Isabelle Gélinas (born October 13, 1963) is a French-

Canadian Canadians (french: Canadiens) are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of ...

actress An actor or actress is a person who portrays a character in a performance. The actor performs "in the flesh" in the traditional medium of the theatre or in modern media such as film, radio, and television. The analogous Greek term is (), lit ...

Early life and training

Isabelle Gélinas was born in

Montreal Montreal ( ; officially Montréal, ) is the second-most populous city in Canada and most populous city in the Canadian province of Quebec. Founded in 1642 as '' Ville-Marie'', or "City of Mary", it is named after Mount Royal, the triple- ...

Quebec Quebec ( ; )According to the Government of Canada, Canadian government, ''Québec'' (with the acute accent) is the official name in Canadian French and ''Quebec'' (without the accent) is the province's official name in Canadian English is ...

. She began her training course at the

Cours Florent The Cours Florent is a private French drama school in Paris established in 1967 by François Florent. The school is located on three nearby sites in the 19th arrondissement of Paris, France: rue Archereau, rue Mathis, and Avenue Jean-Jaurès; fu ...

before joining the CNSAD where she took classes with teachers such as

Pierre Vial Pierre Vial (born 25 December 1942) is an academic medievalist tied to the Jean Moulin University Lyon 3. A Nouvelle Droite leader, he is the founder of the Identitarian association Terre et Peuple. Biography Pierre Vial was born on 25 Decembe ...

, Daniel Mesguich and especially

Michel Bouquet Michel Bouquet (6 November 1925 – 13 April 2022) was a French stage and film actor. He appeared in more than 100 films from 1947 to 2020. He won the Best Actor European Film Award for ''Toto the Hero'' in 1991 and two Best Actor Césars for ...

.Nathalie Simon
« Isabelle Gélinas casse la baraque »
''

Le Figaro ''Le Figaro'' () is a French daily morning newspaper founded in 1826. It is headquartered on Boulevard Haussmann in the 9th arrondissement of Paris. The oldest national newspaper in France, ''Le Figaro'' is one of three French Newspaper of recor ...

'' Her beginnings in the occupation were not without difficulties, and she was often qualified as "too young", "too mature" and even "not modern enough". She had a hard time finding her place in the acting field. She began her career (1982–86) in the theater, playing in several dramas of

Molière Jean-Baptiste Poquelin (, ; 15 January 1622 (baptised) – 17 February 1673), known by his stage name Molière (, , ), was a French playwright, actor, and poet, widely regarded as one of the greatest writers in the French language and world ...

with

Jean Davy Jean Davy (15 October 1911 – 5 February 2001) was a French film, stage voice actor. Career He was a Sociétaire of the Comédie-Française. In the premiere production of '' Antigone'' in Paris, 1944, Davy created the role of Créon.

as the director.

Career

In 1986, her participation in the short film ''Triple sec'' with

Suzanne Flon Suzanne Flon (28 January 1918 – 15 June 2005) was a French people, French stage, film, and television actress. She won the Volpi Cup for Best Actress for her performance in the 1961 film ''Tu ne tueras point, Thou Shalt Not Kill''. Flon also re ...

and

André Dussollier André Dussollier (born 17 February 1946) is a French actor An actor or actress is a person who portrays a character in a performance. The actor performs "in the flesh" in the traditional medium of the theatre or in modern media such as fi ...

gave her the opportunity to begin a film career. She had a real change in 1988 when she was featured in the comedy film ''Suivez cet avion'' (1989) with

Lambert Wilson Lambert Wilson (born 3 August 1958) is a French actor, singer and activist. He is best known internationally for his portrayal of The Merovingian in ''The Matrix Reloaded'', ''The Matrix Revolutions'' and ''The Matrix Resurrections''. Biograp ...

and in the drama film ''

Chouans! ''Chouans!'' is a 1988 French historical adventure film directed by Philippe de Broca and starring Sophie Marceau, Philippe Noiret, and Lambert Wilson. Based on the 1829 novel ''Les Chouans'' by Honoré de Balzac, the film is about a woman who mu ...

