Laura Weissbecker (born October 3, 1984) is an international multilingual French-American actress, comedian, writer and producer. She is the recipient of numerous awards, including the Chinese

Huading award The Huading Awards are a set of entertainment awards in China. The awards were set up by Global Talents Media Group, Inc in 2007 and are held more than once each year across multiple entertainment media from Chinese television shows to internatio ...

for ''best new actress'' in 2013 for her role in Jackie Chan's ''

CZ12 ''CZ12 (Armour Of God 3)'' (), also known as ''Chinese Zodiac'', is a 2012 Hong Kong Action film, action-adventure film, adventure comedy film co-written, co-produced and directed by Jackie Chan, who also starred as the main character in the fi ...

''. She has worked in France, Germany, USA and China, with directors such as

Jackie Chan Fang Shilong (born Chan Kong-sang; 7 April 1954), known professionally as Jackie Chan,; is a Hong Kong actor and filmmaker, known for his slapstick, acrobatic fighting style, comic timing, and innovative stunts, which he typically perf ...

, Cedric Klapisch,

Elie Chouraqui Elie may refer to: People * Elie (given name) * Elie (surname) Places * Elie, Fife, a village in Scotland, now part of the town of Elie and Earlsferry * Elie, Manitoba, Canada ** Elie, Manitoba tornado See also * Elie Hall, Grenada * Elie Hous ...

Mark Romanek Mark Lee Romanek (; born September 18, 1959) is an American film, music video and commercial director and photographer. He is best known for directing the films ''One Hour Photo'' (2002) and ''Never Let Me Go (2010 film), Never Let Me Go'' (2010) ...

and

Tonie Marshall Tonie Marshall (29 November 1951 – 12 March 2020) was a French-American actress, screenwriter, and film director. In 2000, she became the first female director to win the César Award for Best Director, César Award for her film ''Venus Beauty ...

. Weissbecker was chosen by

for one of the leading roles in the film ''Chinese Zodiac 12'', starring and directed by Jackie Chan. The film was a huge commercial success in Asia, in particular in mainland China where it is listed as amongst the top 5 biggest box-office hits for 2012.

Personal life

Weissbecker grew up in the east of France, in the city of

Strasbourg Strasbourg ( , ; ; ) is the Prefectures in France, prefecture and largest city of the Grand Est Regions of France, region of Geography of France, eastern France, in the historic region of Alsace. It is the prefecture of the Bas-Rhin Departmen ...

, surrounded by a very heteroclite and European environment. She has a brother and a sister, who is a solo aerial artist with

Cirque du Soleil Cirque du Soleil (, ; ) is a Canadian entertainment company and the largest contemporary circus producer in the world. Located in the inner-city area of Saint-Michel, Montreal, Saint-Michel, Montreal, it was founded in Baie-Saint-Paul on 16 Jun ...

Film career

Weissbecker began her film career in 2002, when director

(winner of the 2000 Cesar French Academy Award for best film, best director and best screenwriter) offered her a small role opposite Francois Cluzet in her feature film ‘’France Boutique’’. In France, Weissbecker is best known for her role in ‘’Versailles, the Dream of a King’’ directed by Thierry Binisti, a TV movie which aired on

France 2 France 2 () is a French free-to-air public television channel. The flagship channel of France Télévisions, it broadcasts generalist programming including news, entertainment (such as dramas, films, and game shows), factual programmes, and sp ...

, Japan (

NHK , also known by its Romanization of Japanese, romanized initialism NHK, is a Japanese public broadcasting, public broadcaster. It is a statutory corporation funded by viewers' payments of a television licence, television license fee. NHK ope ...

) and UK (

BBC The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is a British public service broadcaster headquartered at Broadcasting House in London, England. Originally established in 1922 as the British Broadcasting Company, it evolved into its current sta ...

), and her role in ‘’ Russian Dolls" directed by Cedric Klapisch (also starring

Audrey Tautou Audrey Justine Tautou (; born 9 August 1976) is a French actress. She made her acting debut at age 18 on television, and her feature film debut in '' Venus Beauty Institute'' (1999), for which she received critical acclaim and won the César Awa ...

Romain Duris Romain Duris (; born 28 May 1974) is a French actor. He is best known for his role in Cédric Klapisch's ''Spanish Apartment'' trilogy, which consists of '' L'Auberge Espagnole'' (2002), '' Russian Dolls'' (2005), and '' Chinese Puzzle'' (2013) ...

