ACTOR · BORN 1975
Marion Cotillard
- Born
- 30 September 1975, Paris, France
- Known for
- The Dark Knight Rises (2012), Assassin's Creed (2016), La Passion de Jeanne d'Arc (1928), Macbeth (2015)
100 archived facts 7 topics 1 source Last reviewed Nov 2026
Marion Cotillard (born 30 September 1975) is an actor best known for The Dark Knight Rises, Assassin's Creed and La Passion de Jeanne d'Arc.
Marion Cotillard over the years
100 Interesting Facts About Marion Cotillard
Interesting Facts (13)
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Designed her own jewellery for Chopard, a bracelet and a necklace. She created the first "green" offering for the house, using ethically sourced coloured gemstones. Cotillard wore the handpiece that she designed featuring opals and diamonds connected to a ring by a chain during the Cannes premiere of The Little Prince (2015) on May 22, 2015.
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Was mentioned on Jodie Foster's Golden Globes speech in 2013. Foster said: "[...] But now I'm told, apparently, that every celebrity is expected to honor the details of their private life with a press conference, a fragrance and a prime-time reality show. You know, you guys might be surprised, but I am not Honey Boo Boo Child. No, I'm sorry, that's just not me. It never was and it never will be. Please don't cry because my reality show would be so boring. I would have to make out with Marion Cotillard or I'd have to spank Daniel Craig's bottom just to stay on the air. It's not bad work if you can get it, though.".
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Was mentioned on Jodie Foster's Golden Globes speech in 2013. Foster said: "[...] But now I'm told, apparently, that every celebrity is expected to honor the details of their private life with a press conference, a fragrance and a prime-time reality show. You know, you guys might be surprised, but I am not Honey Boo Boo Child. No, I'm sorry, that's just not me. It never was and it never will be. Please don't cry because my reality show would be so boring. I would have to make out with Marion Cotillard or I'd have to spank Daniel Craig's bottom just to stay on the air. It's not bad work if you can get it, though.".
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Has expressed her desire to play a man, citing what Cate Blanchett did in I'm Not There (2007).
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Production Story (14)
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Was director Benoît Jacquot's original choice to play Celestine in Diary of a Chambermaid (2015), but dropped out. If she had starred in the film, it would have been the second time that she would have played a character that was played by Jeanne Moreau. Cotillard played the younger version of Moreau's character in Lisa (2001) and Moreau played Celestine in Diary of a Chambermaid (1964).
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Was considered for the role of Hanna Schmitz in The Reader (2008) after Nicole Kidman dropped out due to pregnancy. However the part eventually went to Kate Winslet. In 2009, Cotillard presented and gave the Academy Award for Best Actress to Kate Winslet for her performance in The Reader (2008).
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Was originally set to star in The Past (2013) but was replaced by Bérénice Bejo after dropping out due to scheduling conflicts with the promotion of Rust and Bone (2012). If Cotillard had starred in the film, she would have played the mother of Pauline Burlet's character; Burlet played Édith Piaf as a child in La Vie En Rose (2007), while Cotillard played Piaf as an adult in the same film.
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Accepted to star in Two Days, One Night (2014) without seing the script. Cotillard is one of only three non-Belgian actors to lead a movie directed by Belgian directors Jean-Pierre Dardenne and Luc Dardenne since I'm Thinking of You (1993), the other two being Arta Dobroshi in Lorna's Silence (2008) and Adèle Haenel in The Unknown Girl (2016). She was cast after they met her on the set of Rust and Bone (2012), which they co-produced.
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Accepted to star in Two Days, One Night (2014) without seing the script. Cotillard is one of only three non-Belgian actors to lead a movie directed by Belgian directors Jean-Pierre Dardenne and Luc Dardenne since I'm Thinking of You (1993), the other two being Arta Dobroshi in Lorna's Silence (2008) and Adèle Haenel in The Unknown Girl (2016). She was cast after they met her on the set of Rust and Bone (2012), which they co-produced.
