Marie-Christine Barrault

Marie-Christine Barrault

Born 1944-03-21 (age 82) Paris, France
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Biography

Marie-Christine Barrault (born 21 March 1944) is a French actress. She is best known for her performance in Cousin Cousine (1975) for which she was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Actress. In 2010, she released her autobiography, titled This Long Way To Get To You.

Marie-Christine Barrault was born in Paris, France, the daughter of Martha (née Valmier) and Max-Henri Barrault. Her parents later divorced. Barrault's father, who worked in the theatre, died while she was a teenager. With no support, her mother was unable to care for her and her brother, Alain. Barrault was raised by her grandmother, Felicite. She was mentored in acting by her aunt and uncle, French performers Jean-Louis Barrault and Madeleine Renaud. They initially did not support her dreams of becoming an actress. She performed in plays in secondary school and then enrolled in an acting conservatory.

Barrault got her start on television in L'oeuvre (1967). She made her feature film debut in Éric Rohmer's My Night at Maud's (1969). In 1970 Barrault was featured along with Pierre Richard in the comedy film Le Distrait. In 1975 Barrault starred in Cousin Cousine, for which she received an Academy Award nomination for Best Actress in a Leading Role. She worked with Rohmer once again in 1978, in the role of Guinevere in Perceval le Gallois and she also has a cameo in his Chloe in the Afternoon.

Barrault is not fluent in English and therefore has generally turned down offers to appear in English-language films. However, in 1980 she accepted an offer from Woody Allen to appear in his film Stardust Memories. In 1988 she was nominated for a Genie Award for her performance in No Blame. In 1991 she portrayed Marie Curie in a television mini-series. In her later career, she has preferred acting on the stage in France. In 2015, she came to Los Angeles on tour to perform in the play Les Yeux Ouverts, in which she portrays French author Marguerite Yourcenar.

Barrault's first husband was producer Daniel Toscan du Plantier, whom she married in 1965. With him, she had two children, David and Ariane. Barrault was married to director Roger Vadim from 1990 until his death from cancer in 2000. She herself is a breast cancer survivor.

Source: Article "Marie-Christine Barrault" from Wikipedia in English, licensed under CC-BY-SA 3.0.

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Known For

The Ties That Bind Us
The Ties That Bind Us

2025

as La mère de Sandra et Marianne

The Medusa Touch
The Medusa Touch

1978

as Patricia

Obsession
Obsession

1997

as Ella Beckmann

Stardust Memories
Stardust Memories

1980

as Isobel

Azzurro
Azzurro

2000

as Elizabeth Broyer

The Student
The Student

1988

as Self (uncredited)

Menace
Menace

1972

as Francoise

My Night at Maud's
My Night at Maud's

1969

as Françoise

Bonsoir
Bonsoir

1994

as Marie Wileska

A Woman's Life
A Woman's Life

2026

as Arlette

Swann in Love
Swann in Love

1984

as Madame Verdurin

Love in the Afternoon
Love in the Afternoon

1972

as Dream Sequence

Cousin, Cousine
Cousin, Cousine

1975

as Marthe

🎦
Vaudeville

1986

as Madeleine

Table for Five
Table for Five

1983

as Marie

All About Mothers
All About Mothers

2018

as Jacqueline

Love, Math and Sex
Love, Math and Sex

1997

as La prof de maths

Oldies But Goodies
Oldies But Goodies

2024

as Mme. Courtillet

Distracted
Distracted

1970

as Lisa Gastier