Jeanne Balibar

As one who carries equal weight in Europe for her activities as an actress, comedienne, and chanteuse, consummate French performer Jeanne Balibar enjoyed cinematic popularity for many years that remained confined to her native continent, but subsequently began branching out into international crossover acclaim. Balibar debuted onscreen in the mid-'90s with bit parts in such Gallic features as La Croisade d'Anne Buridan (1995) and My Sex Life...or How I Got into an Argument (1996), but ascended to supporting billing the following year with a plum role in Mathieu Amalric's Mange Ta Soupe (1997). Balibar first turned festival heads several years later, as Madame Santero, one of Le Vicomte De Lancris' (Jean-Pierre Cassel) lovers, in Sade (2000), Benoît Jacquot's quintessentially French take on the story of the famous titular masochist. By the following year, Balibar was making headlines for her lead contributions to such arthouse hits as Jacques Rivette's Va Savoir (2001, as a theatrical actress), Amalric's 2002 Wimbledon Stadium (as an inquisitive young lady on a quest to interrogate a famous intellectual), and Jean-Claude Biette's Saltimbank (2003, as a woman who crafts shoes for theatrical productions and reads Voltaire to the elderly). In 2007, Balibar teamed up with Euro screen heavyweights Gérard Depardieu and Michel Piccoli for Rivette's period romantic drama Don't Touch the Axe. In that picture, the actress plays a Parisian socialite who begins a dangerous extramarital affair with a French general and gets in over her head. As a musician, Balibar specializes in techno-flavored rock, with a Mellotronic new wave edge and French vocals. Her albums include the 2003 Paramour and the 2006 Slalom Dame. ~ Nathan Southern, All Movie Guide