Bérénice Bejo (; born 7 July 1976) is a French-Argentine actress best known for playing Christiana in ''

A Knight's Tale ''A Knight's Tale'' is a 2001 American medieval adventure comedy film written, co-produced and directed by Brian Helgeland. The film stars Heath Ledger as William Thatcher, a peasant squire who poses as a knight and competes in tournaments, win ...

'' (2001) and Peppy Miller in '' The Artist'' (2011). Her work in the latter earned her a nomination for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress and won her the

César Award for Best Actress The César Award for Best Actress (french: César de la meilleure actrice, link=no) is one of the César Awards, presented annually by the ''Académie des Arts et Techniques du Cinéma'' to recognize the outstanding performance in a leading role o ...

. For her performance in '' The Past'', she won

Best Actress Best Actress is the name of an award which is presented by various film, television and theatre organisations, festivals, and people's awards to leading actresses in a film, television series, television film or play. The first Best Actress aw ...

at the Cannes Film Festival in 2013 and was nominated for a César.

Personal life

Bejo was born in

Buenos Aires Buenos Aires ( or ; ), officially the Autonomous City of Buenos Aires ( es, link=no, Ciudad Autónoma de Buenos Aires), is the capital and primate city of Argentina. The city is located on the western shore of the Río de la Plata, on South ...

, Argentina, and is the daughter of Argentine filmmaker Miguel Bejo and his wife Silvia, a lawyer. When she was three, her family moved to France, escaping from Argentina's most recent civil-military dictatorship (1976–1983). Her father enrolled her at the school of Les Enfants Terribles theater. In 2006, she starred in '' OSS 117: Cairo, Nest of Spies'', where she met director Michel Hazanavicius, whom she later married. They have two children: Lucien and Gloria.

Career

In 2001, Bejo made her American film debut, playing the role of Christiana in ''

'' opposite

Heath Ledger Heath Andrew Ledger (4 April 1979 – 22 January 2008) was an Australian actor and music video director. After playing roles in several Australian television and film productions during the 1990s, Ledger moved to the United States in 1998 to ...

. Christiana is a

lady-in-waiting A lady-in-waiting or court lady is a female personal assistant at a court, attending on a royal woman or a high-ranking noblewoman. Historically, in Europe, a lady-in-waiting was often a noblewoman but of lower rank than the woman to whom sh ...

to Jocelyn (

Shannyn Sossamon Shannon Marie Kahololani "Shannyn" Sossamon () is an American actress, director, and musician. She has appeared in the films ''A Knight's Tale'' (2001), '' 40 Days and 40 Nights'', '' The Rules of Attraction'' (both 2002), '' The Order'' (2003), ...

). In 2002, she toured in France with

Marie-France Pisier Marie-France Pisier (10 May 194424 April 2011) was a French actress, screenwriter, and director. She appeared in numerous films of the French New Wave and twice earned the national César Award for Best Supporting Actress. Early life Pisier was ...

and

Guillaume Depardieu Guillaume Jean Maxime Antoine Depardieu (7 April 1971 – 13 October 2008) was a French actor, winner of a César Award, and the oldest child of Gérard Depardieu. Early life Depardieu was the son of actor Gérard Depardieu and his first wife, a ...

. In 2003, Bejo starred as Olivia in '' 24 Hours in the Life of a Woman'' by Laurent Bouhnik. Under the direction of Steve Suissa, she seduces Stephane Freiss and Titoff in ''The Grand Role'' (2004), and a comedy about the world of actors, and ''Cavalcade'' (2005), a drama dealing with the theme of disability. In 2006, she made a comeback by acting alongside

Jean Dujardin Jean Edmond Dujardin (; born 19 June 1972) is a French actor and comedian. He began his career as a stand-up comedian in Paris before guest starring in comedic television programmes and films. He first came to prominence with the cult TV series ...

in ''OSS 117: Cairo, Nest of Spies'' by Michel Hazanavicius. This was the first collaboration of the trio. In 2007, she made an appearance in the short film ''La Pomme d'Adam''. In 2008, she appeared in two romantic comedies: ''Modern Love Bouquet'' and ''Stéphane Kazandjian''. The same year she gave birth to her first child by Hazanavicius. In 2009, she participated in the documentary by , ''

Henri-Georges Clouzot's Inferno ''Henri-Georges Clouzot's Inferno'' (French title: ''L'Enfer d'Henri-Georges Clouzot'') is a film directed, written and produced by Henri-Georges Clouzot, cinematography by Andréas Winding and Armand Thirard, which remained unfinished in 1964. I ...

''. The documentary reconstructs Clouzot's film, alternating between scenes from the 1964 film and dialogue readings between

Jacques Gamblin Jacques Gamblin is a French actor. Life and career Jacques Gamblin is a French actor. He studied at the Centre dramatique de Caen (Caen Dramatic Arts Centre). Originally, Jacques Gamblin was not destined to act. As a professional technician ...

(for Serge Reggiani) and Béjo (for

Romy Schneider Romy Schneider (; born Rosemarie Magdalena Albach; 23 September 1938 – 29 May 1982) was a German-French actress. She began her career in the German genre in the early 1950s when she was 15. From 1955 to 1957, she played the central chara ...

). In the 2011 film, '' The Artist'', which is directed by Hazanavicius and stars Dujardin, Bejo plays Peppy Miller, a 1920s film actress. Her performance received critical acclaim, the

, and several award nominations: the

Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Supporting Role The Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Supporting Role in a Motion Picture is an award given by the Screen Actors Guild to honor the finest acting achievements in film. Winners and nominees ...

, the

Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actress – Motion Picture The Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actress – Motion Picture is a Golden Globe Award that was first awarded by the Hollywood Foreign Press Association in 1944 for a performance in a motion picture released in the previous year. The fo ...

award,

BAFTA Award for Best Actress in a Leading Role Best Actress in a Leading Role is a British Academy Film Award presented annually by the British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTA) to recognize an actress who has delivered an outstanding leading performance in a film. * From 1952 t ...

and the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress. In 2012, she was announced as the host of the opening and closing ceremonies at the

2012 Cannes Film Festival The 65th Cannes Film Festival was held from 16 to 27 May 2012. Italian film director Nanni Moretti was the President of the Jury for the main competition and British actor Tim Roth was the President of the Jury for the Un Certain Regard sectio ...

. She dubbed the role of Mérida in the French dub of the Disney/Pixar film '' Brave''. In June 2012, Bejo was invited to join the

Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS, often pronounced ; also known as simply the Academy or the Motion Picture Academy) is a professional honorary organization with the stated goal of advancing the arts and sciences of motion ...

. The same month, she received the

Prix Romy Schneider The Prix Romy Schneider (Romy Schneider Award) is awarded annually to a young and upcoming actress working in the French film industry. It is named after the actress Romy Schneider (1938–1982). The prize is awarded by a jury each year in Paris ...

Filmography

Theatre

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Bejo, Berenice 1976 births 21st-century French actresses Argentine emigrants to France Best Actress César Award winners Best Actress Lumières Award winners Cannes Film Festival Award for Best Actress winners French film actresses French silent film actresses Living people Actresses from Buenos Aires 20th-century French actresses