Isabelle Adjani

Isabelle Yasmine Adjani (French pronunciation: [izabɛl adʒani]; born 27 June 1955) is a French actress and singer, known for portraying tragic and emotionally complex characters across various genres, particularly psychological films. She has received various accolades, including five César Awards, a Lumière Award and a Best Actress Award at the Cannes Film Festival, along with nominations for two Academy Awards. Adjani was made a Chevalier of the Légion d'honneur in 2010 and a Commandeur of the Ordre des Arts et des Lettres in 2014.

Adjani has won a record five Césars for Best Actress for Possession (1981), One Deadly Summer (1983), Camille Claudel (1988), La Reine Margot (1994), and La Journée de la jupe (2009). Her other César-nominated roles were in The Story of Adèle H. (1975), Barocco (1976), Subway (1985), and The World Is Yours (2018). Other notable films include The Slap (1974), The Tenant (1976), The Driver (1978), Nosferatu the Vampyre (1979), All Fired Up (1982), Deadly Circuit (1983), Ishtar (1987), Diabolique (1996), Adolphe (2002), Bon voyage (2003), French Women (2014), and Peter von Kant (2022).

Adjani came to international prominence for her portrayal of Adèle Hugo in The Story of Adele H., for which she was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Actress at age 20, becoming the youngest nominee in the category at the time. She later collected a second Best Actress nomination for portraying Camille Claudel in Camille Claudel, thus becoming the first French actress to receive two Academy Award nominations for foreign-language films. Adjani also won the Cannes Film Festival's Best Actress Award for her performances in Possession and Quartet (1981), which makes her the only actress to win a joint award for two films in the same competition slate, and the Berlinale's Silver Bear for Best Actress for Camille Claudel.