Juliette Binoche was born in Paris, France, to Monique Yvette Stalens,
a director, teacher, and actress, and Jean-Marie Binoche, a sculptor,
director, and actor. Her mother was born in Czestochowa, Poland, of
French, Walloon Belgian, and Polish descent, while her father is
French. Juliette was only 23 when she first attracted the attention of
international film critics with
The Unbearable Lightness of Being (1988).
Roger Ebert, Chicago Sun-Times film critic
with an international following of his books on film and TV reviews,
wrote that she was "almost ethereal in her beauty and innocence". That
innocence was gone by the time Binoche completed
Louis Malle's
Damage (1992) (aka "Fatale"). In an
interview after the film was released, Binoche said: "Malle was trying
direct and wanted something more sophisticated". A year later,
Krzysztof Kieslowski's
Three Colors: Blue (1993)
was added to her film credits. After a sabbatical from film-making to
become a mother in 1994, Binoche was selected as the heroine of
France's most expensive ($35 million) movie ever:
The Horseman on the Roof (1995).
More recently, she has made
The English Patient (1996),
for which she won an Oscar for 'Best supporting actress' and
Chocolat (2000).
