Irène Jacob

Infobox actor


imagesize =
name = Irène Jacob
birthname = Irène Marie Jacob
birthdate = birth date and age|1966|7|15
birthplace = Suresnes, France
othername =
domesticdomesticpartner =
yearsactive = 1987 – present
academyawards =
baftaawards = Best Actress Nomination, 1995
""
cesarawards = Best Actress Nomination, 1995
'
Best Actress"' Nomination, 1992
"The Double Life of Véronique"
awards = Best Actress, Cannes Film Festival, 1991
"The Double Life of Véronique"

Irène Marie Jacob (born July 15, 1966) is a French-born Swiss actress considered one of the preeminent Swiss actresses of her generation. Jacob gained international recognition and acclaim through her work with Polish film director Krzysztof Kieslowski, who cast her in the lead role of "The Double Life of Véronique" and "". She came to represent an image of European sophistication, through her "classic beauty and thoughtful, almost melancholic style of acting." [Flint, Rebecca. "Irene Jacob Biography" in "All Movie Guide" on Star Pulse. Retrieved on December 13, 2007.]

Early life

Jacob was born in Suresnes, France, a western suburb of Paris. [imdb name|id=0001393|name=Irène Jacob] The youngest child with three older brothers, Irène grew up in a highly educated and intellectual family and environment: her father was a physicist, her mother a psychologist, one brother a musician, and two brothers scientists. [Flint] ["Biography Base". "Irene Jacob Biography." Retrieved on December 13, 2007.] In 1969, at the age of three, Irène moved with her family to Geneva, Switzerland where she became interested in the arts.

Irène developed an interest in performing after seeing the films of Charlie Chaplin. "They took my heart," she recalled. "They made me laugh and cry, and that was exactly what I was waiting for in a film: to awaken me to my feelings." [McKenna]

She made her stage debut in 1977 at the age of eleven. She attended the Geneva Conservatory of Music and earned a degree in languages (she speaks English, German, French and Italian). [Flint] In 1984, she moved to Paris, where she studied acting at the prestigious "Rue Blanche" (the French national drama academy) and at the Dramatic Studio in London, England. ["Yahoo Movies". "Irene Jacob Biography." Retrieved on December 13, 2007.] ["Net Glimpse". "Irene Jacob Biography." Retrieved on December 13, 2007.]

Film career

In 1987, Jacob returned to Paris, where the 21-year-old drama student obtained her first movie role in the film "Au revoir, les enfants", playing the part of a piano teacher. She followed her film debut with six additional French movies in four years — mostly minor roles.

In 1991, Polish film director Krzysztof Kieślowski cast her in the lead role of his film "The Double Life of Véronique", the allegorical story of two young women, one in Poland and the other in France, both played by Irène Jacob. For her performance, Jacob won the Best Actress Award at the Cannes Film Festival. ["Biography Base". "Irene Jacob Biography" Retrieved on December 13, 2007.]

Between 1992-1993, despite numerous offers from Hollywood that came in the wake of her success — including the lead role in Indecent Proposal — Jacob focused on smaller French films.

In 1994, Jacob again earned international acclaim as the protagonist in Kieslowski's masterpiece "", which received three Academy Award nominations for Best Director, Best Cinematography, and Best Original Screenplay. The film was also named Best Film or Best Foreign Film by the National Board of Review, New York Film Critics Circle Awards, National Society of Film Critics Awards, and Los Angeles Film Critics Association Awards. It received Cesar Award nominations for Best Film, Best Actor (Jean-Louis Trintignant), Best Actress (Irene Jacob), Best Director (Krzysztof Kieślowski), Best Writing (Krzysztof Kieślowski and Krzysztof Piesiewicz). "The New York Times" included the film in its list of "The Best 1000 Movies Ever Made." [Flint] ["Biography Base"]

An introvert by nature, Jacob has the remarkable ability to express the emotional turmoil of her characters with very few words. This was very evident in her performance in "", the third part of Kieslowski's highly acclaimed masterpiece, the "Three Colours" trilogy. Jacob described her unique experience working with the Polish film director:

Her performance in "Three Colors: Red" gained huge international recognition, bringing many offers from major American motion-picture studios. But again, Jacob retreated from the growing interest and fame and took nine months off, spending most of her time reading Tolstoy, Balzac, Singer, and several autobiographies. [McKenna]

Between 1995-1999, Jacob made a series of American and European films that met with varying degrees of commercial and critical success. In 1995, she appeared in six films, including "Victory", with Willem Dafoe and Sam Neill, Michelangelo Antonioni's "Beyond the Clouds", and Oliver Parker's adaptation of William Shakespeare's "Othello", in which Jacob spoke all her lines in English for the first time on film. [Flint] In the following years, she made several moderately successful American films, including " Incognito" (1997), " U.S. Marshals" (1998), starring opposite Wesley Snipes and Tommy Lee Jones, "The Big Brass Ring" (1999), with William Hurt, and the entertaining "History Is Made at Night" (1999), with Bill Pullman and Bruno Kirby.

