Isabelle Adjani

Isabelle Yasmina Adjani was born on June 27, 1955 in Paris, France. She made her feature film debut at the young age of 14, appearing in the film "Le Petit Bougnat" (1970). Afterwards, she reallocated her ambitions toward the stage, performing at the state theatre the Comédie-Française beginning in 1972, though returned to the screen before long. Around this time, she began studying at University of Vincennes. Soon enough Adjani caught the attention of thriving filmmaker François Truffaut and earned a role in "The Story of Adele H." (1975), for which she was nominated for her first Oscar.

From then on, Adjani worked on a series of films by big name directors, including Roman Polanski's "The Tenant" (1976), Werner Herzog's "Nasferatu the Vampyre" (1979), and James Ivory's "Quartet" (1981). The '80s saw further upswing in Adjani's critical esteem; she won the César Award for her performance in "Possession" (1981), "L'été meurtrier" (1983), and "Camille Claudel" (1988). Shortly afterward, she began a relationship with acclaimed actor Daniel Day-Lewis. She went on to win another César in "La reine Margot" (1994) for her performance as the titular French royal, and one more 14 years later for the drama "La journée de la jupe" (2008), making her the first actress ever to win five César Awards.