Elsa Zylberstein (born Elsa Florence Zylbersztejn, 16 October 1968) is a French actress. After studying drama, she began her film career in 1989, and has appeared in more than 60 films. She won the César Award for Best Supporting Actress for ''

I've Loved You So Long ''I've Loved You So Long'' () is a 2008 tragedy film written and directed by Philippe Claudel in his directorial debut. It stars Kristin Scott Thomas as a woman who struggles to interact with her family and find her place in society after spe ...

'' (2008).

Early life

Zylberstein was born Elsa Florence Zylbersztejn in Paris to an

Ashkenazi Jewish Ashkenazi Jews ( ; also known as Ashkenazic Jews or Ashkenazim) form a distinct subgroup of the Jewish diaspora, that Ethnogenesis, emerged in the Holy Roman Empire around the end of the first millennium Common era, CE. They traditionally spe ...

Polish father, Albert Zylbersztejn (born 1938), and a French Catholic mother, Liliane Chenard (born 1940). Her father is a

physicist A physicist is a scientist who specializes in the field of physics, which encompasses the interactions of matter and energy at all length and time scales in the physical universe. Physicists generally are interested in the root or ultimate cau ...

and her mother was a beautician for

Dior Christian Dior SE (), commonly known as Dior, is a French Multinational corporation, multinational luxury goods company that is controlled and chaired by French businessman Bernard Arnault, who also heads LVMH. , Dior controlled around 42% of ...

. She has a brother, Benjamin (born 1970). Zylberstein felt both Jewish and Christian; now she is "attracted to

Buddhist Buddhism, also known as Buddhadharma and Dharmavinaya, is an Indian religion and List of philosophies, philosophical tradition based on Pre-sectarian Buddhism, teachings attributed to the Buddha, a wandering teacher who lived in the 6th or ...

rites". She has practised classical dance since her childhood. After a

Baccalauréat The ''baccalauréat'' (; ), often known in France colloquially as the ''bac'', is a French national academic qualification that students can obtain at the completion of their secondary education (at the end of the ''lycée'') by meeting certain ...

A3, she began university and studied English, but she was strongly attracted to artistic pursuits. She studied acting under Francis Huster at the Cours Florent on the advice of

Charlotte Rampling Tessa Charlotte Rampling (born 5 February 1946) is an English actress. An icon of the Swinging London, Swinging Sixties, she began her career as a model. She was cast in the role of Meredith in the 1966 film ''Georgy Girl'', which starred Lynn ...

, whom Elsa Zylberstein's father met by chance on a plane, and also works with a professor at the

Actors Studio The Actors Studio is a membership organization for professional actors, theatre directors and playwrights located on West 44th Street in Hell's Kitchen in New York City. The studio is best known for its work refining and teaching method actin ...

Career

In 1991, Elsa Zylberstein appeared in ''

Van Gogh Vincent Willem van Gogh (; 30 March 185329 July 1890) was a Dutch Post-Impressionist painter who is among the most famous and influential figures in the history of Western art. In just over a decade, he created approximately 2,100 artwork ...

'', a film directed by

Maurice Pialat Maurice Pialat (; 31 August 1925 – 11 January 2003) was a French film director, screenwriter and actor known for the rigorous and unsentimental style of his films. His work is often described as " realist",

. In 1992, she won the Michel Simon Prize and the first of her three nominations for the

César Award for Most Promising Actress Cesar or César may refer to: Arts and entertainment * ''César'' (film), a 1936 French romantic drama * ''César'' (play), a play by Marcel Pagnolt Places * Cesar, Portugal * Cesar Department, Colombia * Cesar River, in Colombia * Cesar ...