Behind the Scenes (7)
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Returned to work one month after giving birth to her son Marcel, to begin filming The Dark Knight Rises (2012). Most of her scenes were pushed back a month and director Christopher Nolan made room on the set for Cotillard's family. During an interview for Vogue in August 2012, Nolan marveled at Cotillard's ability to do her job so soon after giving birth, calling it "amazing to see" and describing her as "Superwoman".
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Characters & Cast (11)
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Starred in 3 films with Gaspard Ulliel: A Very Long Engagement (2004), It's Only the End of the World (2016) and La vengeance au triple galop (2021). However, the only film in which they shared scenes together was 'It's Only the End of the World'. In a 2018 interview for Vanity Fair France's YouTube channel, Ulliel said that Cotillard was the actress he enjoyed to shoot with the most despite the few scenes they shared together in 'It's Only the End of the World', and that "she gives a lot to her scene partner".
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Was originally set to star in The Past (2013) but was replaced by Bérénice Bejo after dropping out due to scheduling conflicts with the promotion of Rust and Bone (2012). If Cotillard had starred in the film, she would have played the mother of Pauline Burlet's character; Burlet played Édith Piaf as a child in La Vie En Rose (2007), while Cotillard played Piaf as an adult in the same film.
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Easter Eggs & References (8)
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Her character in Nine (2009), Luisa, is half-French and half-Italian. In 8½ (1963), the character was played by French actress Anouk Aimée. Aimée is the first actress to be nominated for an Oscar for a French-speaking role (A Man and a Woman (1966)), while Cotillard is the first and only actress to win an Oscar for a French-speaking role (La Vie En Rose (2007)).
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Three of her films, Chloé (1996), Love Me If You Dare (2003) and Inception (2010) have featured a song by Édith Piaf. "La Vie en Rose" was used in "Chloé" and "Love Me If You Dare", and "Non, Je Ne Regrette Rien" plays in "Inception" - Marion won the Academy Award for Best Actress portraying Piaf in La Vie En Rose (2007).
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Career & Awards (25)
- #054
Appeared in two films that made their world premieres at the Cannes Film Festival in the same week in 2013: Blood Ties (2013) (out of competition) and The Immigrant (2013) (in competition). It happened again in 2015 when The Little Prince (2015) (out of competition) and Macbeth (2015) (in competition) premiered with two days apart. In 2016, From the Land of the Moon (2016) and It's Only the End of the World (2016) premiered in the main competition only three days apart. In 2021, she also had two films premiering at Cannes: Annette (2021) (opening film in the main competition) and Bigger Than Us (2021) (competing in the Golden Eye section, Cotillard was a producer).
- #055
When she won the César Award for her performance in La Vie En Rose (2007), Alain Delon presented the award and announced the winner as "La Môme Marion" (The Kid Marion), he also praised her on stage by saying: "Marion, I give you this César. I think this César is for a great, great actress, and I know what I'm talking about".
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When Keira Knightley was interviewed by Sky News on the red carpet of the 2008 BAFTA Awards, she said that Cotillard should win the Best Leading Actress award that night (both of them were nominated in the same category, Cotillard for La Vie En Rose (2007) and Knightley for Atonement (2007)), and that she hoped Cotillard would win the Oscar as well and praised her performance in 'La Vie en Rose'. Cotillard thanked and hugged Knightley right after she said that, and before that, she had said that she loves Knightley. Cotillard won both awards that year. In 2021, Cotillard and Knightley worked together as executive producers on the animated film Charlotte (2021), and both of them voiced the film's lead character, Charlotte Salomon, Cotillard in the French version and Knightley in the English version.
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Starred in 3 films with Gaspard Ulliel: A Very Long Engagement (2004), It's Only the End of the World (2016), and La vengeance au triple galop (2021). However, the only film in which they shared scenes together was 'It's Only the End of the World'. In a 2018 interview for Vanity Fair France's YouTube channel, Ulliel said that Cotillard was the actress he enjoyed to work with the most despite the few scenes they shared together in 'It's Only the End of the World', and that "she gives a lot to her scene partner".