'' (2009) with

Philippe Noiret Philippe Noiret (; 1 October 1930 – 23 November 2006) was a French film actor. Life and career Noiret was born in Lille, France, the son of Lucy (Heirman) and Pierre Noiret, a clothing company representative. He was an indifferent student an ...

. She also began at the same time a television career featuring in several films mostly directed by

Caroline Huppert Caroline Huppert (born 28 October 1950) is a French film director and screenwriter. She is the sister of French actress Isabelle Huppert and has directed more than 30 films since 1977. Early life and career Huppert was born in the 16th arrond ...

. She then played in the drama films ''Mado poste restante'' (1989), '' Louis, the Child King'' (1992), ''Drôles d'oiseaux'' (1993), and in the comedy films ''À l'heure où les grands fauves vont boire'' (1993) and ''Regarde-moi quand je te quitte'' (1993). At the second part of the decade, she featured in two successful films playing supporting roles: '' Didier'' (1997) with

Jean-Pierre Bacri Jean-Pierre Bacri (24 May 1951 – 18 January 2021) was a French actor and screenwriter. He frequently worked in collaboration with Agnès Jaoui. Life and career One of Bacri's earliest film appearances was ''Subway''. He co-wrote with Jaoui ...

and

Alain Chabat Alain Chabat (; born 24 November 1958) is a French actor, comedian, director, screenwriter, producer and television presenter. He was originally known for his work in the comedy group Les Nuls, including as the co-writer and lead actor of ''La C ...

, and ''

Paparazzi Paparazzi (, ; ; singular: masculine paparazzo or feminine paparazza) are independent photographers who take pictures of high-profile people; such as actors, musicians, athletes, politicians, and other celebrities, typically while subjects ...

'' (1998) with

Vincent Lindon Vincent Lindon (born 15 July 1959) is a French actor and filmmaker. For his role in the film '' The Measure of a Man'' (2015), Lindon won Best Actor at the 2015 Cannes Film Festival, Best Actor at the 41st César Awards and the IFFI Best Acto ...

and

Patrick Timsit Patrick Timsit () is a French comedian, writer and film director. He has been nominated for four César Awards – three times as an actor and once as a writer. He is best known for the French comedy ''Un indien dans la ville''. In 2006, he pa ...

. She played in television films of different fields such as ''Moi, Général de Gaulle'' (1990), ''J'ai deux amours'' (1996) and ''Chaos technique'' (1997). The following decade, she played in a few comedy films such as ''Les gens en maillot de bain ne sont pas (forcément) superficiels'' (2001), ''Ne quittez pas'' (2003), ''

Cherche fiancé tous frais payés ''Cherche fiancé tous frais payés'' () is a 2007 French film directed by Aline Issermann. Cast * Alexandra Lamy : Alexandra * Bruno Salomone : Yann / Manuel * Claudia Cardinale : Elisabeth * Isabelle Gélinas : Marie * Gilles Gaston-Dreyfus : ...

'' (2005) and ''Ça se soigne ?'' (2008). She has focused her career on television and theater, including many television fictions like ''Le Piège du Père Noël'' (2005), the trilogy of ''Inséparables'' (2005–06) with

Michel Boujenah Michel Boujenah (born 3 November 1952) is a French- Tunisian Jewish actor, comedian, film director, and screenwriter. Life and career Michel Boujenah was born on 3 November 1952 in Tunis, Tunisia. He is the brother of Paul Boujenah, a film d ...

, but also ''Frappes interdites'' (2005) and ''Passés troubles'' (2006). She plays since 2007 one of the main roles in the comedy series ''

Fais pas ci, fais pas ça ''Fais pas ci, fais pas ça'' (English translation: ''Don't do this, don't do that'') is a French television series created by Anne Giafferi and Thierry Bizot. The series debuted on September 8, 2007, on France 2. Cast Main characters Su ...

''.

Selected filmography

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Gelinas, Isabelle 1963 births Actresses from Montreal Canadian film actresses Canadian stage actresses Canadian television actresses French film actresses French stage actresses French television actresses Living people 20th-century Canadian actresses 21st-century Canadian actresses 20th-century French actresses 21st-century French actresses