. In 1993, she played a student in '' Beau fixe'', and won the Prix Romy Schneider. She inspired young directors such as Pascale Bailly, Diane Bertrand and especially Martine Dugowson, who offered her the lead role alongside Romane Bohringer in '' Mina Tannenbaum'' (1994). She then appeared in ''Farinelli'', '' Mr N.'', and '' Jefferson in Paris''. She played

Suzanne Valadon Suzanne Valadon (; 23 September 1865 – 7 April 1938) was a French painter who was born Marie-Clémentine Valadon at Bessines-sur-Gartempe, Haute-Vienne, France. In 1894, Valadon became the first woman painter admitted to the . She was also the ...

in ''Lautrec'', and then

Jeanne Hébuterne Jeanne Hébuterne (; 6 April 1898 – 26 January 1920) was a French painter and art model best known as the frequent subject and Common-law marriage, common-law wife of the artist Amedeo Modigliani. She died by suicide two days after Modigliani ...

in '' Modigliani''. Zylberstein played a

Yiddish Yiddish, historically Judeo-German, is a West Germanic language historically spoken by Ashkenazi Jews. It originated in 9th-century Central Europe, and provided the nascent Ashkenazi community with a vernacular based on High German fused with ...

-language singer who falls in love with a gay clarinetist in '' Man Is a Woman'', which also starred Antoine de Caunes. She also appeared in the films '' Time Regained'', ''

Love Torn in a Dream ''Love Torn in a Dream'' (French: ''Combat d'amour en songe'') is a 2000 metafictional film directed by Chilean filmmaker Raúl Ruiz. The film's nonlinear narrative spans nine interweaving stories, most of which take place in the 17th or 18th c ...

'', and '' That Day'', all three of which were directed by Raúl Ruiz. In 2006 she played Mathilde, an Orthodox Jewish woman faced with marriage problems, in '' Little Jerusalem''. She also appeared in ''J'invente rien'', based on a novel by Christine Angot. In 2008, she was in two films which were each presented at the Berlin Festival: ''

'', with Kristin Scott Thomas, and ''La Fabrique des sentiments''. In 2009, she won the César Award for Best Supporting Actress for her role in ''

''. The film was directed by

Philippe Claudel Philippe Claudel (born 2 February 1962) is a French writer and film director. Claudel was born in Dombasle-sur-Meurthe, Meurthe-et-Moselle. In addition to his writing, Claudel is a professor of literature at the University of Nancy. He directe ...

and also starred Kristin Scott Thomas. She has been a member of several festival juries, including the 1999 American Film Festival in Deauville, the 2010 British Film Festival in Dinard, the Beaune International Detective Film Festival (in both 2009 and 2015) and the prestigious

Cannes Film Festival The Cannes Film Festival (; ), until 2003 called the International Film Festival ('), is the most prestigious film festival in the world. Held in Cannes, France, it previews new films of all genres, including documentaries, from all around ...

in 2021. In 2020, she won the Best Acting Award for ''Tout nous sourit'' at the Alpe d'Huez Comedy Festival.

Personal life

Zylberstein dated Antoine de Caunes between 1997 and 2005. She then dated Nicolas Bedos from 2005 to 2008. Later she dated Georges-Marc Benamou, advisor to former French president

Nicolas Sarkozy Nicolas Paul Stéphane Sarközy de Nagy-Bocsa ( ; ; born 28 January 1955) is a French politician who served as President of France from 2007 to 2012. In 2021, he was found guilty of having tried to bribe a judge in 2014 to obtain information ...

, although she is a staunch supporter of the

Socialist Party Socialist Party is the name of many different political parties around the world. All of these parties claim to uphold some form of socialism, though they may have very different interpretations of what "socialism" means. Statistically, most of th ...

. In 2009, Zylberstein signed a petition in support of film director

Roman Polanski Raymond Roman Thierry Polański (; born 18 August 1933) is a Polish and French filmmaker and actor. He is the recipient of List of awards and nominations received by Roman Polanski, numerous accolades, including an Academy Award, three Britis ...

, calling for his release after Polanski was arrested in Switzerland in relation to his 1977 sexual abuse case.

Filmography

Theatre

References

External links

Official web site
* *

{{DEFAULTSORT:Zylberstein, Elsa 1972 births Living people French film actresses French television actresses French people of Polish-Jewish descent French stage actresses Jewish French actresses Best Supporting Actress César Award winners Cours Florent alumni 20th-century French actresses 21st-century French actresses Actresses from Paris