The

César Award Cesar, César or Cèsar may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media * ''César'' (film), a 1936 film directed by Marcel Pagnol * ''César'' (play), a play by Marcel Pagnolt * César Award, a French film award Places * Cesar, Portugal * Ces ...

for Best Actress in a Supporting Role (French: ''César de la meilleure actrice dans un second rôle'') is one of the

César Awards The César Award is the national film award of France. It is delivered in the ' ceremony and was first awarded in 1976. The nominations are selected by the members of twelve categories of filmmaking professionals and supported by the French Mi ...

, presented annually by the ''Académie des Arts et Techniques du Cinéma'' to recognize the outstanding performance in a supporting role of an actress who has worked within the

French film industry French cinema consists of the film industry and its film productions, whether made within the nation of France or by French film production companies abroad. It is the oldest and largest precursor of national cinemas in Europe; with primary inf ...

during the year preceding the ceremony. Nominees and winner are selected via a run-off voting by all the members of the Académie.

History

Superlatives

As of 2019, 137 actresses have been nominated in the category, with a total of 34 different winners. The average age at first nomination is 41 and the average age of winners at first win is 38. With three wins (1991, 1993, 1999),

Dominique Blanc Dominique Blanc (born 25 April 1956) is a French actress. She is known for her roles in the films ''May Fools'' (1990), '' Indochine'' (1992), '' La Reine Margot'' (1994), '' Those Who Love Me Can Take the Train'' (1998), and '' The Other One' ...

holds the record of most César Award for Best Supporting Actress. Eight actresses have won the César twice: Marie-France Pisier (1976, 1977),

Nathalie Baye Nathalie Marie Andrée Baye (born 6 July 1948) is a French film, television and stage actress. She began her career in 1970 and has appeared in more than 80 films. A ten-time César Award nominee, her four wins were for '' Every Man for Himself'' ...

(1981, 1982), Suzanne Flon (1984, 1990), Annie Girardot (1996, 2002), Valérie Lemercier (1994, 2007), Julie Depardieu (2004, 2008), Anne Alvaro (2001, 2011) and

Karin Viard Karin Viard (; born 24 January 1966) is a multi-award-winning French actress. She made her film debut in ''Tatie Danielle'' in 1990. She has appeared in films such as ''Delicatessen'', '' L'Emploi du temps'', ''Adultère, mode d'emploi'' and ''L ...

(2003, 2019). Marie-France Pisier and

have won their two awards in consecutive years. Along with Adèle Haenel, they are the only three performers to have won two competitive acting César in a row. Including her Best Actress César won in 1983, Nathalie Baye is also the only performer to have won an acting César in three consecutive years, in 1981, 1982 and 1983. Noémie Lvovsky and

tie for the record of most nominations with 6, Lvovsky also holding the record of most nominations without ever winning the award. Stéphane Audran holds the record of most consecutive nominations with 3 (1982, 1983, 1984). Nine women have won both the César Award for Best Supporting Actress and the César Award for Best Actress: *

(Best Supporting Actress in 1981 and 1982, Best Actress in 1983 and 2006), * Annie Girardot (Best Actress in 1977, Best Supporting Actress in 1996 and 2002), *

(Best Supporting Actress in 1991, 1993 and 1999, Best Actress in 2001), *

(Best Actress in 2000, Best Supporting Actress in 2003 and 2019), * Marion Cotillard (Best Supporting Actress in 2005, Best Actress in 2008), * Emmanuelle Devos (Best Actress in 2002, Best Supporting Actress in 2010), * Adèle Haenel (Best Supporting Actress in 2014, Best Actress in 2015), * Catherine Frot (Best Supporting Actress in 1997, Best Actress in 2016). *

Fanny Ardant Fanny Marguerite Judith Ardant (born 22 March 1949) is a French actress and film director. 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, ...

(Best Actress in 1997, Best Supporting Actress in 2020),

is the only actress with multiple wins in both categories. Three films have received both accolades: ''

One Deadly Summer ''One Deadly Summer'' (french: L'Été meurtrier) is a 1983 French drama film directed by Jean Becker from a screenplay by Sébastien Japrisot, based on Japrisot's 1977 One Deadly Summer (novel), novel of the same name. Isabelle Adjani won a C ...

'' in 1984 (Best Actress to Isabelle Adjani, Best Supporting Actress to Suzanne Flon), '' Indochine'' in 1993 (Best Actress to

Catherine Deneuve Catherine Fabienne Dorléac (born 22 October 1943), known professionally as Catherine Deneuve (, , ), is a French actress as well as an occasional singer, model, and producer, considered one of the greatest European actresses. She gained recogni ...

