Léa Seydoux
Biography
Life Story
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 Venezuelan (Spanish, Basque) 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 The Beautiful Person (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 (Blue Is the Warmest Colour (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.
Family
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Trivia
Granddaughter of Jérôme Seydoux, Chairman of Pathé, grandniece of Nicolas Seydoux, Chairman and CEO of Gaumont and daughter of Henri Seydoux, Founder, Chairman and CEO of Parrot.
Her parents both have mixed French and Alsatian German ancestry. Her father also has a small amount of Venezuelan (including Spanish and Basque) roots.
Appeared on the cover of Vanity Fair's 20th Hollywood Issue [March 2014].
Daughter of Henri Seydoux, a businessman, and Valérie Schlumberger, a former model and actress.
Featured on W Magazine's portfolio on Best Performances of 2013, for her performance as "Emma" in Blue Is the Warmest Colour (2013).
On Vogue (UK) magazine's Best Dressed List (2013).
She is the only actress that has played in both major spy-genre movie franchises: Mission Impossible (Mission: Impossible - Ghost Protocol (2011)) and James Bond (Spectre (2015)).
Stepdaughter of Farida Khelfa.
As of 2016, has appeared in three films that were nominated for the Best Picture Oscar: Inglourious Basterds (2009), Midnight in Paris (2011) and The Grand Budapest Hotel (2014).
In a relationship with André Meyer since 2013. They have a son together, George Meyer (born January 18, 2017).
She is the great-niece of French businessman and film producer Michel Seydoux.
Member of the 'Official Competition' jury at the 71st Cannes International Film Festival in 2018.
Personal Quotes
[on her Farewell, My Queen (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.
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.
Five people I'd invite to my dream birthday party are Friedrich Nietzsche, Michael Jackson, Charles Chaplin, Maria Callas and Serge Gainsbourg.
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.
People are enthusiastic in America. They put heart into things. As soon as you get back to France people are picking on everything.
[on her friendship with Blue Is the Warmest Colour (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.
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.
[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.
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.
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.
