Fanny Ardant was born in the French town of Saumur. Daughter of a cavalry
officer, she graduated from the Political Science Institute in Paris with
a diploma in International Relations. But, after a short stay at the French
Embassy in London, she decided she, preffered acting to diplomacy. She
abrupdy abandoned the comedy of power for the power of comedy and in 1973,
enrolled in th Perimoni Acting School. Soon she was given theatre roles
in POLYEUCTE, ELECTRA and in TETE D'OR. In 1979, she gained wide public
acclaim for her role in Nina Companeez' s TV series LES DAMES DE LA COTE.
Since then, she has had other television roles - in Marcel Cravenne's MEMOIRES
DE DEUX JEUNES MARIES and Alexandre Astruc's THE FALL OF THE HOUSE OF USHER
- and in 1980, she acted in a play by Rene de Obaldia called LES BONS BOURGEOIS
at the Herbertot Theatre in Paris.
In 1980, Fanny appeared in Claude Lelouch's LES UNS ET LES AUTRES. She followed
up her performance with Francois Truffaut's THE WOMAN NEXT DOOR in 1981.
In 1982, she appeared in two French films, Alain Resnais' LIFE IS A NOVEL
and CONFIDENTIALLY YOURS by Francois Truffaut. In 1983, Fanny appeared in
BENVENUTA by Andre Delvaux, SWANN IN LOVE by Volker Schlondorff, and DESIDERIO
by Anna Maria Tato. 1984 brought her roles in Nadine Trintignant's L'ETE
PROCHAIN, L'AMOUR A MORT by Alain Resnais, and Pierre William Glenn's LES
ENRAGES. She acted in two films in 1985, CONSEIL DE FAMILLE by Costa-Gavras
and MELO, by Alain Resnais. She followed these roles with the 1986 releases
of LE PALTOQUET by Michel Deville and THE FAMILY by Ettore Scola. In 1987
she garnered roles in Tony Gadis' PLEURE PAS MY LOVE, THREE SISTER by Margarethe
Von Trotta and Jean-Jacques Andrien's AUSTRALIA. She starred in L'AVENTURE
DE CATHERINE by Pierre Beuchot in 1989, and followed up her 1992 performance
in Joel Farges' AMOK with the 1993 release of Yves Angelo's COLONEL CHABERT.
Fanny appeared in an amazing five film in 1995, Michaelangelo Antonioni's
and Wim Wenders' BEYOND THE CLOUDS, SABRINA by Sydney Pollack, DESIRE by
Bernard Murat, PEDALE DOUCE by Gabriel Aghion and her acclaimed role as
the Countess of Blayac in Patrice Leconte's RIDICULE.
JEAN ROCHEFORT
One of French cinema's most beloved and recognizable faces, Jean Rochefort
has acted in more than sixty films over a career that spans four decades.
Born in Brittany on April 29, 1930, Rochefort was classically trained at
Paris' prestigious acting conservatory where he befriended fellow actors
Jean-Paul Belmondo and Jean-Pierre Marielle. While pursuing a theatre career
he started appearing in films in the late 1950' s. Initially noted for his
comic skills, Rochefort became one of the most popular actors of the 1960's
and 1970's and has been featured in numerous French films by popular directors
of the post-New Wave including Philippe de Broca, Yves Allegret, Edouard
Molinaro, Francis Girod, Main Cavalier and Yves Robert (THE TALL BLONDE
MAN WITH A BLACK SHOE, 1972). He also appeared in the latter's M Y MOTHER'S
CASTLE (1990).
Director Bertrand Tavernier allowed him to expand his range by casting him
in dramatic roles in THE CLOCKMAKER, 1973) and LET JOY REIGN SUPREME, 1974)
for which he earned his first Cesar for Best Supporting Actor. His performance
in Pierre Schoendoeffer' s LE CRABE-TAMBOUR earned him another Cesar for
Best Actor in 1977. A versatile performer, he has worked with a wide variety
of directors from Luis Bunuel (THE PHANTOME OF THE LIBERTY, 1974) to Claude
Chabrol (LES MAGICIENS, 1975), Bertrand Blier (Calmos, 1975) and Robert
Altman (READY TO WEAR, 1994).
Rochefort and Patrice Leconte' s long collaboration dates back to the director's
first film, LES VECES ETAIENT FERMES DE L'INTERIEUR (1976). Since then,
Rochefort has appeared in Leconte's TANDEM (1987), THE HAIRDRESSERS HUSBAND
(1990), TANGO (1992), and LES GRANDS DUCS (1996). RIDICULE marks their sixth
collaboration.
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