, Best Supporting Actress to

) and '' Queen Margot'' in 1995 (Best Actress to Isabelle Adjani, Best Supporting Actress to Virna Lisi). Three women have won the César Award for Best Supporting Actress after previously winning the César Award for Most Promising Actress: * Charlotte Gainsbourg (Most Promising Actress in 1986, Best Supporting Actress in 2000), * Julie Depardieu (Most Promising Actress in 2004, Best Supporting Actress in 2004 and 2008), *

Cécile de France Cécile de France (; born 17 July 1975) is a Belgian actress. After achieving success in French cinema hits such as '' L'Art (délicat) de la séduction'' (2001) and ''Irène'' (2002), she gained international attention for her lead roles in '' ...

(Most Promising Actress in 2003, Best Supporting Actress in 2006). Both

and Julie Depardieu have won their two awards with a same role: Isabelle, an Erasmus student, in '' The Spanish Apartment'' (Most Promising Actress) and its sequel ''

The Russian Dolls ''Russian Dolls'' (french: Les Poupées russes) is a 2005 romantic comedy-drama film, the sequel to (2002) and the second part of the ''Spanish Apartment'' trilogy, which is concluded with ''Chinese Puzzle'' (, 2013). Cédric Klapisch wrote a ...

'' (Best Supporting Actress) for de France, and Jeanne-Marie in ''

Little Lili ''Little Lili'' (french: La petite Lili) is a 2003 French drama film by French director Claude Miller. The film stars Ludivine Sagnier, Bernard Giraudeau, Nicole Garcia, Julie Depardieu and Jean-Pierre Marielle. Plot The plot is based on the 18 ...

'' (both awards) for Depardieu. Therefore, Depardieu is the only individual to have won two acting César for the same performance. This achievement is no longer possible as the Académie has since modified nomination rules to ensure that no individual could be nominated in more than one acting category (Best Actor/Actress or Best Supporting Actor/Actress or Most Promising Actor/Actress) for the same film. Three films has received both accolades: ''

An Impudent Girl ''An Impudent Girl'' (french: L'Effrontée) is a 1985 French film directed by Claude Miller. It stars Charlotte Gainsbourg, who won the César Award for Most Promising Actress, and Bernadette Lafont, who won the César Award for Best Actress in a S ...

'' in 1986 (Best Supporting Actress to

Bernadette Lafont Bernadette Lafont (28 October 1938 – 25 July 2013) was a French actress who appeared in more than 120 feature films. She has been considered "the face of French New Wave". In 1999 she told ''The New York Times'' her work was "the motor of my ex ...

, Most Promising Actress to Charlotte Gainsbourg), ''

Life Is a Long Quiet River ''Life Is a Long Quiet River'' (French: ''La Vie est un long fleuve tranquille'') is a 1988 French comedy film directed by Étienne Chatiliez. Through the age-old question of nature versus nurture, the film takes a satirical look at society in the ...

'' in 1989 (Best Supporting Actress to Hélène Vincent, Most Promising Actress to Catherine Jacob) and ''

'' in 2004 (both awards to Julie Depardieu). Thirteen women have received nominations in the three competitive acting categories: Best Actress, Best Supporting Actress and Most Promising Actress. They are

Emmanuelle Béart Emmanuelle Béart (born 14 August 1963)
''Tecinema.jeuxactu.com''. Retrieved 21 April 2020. is a F ...

, Charlotte Gainsbourg,

Anne Brochet Anne Brochet (born 22 November 1966) is a French actress. Career Brochet has appeared in films such as ''Cyrano de Bergerac'', '' Le temps des porte-plumes'', '' 30 ans'', '' Une journée de merde!'' and '' Tous les matins du monde''. She has als ...

Sandrine Kiberlain Sandrine Kiberlain (born Sandrine Kiberlajn; 25 February 1968) is a French actress and singer. Her most notable roles were in the films '' The Patriots'' (1994), '' A Self Made Hero'' (1996), '' For Sale'' (1998), '' Alias Betty'' (2001), '' Mad ...

, Emmanuelle Devos,

, Marion Cotillard,

Sylvie Testud Sylvie Testud (born 17 January 1971) is a French actress hose film career est Actress for '' Fear and Trembling'' (2003), and the European Film Award for Best Actress for '' Lourdes'' (2009). Her other film roles include '' Beyond Silence'' ( ...

, Emilie Dequenne,

Sara Forestier Sara Forestier (born 4 October 1986) is a French actress, film director and screenwriter. Life and career Forestier began her film career in 2001. She received a César Award for Most Promising Actress for her performance in '' Games of Love and ...

and Adèle Haenel. So far, no actress has achieved to win the three awards. To date, the most long-lived winner is Suzanne Flon, who died at 87, and the most short-lived is

Valérie Benguigui Valérie Benguigui (8 July 1961 – 2 September 2013) was a French actress and theater director. Born in Oran, Algeria, she took acting courses at the Cours Florent and the National Chaillot Theatre School. Her first film role was in Francis ...

