Isabelle Yasmine Adjani was born June 27, 1955 in Bavaria, to an Algerian father and a German mother. The family moved to Gennevilliers, near Paris, in Adjani's early school years.  Soon after, she began appearing in amateur productions.  In 1969, at age 14, she landed her first film role in Le Petit bougnat.   

Five years later, with four films and a stint with the Comédie-Française (the French national theater) to her name, Adjani rose to international prominence with her Academy Award-nominated performance in François Truffaut's L'histoire d'Adèle H.   On his selection of his lead actress, Truffaut has said, "Isabelle Adjani was only 17 years old, but she was the only actress who ever made me cry in front of a television screen.  And because of that, I wanted to film with her right away, in all urgency...to steal precious things from her...like everything that passes over a body and a face in full transformation."  A testimony to her longevity, Adjani received a second Oscar nomination 24 years later, in 1989, for her role in Camille Claudel, which also garnered her her third César.   

In the years immediately following Camille Claudel, Adjani appeared to have retired from acting, turning down roles in Basic Instinct and Indecent Proposal.  Her return to filmmaking was confirmed in 1994, with the international success of <i>La Reine Margot</i>--she received her fourth César.     

More recently, Adjani co-starred with Sharon Stone and Chaz Palmenteri in 1996's Diabolique.  However, she turned down the title role in Mel Gibson's upcoming production of Anna Karenina (the part ended up going to Sophie Marceau), and abandoned Roman Polanski's The Double, for which she had signed on, when Steve Martin replaced John Travolta as the male lead.  

Adjani's love life has been the subject of intense speculation in the French tabloids, much to her annoyance. She has two children:  Barnabé (born in 1980), by director Bruno Nuytten, and Gabriel-Kane (born in 1995), from an "on-off" relationship with actor Daniel Day-Lewis.  It turns out that her relationship with Lewis was the impetus for her hiatus from film during the early 1990s.  "The cinema was no longer the most important thing for me," she has said.  "I am one of those actors who, when they are in love, forget everything else."  She denies the much-publicized rumor that they broke up by fax: "I never received a fax that said, 'This is over.'  Shortly after I got pregnant I saw him and then he wasn't there anymore."   

Love and work aren't the only things that keep Adjani in the public eye.  Her long-standing criticism of Muslim fundamentalism in Algeria and outspoken opposition to the anti-immigration policies of the French National Front have made her the object of sometimes intense political enmity.  In 1986, a right-wing smear campaign led to rumors in the press that she was dying of AIDS. When newspapers announced a few days later that she had in fact died, she appeared on the French news program "Le Journal de 20H" to prove otherwise.

In October 1996, joining in the renewed hurrah over Pablo Picasso, Adjani attended a private party to celebrate the opening of a new Paris exhibition of the painter's work.  

Of the paintings, she said, "The Picassos I like best are those of his blue and pink periods, the compassionate Picassos, before his genius began to warp. I also like the three Nusch portraits which embrace three different periods. 'La dame de la sable' is magnificent. I find 'Jacqueline à l'écharpe noire' very impressive. Each time you come to this exhibition you should really only study one single painting, but I'm not sure if I'll be able to come here 143 times!"

And, of the man, "You can feel the love, the seduction, the sense of abandon between Picasso and his women. It's thoroughly indecent, because you can see everything, and learn so much about his love life--the women who inspired him, the danger that he posed for them. In looking at the photos of Picasso, I'm fascinated by this man's appearance, his vibrant charisma, his power of seduction. I'm very glad I never knew him!"

The Picasso exhibition aside, Adjani has had enough of Paris.  She's moving to Geneva, Switzerland.  "I love Paris," she said,  "and will continue to love it and go there regularly. But the pollution has become too bad, especially during the summer. The situation there worries me for my son, Gabriel-Kane. Living in Geneva is a solution which gives me breathing space in all senses of the word."

She'll return to France, for certain, in May, 1997, when she'll head the jury at the 50th Cannes Film Festival.

-Michael St Aubyn 

Contact Information

Isabelle Adjani c/o Artmédia, 10 avenue George-V, 75008 Paris, France.

FILMOGRAPHY

  1. Diabolique (1996) .... Mia
  2. Reine Margot, La (1994) (Cesar) .... Margot
     ... aka Queen Margot (1994)
  3. Toxic Affair (1993) .... Penelope
  4. Lung Ta: Les Cavaliers du Vent (1990)
  5. Camille Claudel (1988) (AAN) (Cesar) (SBB) .... Camille Claudel, Producer
  6. Ishtar (1987) .... Shirra Assel
  7. Subway (1985) .... Helena
  8. Ete meurtrier, L' (1983) (Cesar) .... Eliane
     ... aka One Deadly Summer (1983)
  9. Antonieta (1982) .... Antonieta Rivas Mercado
 10. Mortelle randonnee (1982) .... Catherine Leiris/Lucie, "Marie"
     ... aka Deadly Circuit (1982)
 11. Annee prochaine...si tout va bien, L' (1981) .... Isabelle
     ... aka Next Year If All Goes Well (1981)
 12. Possession (1981) (Cesar) .... Anna/Helen
 13. Quartet (1981) .... Marya Zelli
 14. Tout feu, tout flamme (1981) .... Pauline Valance
     ... aka All Fired Up (1981)
 15. Clara et les Chics Types (1980) .... Clara
     ... aka Clara and the Swell Guys (1980)
 16. Nosferatu: Phantom der Nacht (1979) .... Lucy Harker
     ... aka Nosferatu - fantome de la nuit (1979)
     ... aka Nosferatu the Vampyre (1979)
 17. Soeurs Bronte, Les (1979) .... Emily
     ... aka Bronte Sisters, The (1979)
 18. Driver, The (1978) .... The Player
 19. Barocco (1976) .... Laure
 20. Locataire, Le (1976) .... Stella
     ... aka Lokator (1976)
     ... aka Tenant, The (1976)
 21. Violette et Francois (1976) .... Violette
 22. Histoire d'Adele H., L' (1975) (AAN) .... Adele Hugo
     ... aka Story of Adele H, The (1975)
 23. Gifle, La (1974) .... Isabelle Doulean, their daughter
     ... aka Slap, The (1974)
 24. Ecole des femmes, L' (1972) (TV) .... Agnes
 25. Faustine (1971) .... Camille
     ... aka Faustine and the Beautiful Summer (1971)
     ... aka Faustine et le Bel Ete (1971)
 26. Petit bougnat, Le (1969) .... Rose