Biography for
Eva Green More at IMDbPro »

Date of Birth

5 July 1980, Paris, France

Birth Name

Eva Gaëlle Green

Height

5' 6" (1.68 m)

Mini Biography

Eva Green was born Eva Gaëlle Green on July 5, 1980, in Paris, France. She has a non-identical twin sister. Her father, named Walter Green, is a Swedish dentist who once appeared in the 1966 film Au hasard Balthazar (1966). Her mother, named Marlène Jobert, is an Algerian-born (during the time Algeria was part of France) French actress who retired from acting and became a writer of children's books. Young Eva Green left French school at 17. She switched to English in Ramsgate, Kent, and went to the American School in France for one year. She studied acting at Saint Paul Drama School in Paris for three years, then had a 10-week polishing course at the Weber Douglas Academy of dramatic Art in London. She also studied directing at the Tisch School of Arts at New York University.

She returned to Paris as an accomplished young actress, and played on stage in several theater productions: "La Jalousie en Trois Fax" and "Turcaret". There she caught the eye of director Bernardo Bertolucci. Green followed a recommendation to work on her English. She studied for two months with an English coach before doing The Dreamers (2003) with Bernardo Bertolucci. During their work Bertolucci described Green as being "so beautiful it's indecent." Green won critical acclaim for her role in The Dreamers (2003). She also attracted a great deal of attention from male audiences for her full frontal nudity in several scenes of the film. Besides her work as an actress Green also composed original music and recorded several sound tracks for the film score.

After The Dreamers Green's career ascended to the level where she revealed more of her multifaceted acting talent. She played the love interest of cult French gentleman stealer Arsène Lupin (2004) opposite Romain Duris. In 2005 she co-starred opposite Orlando Bloom and Liam Neeson in Kingdom of Heaven (2005) produced and directed by Ridley Scott. The film became a blockbuster in the US and worldwide and brought her a wider international exposure. She turned down the femme fatale role in The Black Dahlia that went to Hilary Swank because she didn't want to end up always typecast as a femme fatale after her role in The Dreamers. Instead, Eva Green accepted the prestigious role of Vesper Lynd, one of three Bond girls, opposite Daniel Craig in Casino Royale (2006) and became the 5th French actress to play a James Bond girl after Claudine Auger in Thunderball (1965), Corinne Clery in Moonraker (1979), Carole Bouquet in For Your Eyes Only (1981) and Sophie Marceau in The World is not enough (1999).

Since her school years Green has been a cosmopolitan multilingual and multicultural person. Yet, since her father always lived in France with them and her mother, she and her twin sister can't speak Swedish. She developed a wide scope of interests beyond her acting profession and became an aspiring art connoisseur and an avid museum visitor. Her other activities outside of acting include playing and composing music, cooking at home, walking her terrier, and collecting art. She currently shares time between her two residencies, one is in Paris, France, and one in London, England.

IMDb Mini Biography By: Steve Shelokhonov

Trivia

Born to French actress Marlène Jobert and Swedish dentist Walter Green.

Her last name is pronounced "grain".

Has a non-identical twin sister, Joy, who studied business and is married to an Italian count. Joy and her husband reside in Normandy where they rear horses.

Nominated for Les Molieres (Paris, 2002) for the play "Jalousie en Trois Fax" for the category Revelation Theatrale Feminine.

The face of the Emporio Armani campaign.

Niece of Marika Green

Composed music for flute and piano.

Her favorite film character is Adele Hugo in L'histoire d'Adèle H. (1975).

Her favorite actors are Joaquin Phoenix and Edward Norton among others.

Cousin of singer/actress Elsa Lunghini.

She turned down a role in Brian De Palma's The Black Dahlia (2006) with Josh Hartnett and Scarlett Johansson.

Was ranked #16 on Maxim's hot list 2006.

Was originally cast as Tessa Quayle in The Constant Gardener (2005) but had to back out due to other commitments. Rachel Weisz replaced her.

Her hobby is collecting art and visiting museums.

Plays classical music.

Green is the fifth French actress to play a Bond girl.

Studied English in Ramsgate, Kent, UK.

Bought a new baby-grand piano for her London home.

Studied piano and flute.

Raised in Paris, she went to an English-speaking school.

Chosen by Empire magazine as one of the 100 Sexiest Stars in film history (#6). [2007].

Her parents first objected her appearance on Bernardo Bertolucci's The Dreamers (2003), remembering Maria Schneider's traumatisation after filming Ultimo tango a Parigi (1972) .

