Fanny Marguerite Judith Ardant born 22 March 1949 is a French actress and filmmaker. She is the recipient of numerous accolades, including two César Awards and a Lumières Award.
Early life
Ardant was born in Saumur, Maine-et-Loire, France, to a military attaché father. She grew up in Monaco until age 17, when she moved to Aix-en-Provence to study at the Institut d’études politiques d’Aix-en-Provence. In her early twenties, her interest turned to acting and in 1974 she made her first appearance on stage.
Career
Fanny Ardant at the press conference of Shock Waves – Diary of My Mind at Berlinale 2018
By the early 1980s, Ardant was a major film star, gaining international recognition for her role opposite Gérard Depardieu in La Femme d’à côté (The Woman Next Door). The film, directed by François Truffaut, brought Ardant her first César Award nomination for best actress in 1982 and in 1984 she was nominated again for Vivement dimanche!. Eventually, she became Truffaut’s partner, giving birth to their daughter, Joséphine Truffaut, on 28 September 1983. Initially, her youthful beauty brought popularity but over time her sophistication and acting skills made her one of France’s most admired actresses. She proved her versatility, playing a comedic role in Pédale douce for which she won the 1997 César Award for Best Actress.
Fluent in English and Italian, Ardant has starred in several Hollywood and British films. Her most recent English-language film was the 2002 Franco Zeffirelli production Callas Forever, in which she portrayed opera diva Maria Callas. It opened the 14th Annual Palm Springs International Film Festival on 9 January 2003. In 2003, Ardant received the Stanislavsky Award at the 25th Moscow International Film Festival (for the outstanding achievement in the career of acting and devotion to the principles of Stanislavsky’s school).
In 2009, she became a director and screenwriter, with Cendres et sang (Ashes and Blood). She also took part in a rare performance of Sardou’s La Haine on 19 July 2009 at the Festival de Radio France et Montpellier Languedoc Roussillon, with Gérard Depardieu, the concert broadcast on France Musique.
In 2010, she directed a short feature, Absent Chimeras (Chimères absentes in French), in which she also stars. She made this short film in order to raise public awareness to the plight of Romani people in Europe, a cause she personally defends. In 2011, she starred in the music video for Elle me dit, the first French single by Lebanese singer Mika, and appeared in the play based on Joan Didion’s 2005 novel The Year of Magical Thinking in the Théâtre de l’Atelier, Paris. She also starred in Interno Giorno that same year by Tommaso Rossellini, acting in both French and Italian. In 2013, she made a cameo appearance as herself in The Great Beauty.
In 2018, Ardant starred in the Swiss drama film Shock Waves – Diary of My Mind by Ursula Meier. It was screened in the Panorama section at the 68th Berlin International Film Festival. In 2019, Ardant directed the opera Lady Macbeth of Mtsensk at the Greek National Opera.
Personal life
Ardant has three daughters: Lumir, from a relationship with French actor Dominique Leverd, was born in 1975; Ardant and partner François Truffaut, together from 1981 until his death in 1984, had daughter Joséphine in 1983; her third daughter Baladine, from a relationship with Italian film producer and cinematographer Fabio Conversi, was born in 1990.
Ardant once expressed admiration for Renato Curcio, ex-leader of the militant Red Brigades (Brigate Rosse), saying that it was good of him to adhere to his principles. She later discovered that it would be difficult to attend a film festival in Venice, as her declaration had created much scandal in Italy. The Governor of Veneto said that he would prefer that Ardant not visit his region. She then pleaded for forgiveness from victims of terrorism.
In September 2009, Ardant signed a petition in support of director Roman Polanski, calling for his release after he was arrested in Switzerland in relation to his 1977 charge for drugging and raping a 13-year-old girl.