Beginning in 2000, Jacob's film career slowed down, and after a series of independent, mostly European, films, she revived her theatre career. In 2000, she played the title character in "Madame Melville" opposite Macaulay Culkin in London's West-End, which was crucial to her further development as an actress. She continues to make films.

Filmography

* 2007 "Nessuna qualità agli eroi" ("Fallen Heroes") – Anne
* 2007 "The Inner Life of Martin Frost" – Claire Martin
* 2006 "La Educación de las hadas" ("The Education of Fairies") – Ingrid
* 2004 "Nouvelle-France" ("Battle of the Brave") – Angélique de Roquebrune
* 2004 "Automne" ("Autumn") – Michelle
* 2004 "The Pornographer: A Love Story" (2004)
* 2003 "Nés de la mère du monde" [TV] – Clara Sidowski
* 2003 "La Légende de Parva" – voice of La mère de Parva
* 2002 "Mille millièmes" ("The Landlords") – Julie
* 2001 "Londinium" ("Fourplay") – Fiona Delgrazia
* 2001 "Lettre d'une inconnue" ("Letter from an Unknown Woman") [TV] – unknown woman
* 2001 "Léaud l'unique" [TV]
* 2000 "L'Affaire Marcorelle" ("The Marcorelle Affair") – Agneska
* 1999 "History Is Made at Night" ("Spy Games") – Natasha Scriabina/Anna Belinka
* 1999 "My Life So Far" - Aunt Heloise
* 1999 "The Big Brass Ring" – Cela Brandini
* 1999 "Cuisine chinoise" - Patricia
* 1998 "Cuisine américaine" ("American Cuisine (film)") – Gabrielle Boyer
* 1998 " U.S. Marshals" – Marie Bineaux
* 1998 "Jack's potes"
* 1997 " Incognito" – Prof. Marieke van den Broeck
* 1995 "Othello" – Desdemona
* 1995 "Faire un film pour moi c'est vivre"
* 1995 "All Men Are Mortal" - Regina
* 1995 "Beyond the Clouds" ("Al di là delle nuvole") – the girl
* 1995 "Fugueuses" ("Runaways") – Prune
* 1995 "Victory" – Alma
* 1994 "" ("Trois couleurs: Rouge") – Valentine Dussaut
* 1993 "Predskazaniye" ("The Prediction") – Lyuda
* 1993 "The Secret Garden" – Mrs. Lennox/Lilias Craven
* 1993 "Claude" ("Trusting Beatrice") – Beatrice
* 1992 "Enak" – Lucille Spaak
* 1992 "Le Moulin de Daudet" ("Daudet's Windmill") – Mme Daudet
* 1991 "The Double Life of Véronique" ("La Double vie de Véronique") – Weronika/Véronique
* 1991 "Le Secret de Sarah Tombelaine" ("The Secret of Sarah Tombelaine") – Sarah
* 1990 "La Veillée" ("The Van Gogh Wake") – Johanna
* 1989 "Nick chasseur de têtes" [TV]
* 1989 "Les Mannequins d'osier" – Marie
* 1989 "Erreur de jeunesse" – Anne
* 1988 "La Bande des quatre" ("The Gang of Four") – Marine
* 1987 "Au revoir, les enfants" ("Goodbye, Children") – Mlle Davenne

Awards

* 2002 Krzysztof Kieslowski Award (Camerimage)
* 1995 BAFTA Film Award Best Actress Nomination for ""
* 1995 César Best Actress Award Nomination for ""
* 1994 Nika Award Best Actress Nomination for "Predskazaniye"
* 1993 Sant Jordi Best Foreign Actress Award for "The Double Life of Véronique"
* 1992 César Best Actress Award Nomination for "The Double Life of Véronique"
* 1991 Cannes Film Festival Award for Best Actress for "The Double Life of Véronique"

References

External links

* [http://www.irenejacob.net Irène Jacob Official Website]
* [http://www.eddog.com/ij/ Irène Jacob Fan Website]
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