Léa Seydoux

Birthday: 1 July 1985, Paris, France

Birth Name: Léa Hélène Seydoux-Fornier de Clausonne

Height: 168 cm

French actress Léa Seydoux was born in 1985 in Paris, France, to Valérie Schlumberger, a philanthropist, and Henri Seydoux, a businessman. Her grandfather, Jérôme Seydoux, is chairman of Pathé, and her father is a great-grandson of businessman and inventor Marcel Schlumberger (her mother also descends from the Schlumberger family). Her parents are both of mixed French and Alsatian German descent, with more distant Spanish-Venezuelan roots on her father's side.Léa began her acting career in French cinema, appearing in films such as The Last Mistress (2007) and On War (2008). She first came to attention after she received her first César Award nomination for her performance in La belle personne (2008), and won the Trophée Chopard, an award given to promising actors at the Cannes Film Festival. Since then, she has appeared in major Hollywood films including Quentin Tarantino's Inglourious Basterds (2009), Ridley Scott's Robin Hood (2010), Woody Allen's Midnight in Paris (2011), and Brad Bird's Mission: Impossible - Ghost Protocol (2011). In French cinema, she was nominated for the César Award for Most Promising Actress for a second time for her role in Belle Épine (2010) and was nominated for the César Award for Best Actress for the film Farewell, My Queen (2012).In 2013, Seydoux came to widespread attention when Seydoux and co-star Adèle Exarchopoulos, alongside director Abdellatif Kechiche, were awarded the Palme d'Or at the Cannes Film Festival, for their involvement in the critically acclaimed film Blue Is the Warmest Colour (La vie d'Adèle (2013)). As a special prize for their roles, Along with Jane Campion, Seydoux and Exarchopoulos are the only women to have ever won a Palme d'Or.That same year, she also received the Lumières Award for Best Actress for the film Grand Central and, in 2014, she was nominated for the BAFTA Rising Star Award and starred in the films Beauty and the Beast, The Grand Budapest Hotel and Saint Laurent. In 2015 she played Madeleine Swann in the 24th James Bond film Spectre. Hide

[Grazia Magazine, France - August 2013] There have been moments where I've found myself pretty and s Show more [Grazia Magazine, France - August 2013] There have been moments where I've found myself pretty and sexy, but there are times when I find myself much less beautiful. Hide

[on her role in Saint Laurent (2014)] I had to become chic, yes. But it's more like a color in the f Show more [on her role in Saint Laurent (2014)] I had to become chic, yes. But it's more like a color in the film. It's a very small part. It's like the film is a puzzle and I will be one of the pieces. I prefer to be a small part in a great film. Hide

Five people I'd invite to my dream birthday party are Friedrich Nietzsche, Michael Jackson, Charles Show more Five people I'd invite to my dream birthday party are Friedrich Nietzsche, Michael Jackson, Charles Chaplin, Maria Callas and Serge Gainsbourg. Hide

When I watch my films or read my interviews I come to know I have a very strange thing, I'm not easy Show more When I watch my films or read my interviews I come to know I have a very strange thing, I'm not easy to get. Hide

I like to play deep characters and it's nice to have deep emotions, but it's also nice to just have Show more I like to play deep characters and it's nice to have deep emotions, but it's also nice to just have a distance and to have a sense of humor with what you do as well. Hide

[on her Les adieux à la reine (2012) character] What I liked about this part was that you don Show more [on her Les adieux à la reine (2012) character] What I liked about this part was that you don't know anything about her, and so I could invent everything. There is one moment that makes you understand everything about her, a character asks me 'We don't know anything about you...do you even have parents?' This for me was the key to build everything. That's why she's so fascinated by the Queen. It's through the Queen that she has an existence at all. Hide

I had a big family, but I felt lost in the crowd. I was very lonely as a kid. Really I always had th Show more I had a big family, but I felt lost in the crowd. I was very lonely as a kid. Really I always had the feeling I was an orphan. Hide

People are enthusiastic in America. They put heart into things. As soon as you get back to France pe Show more People are enthusiastic in America. They put heart into things. As soon as you get back to France people are picking on everything. Hide

Frenchmen are a bit feminine for me - which I do realise is a generalisation. Americans tend to be a Show more Frenchmen are a bit feminine for me - which I do realise is a generalisation. Americans tend to be a bit tougher. I like a mix of both. A man should definitely be sensitive and able to show his feelings, as long as he doesn't come across as too androgynous, because I am also looking for strength. Hide

I make films for directors. Before anything else, I choose films because of the talent of the direct Show more I make films for directors. Before anything else, I choose films because of the talent of the directors. The story and the other actors are of course very important, but for me, it's all about the director. Hide

[on her friendship with La vie d'Adèle (2013) co-star Adèle Exarchopoulos] It's true that it Show more [on her friendship with La vie d'Adèle (2013) co-star Adèle Exarchopoulos] It's true that it's a friendship, but there's love between us. You can say there's love. Hide

Léa Seydoux's FILMOGRAPHY

as Actor (50)

The Beast (La bete) [Sub: Eng]

Tromperie

The Tonight Show Fallon - Season 10

Crimes of the Future

The Tonight Show Fallon - Season 7

L'enfant d'en haut [Audio: French]

The Story of My Wife

The Second Act (Le Deuxieme Acte)

The Graham Norton Show - Season 21

Zoe (2018)