ancêtres de Gérard Depardieu (1948)". Archived from the original on 30 October 2008.
- ^ "Mélanie Laurent – In it for the drama and the danger". The Independent (London). 2 July 2010. Retrieved 8 December 2011.
- ^ 30th Anniversary of Café de la Gare, L'Express, 15 August 2002, (in French)
- ^ Gérard Depardieu at IMDb
- ^ Lichfield, John (10 February 2003). "This Europe: Confessions of Depardieu". The Independent (UK). Retrieved 26 February 2010.[dead link]
- ^ "Bouquet — Depardieu en crise". Dhnet.be. 31 August 2005. Retrieved 26 February 2010.
- ^ Sloan, Michael (22 April 2011). "Upheaval of life blamed on Apsara". The Phnom Penh Post (Cambodia). Retrieved 25 April 2011.
- ^ Lichfield, John (14 October 2008). "Gérard Depardieu's son dies of pneumonia at 37". The Independent. Retrieved 3 January 2013.
- ^ Henry Barnes (17 August 2012). "Gérard Depardieu accused of punching motorist in road rage assault". guardian.co.uk.
- ^ Kimberley Dadds (29 November 2012). "French actor Gerard Depardieu 'arrested for driving scooter drunk' in Paris following minor accident". DailyMail.
- ^ Fraser, Christian (2012-12-17). "Depardieu: French film star stirs tax row". Bbc.co.uk. Retrieved 2013-01-25.
- ^ "Depardieu tax exile move 'shabby' - French PM Ayrault". BBC. 12 December 2012. Retrieved 17 December 2012.
- ^ "Depardieu 'to give up passport' in tax exile row". BBC news. 16 December 2012.
- ^ "Gérard Depardieu : "Je rends mon passeport"". lejdd.fr. 15 December 2012.
- ^ "Executive Order on granting Russian citizenship to Gerard Depardieu". Russian Presidential Executive Office. January 3, 2013.
- ^ ""Depardieu attacks Russia's opposition."". Aljazeera.com. Retrieved 2013-01-25.
- ^ "ORDRE DE LA LÉGION D'HONNEUR Décret du 30 décembre 1995 portant promotion et". JORF 1996 (1): 8. 2 January 1996. PREX9513805D. Retrieved 22 March 2009.
- ^ "28th Moscow International Film Festival (2006)". MIFF. Retrieved 2013-04-21.
External links[edit]
- Gérard Depardieu at the Internet Movie Database
- Russian artist Shishkin writes portrait of Gerard Depardieu//Channel One.
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- 1948 births
- Living people
- 20th-century actors
- 21st-century actors
- Actors from Paris
- Analysands of Jacques Lacan
- Best Musical or Comedy Actor Golden Globe (film) winners
- César Award winners
- Chevaliers of the Légion d'honneur
- Chevaliers of the Ordre national du Mérite
- French film actors
- French tax resisters
- Knights of the National Order of Quebec
- Naturalised citizens of Russia
- People from Châteauroux
- Shakespearean actors
- Vintners
- Volpi Cup winners