, Cecile de France). A multilingual actress, Weissbecker was featured in a German TV movie ' directed by German TV director , which was shot in Berlin. She shows her comedic talent starring opposite

in ‘’Chinese Zodiac 12,’’ an international feature film directed by Chan. Weissbecker was awarded ‘’Best New Global Actress’’ at the Chinese Huading awards in

Macao Macau or Macao is a special administrative region of the People's Republic of China (PRC). With a population of about people and a land area of , it is the most densely populated region in the world. Formerly a Portuguese colony, the ter ...

in October 2013 for her performance. In the US, she had a recurring role in the Amazon-Sony TV series " Mad Dogs". In 2019, she studied boxing and MMA for a role in the Chinese movie "My Hero" directed by Fan Haolun. Weissbecker was awarded Best Supporting Actress at the Vancouver Chinese Film festival for this role. She also played in Mandarin and French in the movie "the Pink Thief" directed by Mustafa Ozgun. During the COVID-19 pandemic, Weissbecker has written several comedy sketches in which she executes a parody of

Melania Trump Melania Knauss Trump (born Melanija Knavs, April26, 1970) is a Slovenian and American former model who is married to U.S. President Donald Trump. Since 2025, Melania Trump has served as the first lady of the United States, a role she previous ...

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In 2022, she was in the movie Covid 19 Ground Zero based on the true story of hospital workers in New York City. The movie has been awarded Best Foreign Film at the Sant Andreu de la Barca Festival in

Barcelona Barcelona ( ; ; ) is a city on the northeastern coast of Spain. It is the capital and largest city of the autonomous community of Catalonia, as well as the second-most populous municipality of Spain. With a population of 1.6 million within c ...

, Best Cinematography and Best Story at the Focus International Film festival, as well as nominations for Best Actress and other categories. The film made its US premiere at the

Chelsea Film Festival Chelsea Film Festival (CFF) is an international film festival and a non-profit organization based in New York which screens independent films from emerging and established directors. The festival offers a wide range of films, including documentar ...

in New York. It was included in the Festival of

Colmar Colmar (; ; or ) is a city and commune in the Haut-Rhin department and Alsace region of north-eastern France. The third-largest commune in Alsace (after Strasbourg and Mulhouse), it is the seat of the prefecture of the Haut-Rhin department ...

and the San Diego French Film Festival 2023 of which she was the patron.

Books

Weissbecker's first book, a memoir entitled "How I became Chinese" was published in France end of 2016; the book won the award the Prix du Lys. The book was translated into mandarin and published in China end of 2018 under the title "Studying to become Chinese"

Education

Weissbecker has a master's degree from one of the top engineering schools in France. She was trained in Los Angeles with leading acting coach

Howard Fine Howard Fine (born November 28, 1958) is an American acting coach, theatre director, and author. He is the founder of the Howard Fine Acting Studio. Early life Fine was born in Providence, Rhode Island, he is the youngest of five children. His pa ...

and studied as well with Larry Moss,

Jack Waltzer Jack Waltzer (born June 6, 1926) is an American acting coach and actor. Biography Waltzer is a lifetime member of the Actors Studio and trained with educators of the Stanislavsky method such as Stella Adler, Sanford Meisner, Lee Strasberg, and Ut ...

and comedy master

Gary Austin Gary Austin (born Gary Moore; October 18, 1941 – April 1, 2017) was an American improvisational theatre teacher, writer, and director who founded The Groundlings theatre company in 1974. Early life Austin grew up in the Nazarene Church and in ...

, founder of the

Groundlings The Groundlings is an American improvisational and sketch comedy troupe and school based in Los Angeles, California. The troupe was formed by Gary Austin in 1974 and uses an improv format influenced by Viola Spolin, whose improv techniques we ...

, an established improvisation troupe. Weissbecker is fluent in French, English, Chinese and German.

Awards

Weissbecker has been part of the jury of Shanghai film festival 2013. Laura won the Best Emerging Global Actress of Huading Awards.

Nicole Kidman Nicole Mary Kidman (born 20 June 1967) is an Australian and American actress and producer. Known for Nicole Kidman on screen and stage, her work in film and television productions across many genres, she has consistently ranked among the world ...

won the Best Global Actress award at the same Huading Awards ceremony. The 10th Huading Awards Global Entertainment Celebrities Satisfaction Survey Release Ceremony, hosted by Global Talents Media Group and Macao Foundation, was held on 7 October 2013 (Monday) in Macao, China. Great congratulation that Laura has nominated for the "Best Emerging Global Actress" of 10th Huading Awards, and she attended the ceremony where she received her first Chinese award and gave her acceptance speech in Chinese.

References

External links

* http://www.lauraweissbecker.com * *
LAURA WEISSBECKER PORTFOLIO
{{DEFAULTSORT:Weissbecker, Laura 1984 births Living people Actresses from Strasbourg French film actresses French television actresses 21st-century French actresses French people of German descent French women comedians Comedians from Grand Est French expatriate actresses in the United States American women comedians