Described the atmosphere on the set of Franklyn (2008) as strange because she and her co-actor Ryan Phillippe didn't talk much, being both very shy.

Admires François Truffaut, Ingmar Bergman, Tim Burton, Lars von Trier, David Lynch and David Fincher.

Her favorite artists are Gustav Klimt and Egon Schiele.

Enjoys running and pilates.

Has a border terrier named Griffin.

As she was extremely shy in her youth, her mother sent her to a therapist. However, she attended acting lessons to become more open.

Her natural hair color is brownish blonde.

Before meeting Carla Bruni, French President Nicolas Sarkozy invited Green to join him on his campaign trail. She politely declined.

She received a letter from author Philip Pullman, in which he praised her for the performance she gave in The Golden Compass (2007), based on his novel.

Only sees her only movies 2 or 3 times, because she doesn't enjoy seeing herself on the big screen.

Was cast in Kingdom of Heaven (2005) a week before filming began.

Has a non-identical twin sister named Joy.

Described her character in Cracks (2009) as complicated.

She collects religious icons.

Had to use a stunt double for most of her action scenes in Casino Royale (2006). Even the scenes where she was running up the stairs were taken with a stunt double, because she nearly broke her leg.

Made her first magazine cover when she was 2 months old.

Her favorite Vesper Lynd in Casino Royale (2006) outfit was a Gucci mac and black hat, "Simple but elegant.".

While promoting The Golden Compass (2007) she said her daemon (animal spirit) would be a frog, because it's French.

One of her dream acting jobs would be to portray a serial killer.

Dislikes shopping.

She would love to work with Tim Burton, Stephen Daldry, Michel Gondry and Spike Jonze.

Considers Bryce Dallas Howard as one of the next big things in Hollywood.

Prefers that people tell her she's a good actress rather than she is beautiful.

Personal Quotes

[about shooting nude scenes for The Dreamers (2003):] "I am a very shy person in life, very reserved, but you know, it's Bertolucci. I've seen Last Tango and it's not pornographic, it's not vulgar, it's not sick, so I trusted him. He's a master of love and eroticism, but it's good because I stopped being self-conscious. I felt like I was on drugs or anaesthetised because you have to be. You have to let yourself slip away and forget everything, forget the sound guy and all that." [February 5, 2004]

[about the sex scenes in The Dreamers (2003):] It must be very shocking for the American people, but what I don't understand is why they are so crazy about that. I don't understand why you can't see naked people on screen but we can see a baby being killed. It's quite strange. They're too puritan, too uptight. [February 5, 2004]

It's a way to exteriorize all my shit. To scream and cry and laugh on-screen, it's almost like black magic. You can do anything. I'm a dreamer, so that's a good job for me. Onstage is the only place I can fully express myself.

For me, acting is like a therapy. I can express myself fully when I am acting and have blood in my veins. Even when I'm not working, I'm always living in my own world, imagining characters.

At drama school I always picked the really evil roles. It's a great way to deal with your everyday emotions.

Onstage, every night you create something new. Plus, you have your audience right there - it's like performing for the gods.

[About Sybilla, her character in Kingdom of Heaven (2005):] "Sybilla suffers from numerous frustrations. She's an heroine, not a "potiche".

I am many things. I can be quite mad, and young, but I'm not the kind of person who goes out to nightclubs and goes crazy. I am more like lying on my bed and listening to classical music to relax.

I have Algerian, Turkish, Swedish, Spanish blood: I feel like a citizen of the world. Life and cinema don't have borders.

I don't want to be a Hollywood star. I just want to do my job and enjoy it. My aim is to find my true identity and to remain true to myself.

I'd rather be thought as an international actress rather than a French one. Because I don't know what's coming up for me, my ambition is not to be typecast. So I'm working on my English accent, as well as my American one. I don't want to be like 'Okay, I'm French, and I want to succeed in Hollywood!' Juliette Binoche has set a good example of what I want to do, because she works all over the world, and that's what I want to do as well

I don't have a problem with someone having plastic surgery, but I think it's crazy for everyone to have the same body

I don't believe in awards. It's very good for the ego, I suppose.

I love photo shoots where I can be like a pinup, not myself. Where I can be feminine, glamorous, dark ... not like in real life. I hate it when you go in and they want you to be 'natural,' to be yourself. I just hate it. I love having fun. When they ask you to smile, I hate it. Of course I smile in my real life, but to do it on cue, that's not spontaneous. I'd rather do something that's like a little movie, like a little story, rather than just me, I feel naked.

Where Are They Now

(December 2006) Filming The Golden Compass (2007), where she plays "Serafina Pekkala", a witch.

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