Isabelle Adjani

Born: 27 June 1955
Where: Paris, France

One of France's leading actresses, Adjani first earned critical praise as a member of the Comedie Francaise, which she joined at age 17.

Adjani had already made two features, her debut Le Petit bougnat in 1969 and Faustine et le bel ete.

She stunned many when she refused a 20-year commitment with the Comedie Francaise in order to pursue a film career. She had garnered praise for her performance as a spoiled teenager in La Gifle (The Slap), and went on to earn international stardom as Victor Hugo's love-obsessed daughter in Francois Truffaut's The Story of Adele H.

That film earned her a number of awards and her first Oscar nomination as Best Actress. It also laid the groundwork for what has become Adjani's signature role in films: the intense, unstable, infatuated female.

Adjani subsequently appeared in films by noted international directors. For Andre Techine, she co-starred with Gerard Depardieu in Barocco, and The Bronte Sisters.

She appeared in Roman Polanski's The Tenant, and Werner Herzog's retelling of the Dracula legend, Nosferatu. Named Best Actress at the 1981 Cannes Film Festival, Adjani was cited for two roles: as the unfaithful wife of Sam Neill in Possession and as the impoverished mistress of Alan Bates in Quartet.

Teaming (as producer and star) with former companion and first-time director Bruno Nuytten, Adjani had one of her best screen roles portraying sculptor Camille Claudel in the film by the same name. This resulted in her second Best Actress Oscar nomination.

She received praise for her portrayal of the titular monarch in La Reine Margo, before teaming with Sharon Stone in the remake of Diabolique.

In 2002 Adjani returned to screen acting after a five-year break starring in The Repentent, then as the female lead in Adolphe, followed by a role originally meant for Sophie Marceau in Bon Voyage.