Ludivine Sagnier

A blonde beauty who often draws comparisons to such legendary French sexpots as Brigitte Bardot and Catherine Deneuve, Ludivine Sagnier may well follow in their formidable footsteps thanks to unforgettable roles in such features as Swimming Pool and 8 Women. Regardless of her onscreen sex appeal, however, Sagnier readily insists that what she really wants to be known for is her ability to truly own the characters she portrays onscreen. While her delicate but sometimes haunting beauty may well be the first thing audiences notice when she appears onscreen, it will no doubt be her frequently challenging characters that remain with them long after the credits have rolled and the house lights have gone up. A product of La Celle-Saint-Cloud, France, Sagnier made her film debut in director Alain Resnais' I Want to Go Home (1989) at just ten years old before holding her own opposite French screen legend Gérard Depardieu in 1990's Cyrano de Bergerac. In the years that followed, the rising starlet essayed a series of television roles before breaking out as something of a muse to director François Ozon in such features as Water Drops on Burning Rocks and 8 Women. By this point, her popularity was no longer limited to French audiences, and by the time Sagnier portrayed the enigmatic Julie in Ozon's international breakthrough Swimming Pool, critics were sitting up to take notice as well. If the idea of sharing the screen with such larger-than-life childhood influences as Deneuve, Isabelle Huppert, and Fanny Ardant in 8 Women seemed intimidating to Sagnier at first, the fact that she would ultimately share a European Film Award with the actresses as a result of the film proved both a confidence booster and a testament to her remarkable skills before the camera. Frequently stating in interviews that she has a habit of immersing herself in her characters so deeply that it is difficult to "turn off" when the cameras stop rolling, Sagnier has shown a dedication to her craft that is as undeniable as it is effective. In 2003, she appeared in no less than five films, including a turn as the titular tart of director Claude Miller's La Petite Lili (an adaptation of Chekhov's The Seagull), the mysterious Julie of Swimming Pool, and Tinkerbell in director P.J. Hogan's live-action adaptation of Peter Pan -- the latter of which found the girl voted a "Shooting Star" by European Film Promotion in 2001 and served as her Hollywood debut. Despite the fact that her appearances in both Peter Pan and the English-language Swimming Pool seemed to find Sagnier poised for stateside success, the actress frequently insists that she is perfectly comfortable with her low-profile screen status and has no particular plans to pursue a full-time Hollywood career. Following her appearance in Peter Pan, Sagnier prepared for roles in director Xavier Giannoli's La Belle Image and Barbet Schroeder's The Death Instinct -- a cinematic retelling of the exploits of legendary French criminal Jacques Mesrine. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide