Maïwenn
Maïwenn Aurélia Nedjma Le Besco (French: [majwɛn lə bɛsko]; born 17 April 1976), known mononymously as Maïwenn, is a Franco-Algerian[1] actress and filmmaker.
Maïwenn | |
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![]() Maïwenn in 2011 | |
Born | Maïwenn Le Besco 17 April 1976 Les Lilas, France |
Nationality |
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Other names | Ouin-Ouin |
Occupations |
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Years active | 1981–present |
Spouses | |
Children | 2; including Shanna Besson |
Parent | Catherine Belkhodja (mother) |
Relatives | Isild Le Besco (sister) Jowan Le Besco (brother) |
Early life
Maïwenn Le Besco was born on 17 April 1976 in Les Lilas, Seine-Saint-Denis, the daughter of artist Catherine Belkhodja and linguist Patrick Le Besco. After her parents' divorce, she reported "she was abused by both her parents after their separation, having been beaten physically and verbally by her father around the age of seven or eight, and then by her mother during her adolescence"; this experience informed her films Pardonnez-moi (2006) and Polisse (2011). She stated that her mother "is a poison for me. She poisoned my life."[2]
She is of mixed Breton, Vietnamese,[3] French and Algerian descent. Her Algerian ancestry comes from her maternal grandfather, while her father is of mixed French and Vietnamese descent.[4] She is also a citizen of Algeria. In an interview with La Nouvelle République, she explained that she acquired Algerian nationality to honor her grandparents, in connection with her parents' desire to make her forget her origins.[5] Maïwenn's mother pressured her to act at a young age, an experience later chronicled by Maïwenn in her one-woman shows Le Pois Chiche (The Chickpea) and I'm an Actress.[6]
Career
Maïwenn starred in several films as a child, then teen, actress—notably as "Elle, as a child" (the child version of the lead role played by Isabelle Adjani) in the 1983 hit film L'été meurtrier (One Deadly Summer).[7]
Following her marriage to director Luc Besson and the birth of their daughter in 1993, Maïwenn interrupted her career for several years.[8] During this period, she only appeared in a supporting part in Besson's Léon (1994), in which she was credited as Ouin-Ouin. She also directed the film's making-of. Perhaps Maïwenn's most internationally-seen film role was her appearance as the alien Diva Plavalaguna in Besson's The Fifth Element (1997).
After she and Besson divorced, Maïwenn returned to France. She performed as a stand-up comedian in an autobiographical one-woman-show, and reentered the movie business after several filmmakers saw her comedy routine in Paris. She appeared in several notable movies, including the horror film Haute Tension (English title: High Tension), in which she starred opposite Cécile de France. By the time the film came out in 2003, she had decided she wanted to try directing.[7]
In 2006, she directed her first feature film, the semi-autobiographical Pardonnez-moi. According to Maïwenn, after Besson learned she planned to use her own money to produce the film, he told her, "You need to immediately stop what you're doing. You're crazy. Nobody puts their own money into a movie."[6] After seeing the film, however, he apologized, saying she was right on this occasion.[6] Her second film was Le bal des actrices (2009, All About Actresses), in which she appears as herself making a documentary.[9] She achieved international recognition when her third film, the social drama Polisse (2011), won the Jury Prize at the 2011 Cannes Film Festival.[7] All three films feature Maïwenn with a camera, stemming from a childhood fascination and her interest in the mise en abyme, the story within a story.[9] Her 2015 film Mon roi was selected to compete for the Palme d'Or at the 2015 Cannes Film Festival.[10] The release of her 2020 film, DNA, was affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. In 2022, Maïwenn directed Jeanne du Barry, about the life of Madame du Barry and Louis XV, portrayed by Johnny Depp.[11]
Personal life
Maïwenn met film director Luc Besson when she was 12 and he was 29, and they began dating when she was 15. In January 1993, at age 16, she gave birth to their daughter Shanna.[6][12] On the DVD extras for the 1994 film Léon: The Professional, Maïwenn said the film is based on her relationship with Besson.[13] She was 20 at the beginning of filming (early 1996) for The Fifth Element, during which Besson left her for the film's star, Milla Jovovich.[14]
In 2004, Maïwenn had a son, Diego, with Jean-Yves Le Fur, her second ex-husband who is a real estate developer and a former boyfriend of Princess Stephanie of Monaco and supermodel Karen Mulder.
