Patrice Leconte
Born: November 12 1947
Where: Paris, France
One of France's most respected directors, Leconte is probably best known abroad for Ridicule and The Hairdresser's Husband.
A fim student at France's prestigious IDHEC, he changed direction to become a cartoonist for the magazine Pilote.
His first major directorial effort was The Toilets Were Locked From The Outside which flopped, despite the presence of French film legend Jean Rochefort.
French Fried Vacation was a bigger success which he followed with the hit comedy Come To My Place, a collaboration with writer and actor Michel Blanc.
Action comedy Les Specialistes was his biggest box office success and he followed it with road movie Tandem before the darkly impressive Monsieur Hire and the lighter The Hairdresser's Husband.
His next notable success was Ridicule in 1996, a comedy of social manners which takes place in the 18th century court of Versailles.
Leconte then switched gears again, helming Half a Chance, a comedy action film starring Alan Delon and Vanessa Paradis.
In 1999, he worked with Paradis again in The Girl on the Bridge, which he followed with Felix and Lola and the critically lauded L'Homme Du Train with Johnny Hallyday and Jean Rochefort.
Recent work includes the low-key erotic thriller Confidences Trop Intimes with Sandrine Bonnaire and Fabrice Luchini.
