Audrey Tautou

Audrey Tautou was born in Beaumont in France's Puy-de-Domme on 8 August 1976. She was eldest child of four. Her parents, a dentist and a teacher recognised and backed her love for acting and theatre from a young age which superseded an initial desire to become a primatologist due to her passion for monkeys. When she was a teenager the rise to fame was swift and ended with the beginning of her successes. In 1998, after completing her degree she was invited to take part in Jeunes Premiers which is a French TV talent-scouting programme which was run by Canal+. There she won the award for Best Young Actress in the Beziers Festival of Young Actors. This led her to begin her acting profession. Tautou was a member of the church as well as the Institut Catholique de Paris during her youth, however she has since gotten rid of her childhood. Apart from her acting career she was also interested in modelling. She was the model in the commercials for L'Oreal Mont Blanc, Chanel and is known as "The Chanel Muse". Apart from her acting career she is also interested in photography. Recently, she exhibited a selection of her photographs at the Arles Film Festival under the title Superficial. Her photography largely focuses on fame and celebrity and then turns her camera to the journalists who scrutinised her when she exploded to stardom with Amelie as well as self-portraits. Audrey Tautou rose to fame and stardom with her major part in the film Le Fabuleux of Amelie Poulain. Amelie was recognized internationally due to its success at the box office. It was also praised at awards ceremonies across the world. It is currently the most successful French film of the French language on the market in US. Following this massive success, Tautou went on to star in many films which included British dramas like Stephen Knight's Dirty Pretty Things and Jean-Pierre Jeunet's Long Sunday of fiancailles. Tautou also appeared alongside Tom Hanks in Ron Howard's The Da Vinci Code directed by Dan Brown.