Selected filmography
Ardant at the 2005 Cannes Film Festival
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1976 | Marie-poupée | Marie-Paule | |
| 1979 | The Dogs | Missing Girl | |
| 1981 | Les Uns et les Autres | Véronique | |
| The Woman Next Door | Mathilde Bauchard | ||
| 1982 | Life Is a Bed of Roses | Livia Ceraskier | |
| Confidentially Yours | Barbara Becker | ||
| 1983 | Swann in Love | Duchesse de Guermantes | |
| Benvenuta | Benvenuta | ||
| 1984 | L’Amour à mort | Judith Martignac | |
| 1986 | Mélo | Christiane Levesque | |
| 1987 | The Family | Adriana | |
| 1988 | Love and Fear | Velia | |
| 1989 | Australia | Jeanne Gauthier | |
| 1992 | Afraid of the Dark | Miriam | |
| 1994 | Colonel Chabert | Countess Ferraud | |
| A Hundred and One Nights | the star who works at night | ||
| 1995 | Beyond the Clouds | Patricia | |
| Sabrina | Irene | ||
| 1996 | Désiré | Odette | |
| Pédale douce | Evelyne, called Eva | ||
| Ridicule | Madame de Blayac | ||
| 1998 | Elizabeth | Mary of Guise | |
| Le Dîner | Flora | ||
| 1999 | Augustin, King of Kung-Fu | as herself | |
| Le fils du Français | Anne | ||
| 2000 | Le Libertin | Madame Therbouche | |
| 2001 | 8 Women | Pierrette | |
| Callas Forever | Maria Callas | ||
| Don’t Tempt Me | Marina D’Angelo | ||
| 2003 | Nathalie… | Catherine | |
| 2006 | Paris, je t’aime | Fanny | |
| 2007 | Roman de Gare | Judith Ralitzer | |
| Il Divo | the wife of the French ambassador | ||
| 2008 | Hello Goodbye | Gisèle | |
| The Secrets | Anouk | ||
| 2009 | Ashes and Blood | (Director) | |
| Face | the producer/ Queen Hérodias | ||
| 2011 | Interno Giorno | Maria Toricello | |
| Raspoutine | empress Alexandra Feodorovna | ||
| 2013 | Bright Days Ahead | Caroline | |
| The Great Beauty | cameo appearance as herself | ||
| Cadences obstinées | (Director) | ||
| 2014 | Casanova Variations | Lucrecia | |
| 2015 | Chic! | Alicia Ricosi | |
| 2016 | For This Is My Body | The Woman | |
| 2017 | Waiting for You | Madeleine Brown | |
| 2017 | O Turno da Noite | Short film | |
| 2017 | Lola Pater | Lola Chekib | |
| 2018 | Ma mère est folle | Nina Renner | |
| 2019 | Perdrix | Thérèse Perdrix | |
| La Belle Époque | Marianne Drumond | ||
| 2020 | DNA | Caroline |
Awards and nominations
| Institution | Category | Year | Work | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Berlin International Film Festival | Silver Bear for Outstanding Artistic Achievement (shared with the cast) | 2002 | 8 Women | Won |
| Cannes Film Festival | Caméra d’Or | 2009 | Ashes and Blood | Nominated |
| CinEuphoria Awards | Best Film – National Competition | 2018 | Le divan de Staline | Nominated |
| Best Director – National Competition | Nominated | |||
| Best Actress in a Short Film – National Competition | O Turno da Noite | Nominated | ||
| Top Ten of the Year – National Competition | Le divan de Staline | Won | ||
| César Awards | Best Actress | 1982 | The Woman Next Door | Nominated |
| 1984 | Confidentially Yours | Nominated | ||
| 1997 | Pédale douce | Won | ||
| 2003 | 8 Women | Nominated | ||
| 2014 | Bright Days Ahead | Nominated | ||
| Best Supporting Actress | 2020 | La Belle Époque | Won | |
| European Film Awards | Best Actress (shared with the cast) | 2002 | 8 Women | Won |
| People’s Choice Award for Best European Actress | 2004 | Nathalie… | Nominated | |
| Globe de Cristal Awards | Best Actress | 2020 | La Belle Époque | Nominated |
| Yerevan International Film Festival | Lifetime Achievement Award | 2011 | N/A | Won |
| Golden Goblets Awards | Career Goblet | 1995 | N/A | Won |
| Hellenic Film Academy Awards | Honorary Award | 2015 | N/A | Won |
| Nastro d’Argento | Best Foreign Actress | 1997 | The Family | Nominated |
| European Silver Ribbon | 2004 | N/A | Won | |
| Lumières Award | Best Actress | 1997 | Ridicule | Won |
| 2020 | La Belle Époque | Nominated | ||
| Molière Award | Best Actress | 1993 | L’Aide-mémoire | Nominated |
| 1997 | Master Class | Nominated | ||
| Moscow International Film Festival | Stanislavsky Award | 2003 | N/A | Won |