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Her onscreen debut was in 1993 at the age of 17, in the Canadian TV Series Highlander (1992). She had an uncredited cameo as the girl who gives birth in the episode 17 of Season 1: "Saving Grace". She then returned in the episode 21: "Nowhere to Run", as Lori Bellian. It was also her first English-speaking role.
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She was the face of French fashion house Dior from 2008 to 2017 and starred in print ad campaigns and commercials for the Lady Dior handbags. In 2011, she also starred in the campaign for the Miss Dior Handbag Fall/Winter 2011/2012. Her ads for Dior were also shot by acclaimed photographers such as Annie Leibovitz, Craig McDean, Steven Klein, Tim Walker, Mikael Jansson, Peter Lindbergh, Jean-Baptiste Mondino and Mert and Marcus. In 2012, Cotillard designed her own handbag for Lady Dior, the "360º Bag". In 2014, she composed a song, wrote, directed and starred in the music video Lady Dior: Enter the Game (2014), that was made especially for Dior.
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The mermaid-like dress she wore to the Academy Awards (where she won the Oscar for Best Actress in a Leading Role) was especially designed for her by Jean-Paul Gaultier. The dress increased its value since Cotillard worn it, and as of 2023 it's valued at $180,000, one of the most expensive dresses ever worn at the Academy Awards. Nearly every year since 2008, someone wears a similar-looking dress to the Oscars or to an after-party.
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She has appeared on more than 300 magazine covers around the world, including Vogue, Elle, Marie Claire, Variety, Harper's Bazaar, Vanity Fair, Madame Figaro, Glamour, W, The Hollywood Reporter and Wall Street Journal Magazine. She was also on the cover of the first issue of Dior Magazine in September 2012 and appeared in 3 covers of Vogue in August 2012 (USA, UK and France).
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Sings under the pseudonym Simone in Maxim Nucci's band Yodelice. "Simone" is her grandmother's name. In 2010, Cotillard went on tour with the band in different cities in France and Belgium and sang few songs on the album "Cardioid". She also recorded the song "The Eyes of Mars" alongside Franz Ferdinand especially for Dior's "Lady Rouge" campaign.
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When she won the César Award for her performance in La Vie En Rose (2007), Alain Delon presented the award and announced the winner as "La Môme Marion" (The Kid Marion), he also praised her on stage by saying: "Marion, I give you this César. I think this César is for a great, great actress, and I know what I'm talking about".
Life & Family (22)
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She's an ecologist. Member and Spokesperson for Greenpeace since 2002. She is also one of several actors, singers and designers involved in "Dessins pour le Climat" ("Drawings for the Climate"), a book of drawings originated by Greenpeace and Glénat, available for sale beginning April 2005 (all proceeds to go to Greenpeace).
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Her favorite indie film is Hedwig and the Angry Inch (2001). In 2007, it was announced that Cotillard would play the role of Hedwig on stage, but that never happened. She also worked with the film's director, John Cameron Mitchell, in two short films for Dior (L.A.dy Dior (2011) and Lady Grey London (2010)), and together they composed the song "Snapshot in LA" in 2014.
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Is a fan of Kate Winslet, Will Ferrell, Seth Rogen and Jonah Hill. During an interview at The Tonight Show with Jay Leno (1992) in 2012, Cotillard told that she would love to work with them in a comedy. In 2013, she had a cameo in Anchorman 2: The Legend Continues (2013), a comedy film starring Will Ferrell. Cotillard also wrote an open-ed for Variety praising Kate Winslet's performance in Labor Day (2013).
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Related pages
- Jessica Tandy — Marion Cotillard comes up in the facts on that page
- Christoph Waltz — Marion Cotillard comes up in the facts on that page
- Kate Winslet — Marion Cotillard comes up in the facts on that page
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