, who died at 47. The oldest alive winner is Hélène Vincent, aged 75, and the earliest alive winner is

Nicole Garcia Nicole Garcia (born 22 April 1946) is a French actress, film director and screenwriter. Her film ''Charlie Says (2006 film), Charlie Says'' was entered into the 2006 Cannes Film Festival. Her film ''Going Away'' was screened in the Special Prese ...

(''Le Cavaleur'', 1980).

International presence

As the

are centered on the French Cinema, the majority of recipients are French and performed in

French language French ( or ) is a Romance language of the Indo-European family. It descended from the Vulgar Latin of the Roman Empire, as did all Romance languages. French evolved from Gallo-Romance, the Latin spoken in Gaul, and more specifically in N ...

. However, the Best Supporting Actress César has been awarded five times to a non-French actress: * in 1995 to Italian actress Virna Lisi for her performance in '' Queen Margot''; * in 2006 to Belgian actress

for her performance in ''

''; * in 2012 to Spanish actress Carmen Maura for her performance in ''

The Women on the 6th Floor ''The Women on the 6th Floor'' (french: link=no, Les Femmes du 6e étage; also known as ''Service Entrance'') is a 2010 French film directed and part-written by Philippe Le Guay.Kristen Stewart Kristen Jaymes Stewart (born April 9, 1990) is an American actress. The world's highest-paid actress in 2012, she has received various accolades, including a British Academy Film Award and a César Award, in addition to nominations for an Aca ...

for her performance in '' Clouds of Sils Maria''; * in 2016 to Danish actress Sidse Babett Knudsen for her performance in '' Courted''. The Best Supporting Actress César has been awarded only once for a full foreign-language performance with

Kristen Stewart Kristen Jaymes Stewart (born April 9, 1990) is an American actress. The world's highest-paid actress in 2012, she has received various accolades, including a British Academy Film Award and a César Award, in addition to nominations for an Aca ...

English-language English is a West Germanic language of the Indo-European language family, with its earliest forms spoken by the inhabitants of early medieval England. It is named after the Angles, one of the ancient Germanic peoples that migrated to the i ...

performance. Nevertheless, Virna Lisi's and Carmen Maura's roles included some parts of Italian-language and

Spanish-language Spanish ( or , Castilian) is a Romance language of the Indo-European language family that evolved from colloquial Latin spoken on the Iberian peninsula. Today, it is a global language with more than 500 million native speakers, mainly in the Am ...

, respectively. International actresses who have received nominations are: * Belgium: Emilie Dequenne,

Virginie Efira Virginie Efira (born 5 May 1977) is a Belgian actress and television presenter. Efira got her first leading role in the romantic comedy '' It Boy'' (2013). She subsequently received critical praise for her performance in the comedy drama '' In B ...

(she holds dual Belgian-French citizenship), * Canada:

Francine Racette Francine Racette (born September 23, 1947) is a retired Canadian actress. She is best known for her performances in '' Au revoir les enfants'', '' Lumière'' and '' The Disappearance''. She is the current and third wife of actor Donald Sutherla ...

Charlotte Le Bon Charlotte Le Bon (born 4 September 1986) is a Canadian actress, artist, former model and television presenter. She is known for her work in the Canal+ talk show '' Le Grand Journal'', and the films '' Yves Saint Laurent'', '' The Hundred-Foot J ...

, * Denmark: Sidse Babett Knudsen, * Italy: Virna Lisi, * Netherlands: Maruschka Detmers, * Spain: Victoria Abril, Carmen Maura, * Switzerland:

Nelly Borgeaud Nelly Borgeaud (29 November 1931 – 14 July 2004) was a French film actress. She appeared in more than 40 films between 1955 and 2001. Borgeaud was born in Geneva, Switzerland, and died in Creuse, France, at age 72. Her film career spanned ...

, * United Kingdom: Jane Birkin, Jacqueline Bisset,

Charlotte Rampling Tessa Charlotte Rampling (born 5 February 1946) is an English actress, known for her work in European arthouse films in English, French, and Italian. An icon of the Swinging Sixties, she began her career as a model. She was cast in the role ...

, Kelly Reilly, * United States:

Winners and nominees

Following the AATC's practice, the films below are listed by year of ceremony, which corresponds to the year following the film's year of release. For example, the César for Best Supporting Actress of 2010 was awarded on February 27, 2010 for a performance in a film released between January 1, 2009 and December 31, 2009. Actresses are selected via a two-round vote: first round to choose the nominees, second round to designate the winner. All the members of the Académie, without regard to their branch, are eligible to vote on both rounds. Initially set to four, the number of nominees was expanded to five in 1984. Winners are listed first in bold, followed by the other nominees in alphabetic order.

1970s

1980s

1990s

2000s

2010s

2020s

Multiple wins and nominations

The following individuals received two or more Best Supporting Actress awards: The following individuals received three or more Best Supporting Actress nominations:

References

External links

*
César Award for Best Supporting Actress
at '' AlloCiné'' {{DEFAULTSORT:Cesar Award for Best Supporting Actress Actress in supporting role Film awards for supporting actress