Isabelle Huppert as Greta Hideg

Isabelle Huppert studied Russian at Langues O’, the French National Institute for Oriental Languages and Civilizations, while simultaneously taking classes at the National School for Theater Arts and Techniques, familiarly known as the École de la rue Blanche, and the National Academy of Dramatic Arts, where she was a student of Jean-Laurent Cochet and of Antoine Vitez. 

In film, she was first noticed for her performances in Bertrand Blier’s Going Places; in Aloïse, directed by Liliane de Kermadec; and in The Judge and The Assassin by Bertrand Tavernier. Her performance in Claude Goretta’s The Lacemaker earned her the British Academy of Film and Television (BAFTA) Award for Most Promising Newcomer to Feature Films. It was her close relationship with Claude Chabrol that allowed her to tackle a wide variety of film genres: comedy (The Swindle), drama (Story of Women), film noir (Merci pour le chocolat), literary adaptation (Madame Bovary), and even political fiction (Comedy of Power). Under his direction, she received a number of awards for her film performances: Best Actress at the Cannes Film Festival for Violette Nozière; at the Venice Film Festival for Story of Women; at the Moscow International Film Festival for Madame Bovary; and Best Actress at the Venice Film Festival and the César for Best Actress for The Ceremony. 

Isabelle Huppert has worked with directors Jean-Luc Godard, André Téchiné, Maurice Pialat, Patrice Chéreau, Michael Haneke, Raoul Ruiz, Benoît Jacquot, Jacques Doillon, and Claire Denis, as well as with Christian Vincent, Diane Kurys, Caroline Huppert, Laurence Ferreira Barbosa, Olivier Assayas, François Ozon, Anne Fontaine, Eva Ionesco, Joachim Lafosse, Serge Bozon, Catherine Breillat, Guillaume Nicloux, and Samuel Benchetrit. She has also worked with major international directors such as Michael Cimino, Joseph Losey, Otto Preminger, the Taviani Brothers, Marco Ferreri, Hal Hartley, David O’Russell, Werner Schroeter, Mauro Bolognini and Andrzej Wajda, Marco Bellocchio – and, most recently, with Rithy Panh, Brillante Mendoza, Joachim Trier, and Hong Sang Soo. 

The Venice Film Festival gave her a Special Jury Lion d’Or for her performance in Patrice Chéreau’s Gabrielle, and for her entire body of work. 

At the Cannes Film Festival, she twice received the Best Actress Award (the second for Michael Haneke’s The Piano Teacher); she has been a jury member and mistress of ceremonies; and was President of the Jury for the 62nd edition of the prestigious festival. 

In parallel with the cinema, Isabelle Huppert has pursued her theatrical career in France and internationally. She has acted under the direction of Bob Wilson (Virginia Woolf’s Orlando, Heiner Müller’s Quartet), of Peter Zadek (Shakespeare’s Measure for Measure), of Claude Régy, (4.48 Psychosis by Sarah Kane, Paul Claudel’s Joan of Arc at the Stake). She has also played Euripides’ Medea, directed by Jacques Lassalle, most notably at the Avignon Festival; Hedda Gabler by Henrik Ibsen, directed by Eric Lacascade; A Streetcar, director Krzysztof Warlikowski’s spin on Tennessee Williams’ A Streetcar Named Desire, at the Odéon Theater and on tour throughout Europe and internationally; The Maids by Jean Genet, directed by Benedict Andrews, with Cate Blanchett at the Sydney Theatre Company and at New York’s City Center in conjunction with the Lincoln Center Festival; and Les Fausses Confidences by Marivaux, directed by Luc Bondy at the Odéon Theater and on tour throughout Europe. This season, she is playing Phaedra(s), written by Wajdi Mouawad, Sarah Kane, and J. M. Coetzee and directed by Krzysztof Warlikowski, at the Odéon Theater, the BAM in New York this September, and on tour throughout Europe and internationally. She recently received a Molière honor award for her career and the “XVI Prix Europe pour le Théâtre” in Rome.

Elle, directed by Paul Verhoeven, was presented at the Cannes Film Festival. She received several awards in the USA for her performance, such as the Gotham Award, Golden Globe, and Independent Spirit Award; she was also nominated for the Best Actress Oscar for her interpretation. She won the César Award for Best Actress in France for the same film.

She shot her fourth film with Michael Haneke, Happy End, which was presented at the Cannes Film Festival in 2017. 

Several other films have been recently released: Eva, directed by Benoit Jacquot; Claire’s Camera by Hong Sangsoo; and Ms. Hyde, directed by Serge Bozon (for which she won the Best Actress Award at the Locarno Film Festival).

Isabelle Huppert is an Officer of the National Order of Merit of the Legion of Honor, and an Officer of the National Order of Merit and Commander in the Order of Arts and Letters.