Juliette Binoche (born March 9, 1964 in Paris, France) is an actress.

Born to a movie-director father and an actress mother, at age 15 she was sent to Paris to study at a specialized arts high school, after which she attended the National Conservatory of Dramatic Arts.

At age 18 she was given a bit part in the small independent film Liberty Belle. While trying to build her career over the next five years, she worked as a clerk at a Paris department store and earned extra cash as a painter's model.

She was 24 when she received her first big break with a role in Philip Kaufman's film The Unbearable Lightness of Being. Her performance brought much praise and the offer of leading roles including in Three Colors: Blue, part 1 of Krzysztof Kieslowski's highly acclaimed Three Colors trilogy, for which she won the 1993 Cesar Award for best actress. In addition to this victory, she has been nominated for the Cesar Award for Best Actress a further five times during her career.

In 1996 her role as Hana, a Canadian nurse tending to a wounded stranger during WWII, in the blockbuster film The English Patient, brought her the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress. In 2000, she was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Actress for her starring role in the film Chocolat, based on the novel by Joanne Harris (the award was won by Julia Roberts for her role in Erin Brockovich).

In addition to her numerous motion picture roles, Binoche has starred on Broadway. She is the highest paid film actress in the history of France.

Awards

Won

• 1997 - Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress - The English Patient
• 1997 - Berlin International Film Festival - Best Actress - The English Patient
• 1997 - British Academy Award - Best Supporting Actress - The English Patient
• 1997 - European Film Award - Best Actress - The English Patient
• 1996 - National Board of Review - Best Supporting Actress - The English Patient
• 1994 - Cesar Award - Best Actress - Three Colors: Blue
• 1993 - Venice Film Festival - Best Actress - Three Colors: Blue
• 1993 - Berlin International Film Festival - Berlinale Camera
• 1992 - European Film Award - Best Actress - Les Amants du Pont-Neuf

Nominated

• 2001 - Academy Award for Best Actress - Chocolat
• 2001 - British Academy Award - Best Actress - Chocolat
• 2001 - Cesar Award - Best Actress - Widow Of Saint-Pierre
• 2001 - Golden Globe Award - Best Actress - Chocolat
• 2001 - Screen Actors Guild Award - Best Actress - Chocolat
• 2001 - Screen Actors Guild Award - Outstanding Cast - Chocolat
• 1997 - Screen Actors Guild Award - Best Supporting Actress - The English Patient
• 1997 - Golden Globe Award - Best Supporting Actress - The English Patient
• 1996 - Cesar Award - Best Actress - Le Hussard sur le toit - (The Horseman on the Roof )
• 1994 - Golden Globe Award - Best Actress - Three Colors: Blue
• 1993 - Cesar Award - Best Actress - Damage

Filmography:

Jet Lag -- (2002)

Chocolat -- (2000)

-- (2000)

Widow of Saint-Pierre -- (2000)

Alice and Martin -- (2000)

Eloge de l'amour -- (1999)

Children of the Century -- (1999)

The English Patient -- (1996)

A Couch in New York -- (1996)

The Horseman on the Roof -- (1995)

Three Colors: Blue -- (1993)

Damage (Fatale) -- (1993)

Wuthering Heights -- (1992)

Women & Men 2 -- (1991)

Lovers on the Bridge -- (1989)

Un tour de manege -- (1989)

The Unbearable Lightness of Being -- (1988)

Bad Blood -- (1986)

Mon beau-frere a tue ma soeur -- (1985)

Le Meilleur de la vie -- (1985)

Rendez-vous -- (1985)

Adieu blaireau -- (1985)

Family Life -- (1985)

Hail Mary -- (1985)

The Chicks -- (1984)

Dorothee, danseuse de corde -- (1983)

Fort bloque -- (1983)

Liberty Belle -- (1982)