In 2023, Maïwenn was accused of assaulting the journalist Edwy Plenel, who alleged she approached him in a Parisian restaurant and grabbed him by the hair before spitting in his face.[15]
Filmography
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Actress
Year | Title | Role | Director | Notes |
---|---|---|---|---|
1981 | L'année prochaine... si tout va bien | Prune | Jean-Loup Hubert | |
1983 | One Deadly Summer | The Kid | Jean Becker | |
Cinéma 16 | Albine | Patrick Saglio | TV series (1 Episode) | |
Les enquêtes du commissaire Maigret | Colette | Jean-Paul Sassy | TV series (1 Episode) | |
1986 | State of Grace | Jacques Rouffio | ||
1987 | Double face | The Kid | Serge Leroy | TV movie |
1988 | L'autre nuit | Joan | Jean-Pierre Limosin | |
1990 | Lacenaire | Hermine | Francis Girod | |
La famille Ramdam | Christiane Lehérissey | TV series (1 Episode) | ||
1992 | La gamine | Carole Lambert | Hervé Palud | |
1994 | Léon: The Professional | Blond Babe | Luc Besson | |
1997 | The Fifth Element | Diva Plavalaguna | Luc Besson | |
1998 | Keskidi ? | The Waitress | Manuel Pouet | Short |
Coquillettes | Joséphine Flasseur | Short | ||
2000 | La mécanique des femmes | Jérôme de Missolz | ||
Le marquis | Gilles Paquet-Brenner | Short | ||
2001 | 8 rue Charlot | Bruno Garcia | Short | |
L'oiseau rare | Diane | Didier Albert | TV movie | |
2002 | Nestor Burma | Jade | Jacob Berger | TV series (1 Episode) |
Caméra Café | Irina Katostefia | Francis Duquet | TV series (1 Episode) | |
2003 | Osmose | A Girl | Raphaël Fejtö | |
High Tension | Alexia | Alexandre Aja | ||
2004 | Les parisiens | Shaa | Claude Lelouch | |
I'm an actrice | Isabelle | Maïwenn | Short | |
2005 | Le courage d'aimer | Shaa | Claude Lelouch | |
Star Stuff | Grégory Hervelin | Short | ||
2006 | Pardonnez-moi | Violette | Maïwenn | Nominated - César Award for Most Promising Actress |
2009 | All About Actresses | Maïwenn | Maïwenn | Nominated - Globes de Cristal Award for Best Actress |
2011 | Polisse | Melissa | Maïwenn | |
2012 | Télé gaucho | Yasmina | Michel Leclerc | |
2013 | Love Is the Perfect Crime | Anna | Arnaud Larrieu & Jean-Marie Larrieu | |
2017 | The Price of Success | Linda | Teddy Lussi-Modeste | |
2019 | All Inclusive | Paloma | Fabien Onteniente | |
2020 | Soeurs | Yamina Benguigui | ||
2020 | DNA | Neige | Maïwenn | |
2020 | The Man In The Hat | The Biker | John-Paul Davidson and Stephen Warbeck | |
2021 | Tralala | Barbara | Arnaud Larrieu and Jean-Marie Larrieu | |
2022 | Our Ties | Emma | Roschdy Zem | |
2022 | Neneh Superstar | Marianne Belage | Ramzi Ben Sliman | |
2023 | Jeanne du Barry | Jeanne Du Barry | Maïwenn | [16] |
Director / screenwriter / producer
Theatrical writer
- 2003 : Café de la Gare : Le pois chiche
References
- "Maïwenn, l'Algérie dans le cœur !". www.beurfm.net (in French). Retrieved 26 May 2023.
- Fox, Alistair; Marie, Michel; Moine, Raphaëlle, eds. (2015). A Companion to Contemporary French Cinema. Hoboken, New Jersey: Wiley. p. 214. ISBN 978-1444338997.
- Lodge, Guy (21 September 2020). "'DNA' Review: Maïwenn Finds Her Roots in a Sometimes Raging, Sometimes Frustrating Family Melodrama". Variety. Retrieved 7 April 2023.
- "The Wild Child of French Cinema". The New York Times. 24 April 2005.
- Brinaire, Jacques (19 May 2021). "Cinéma : "ADN", la quête superbe de Maïwenn". La Nouvelle République (in French). Retrieved 26 May 2023.
- "Maïwenn: from child star to writer-director". The Boston Globe. 20 May 2012. Retrieved 10 April 2018.
- "An Exclusive Interview with Film Director Maïwenn". France Today. 1 March 2016. Retrieved 10 April 2018.
- "Tout le monde en parle". L'Institut national de l'audiovisuel (in French). 29 September 2001.
- "Into the danger zone". The Sydney Morning Herald. 23 June 2012. Retrieved 14 April 2018.
- "2015 Official Selection". Cannes. Archived from the original on 18 April 2015. Retrieved 16 April 2015.
- Grater, Tom (21 January 2022). "Johnny Depp To Star As French King Louis XV In Historical Film". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved 24 January 2022.
- "A former child actress doesn't flinch from a difficult subject". The Washington Post. 17 May 2012. Retrieved 12 April 2018.
- "Leon: The Professional Review". SBS. 6 September 2010. Retrieved 10 April 2018.
- The Fifth Element, Special Features of both the Ultimate Edition DVD and the remastered Blu-ray Disc.
- Keslassy, Elsa (16 May 2023). "French Director and Johnny Depp Collaborator Maiwenn Sued for Assaulting Journalist". Variety.
- Long, Lacy (11 August 2022). "Jeanne Du Barry Image Shows Johnny Depp as King Louis XV in Upcoming Drama". Collider.
- JP. "Le Bal des actrices (2009)- JPBox-Office". www.jpbox-office.com.
- JP. "Polisse (2011)- JPBox-Office". www.jpbox-office.com.
- Ruimy, Jordan (6 October 2022). "Johnny Depp and Director Maïwenn Constantly Argued During Production of 'La Favorite'". World of Reel. Retrieved 15 October 2022.