DELPY, JULIE

(1969- )

   Actress, director, producer, and screenwriter. Julie Delpy was born in Paris to actors Albert Delpy and Marie Pillet. She first appeared onscreen when she was seven in Joël Farges's Guerres civiles en France (1978). In the 1980s, she appeared in films by some of France's major directors, such as Jean-Luc Godard's Détective (1985) and Leos Carax's Mauvais sang (1986). Her first major role was in Bertrand Tavernier's La Passion Béatrice (1987), for which she received a César nomination for Most Promising Actress. She later landed a leading role in Jean-Pierre Limosin's L 'Autre nuit (1988).

   In the late 1980s and especially in the 1990s, Delpy developed a solid cosmopolitan presence.International coproductions are prevalent in modern cinema, and sophisticated actors like Delpy travel well. In 1989 she played in Spanish director Carlos Saura's La Noche oscura. In the 1990s, she played significant roles in coproductions such as Agnieszka Holland's Europa, Europa (1991), Volker Schlöndorff's Homo Faber (1991), and Krzysztof Kieslowski's Trois couleurs, blanc (1993). She appeared in German director Percy Adlon's Anglophone Younger and Younger and starred in Roger Avary's French and American production, Killing Zoe (1994).

   In 1995, Delpy directed her first film, a short titled Blah Blah Blah. She cowrote the script with American actress and screenwriter Emily Wagner, who also acts in the film. Also in the mid-1990s, she starred in and composed songs for American director Richard Linklater's Before Sunrise (1995) and later starred in his sequel Before Sunset (2004). Delpy continued to work in international films, among them Enki Bilal's science-fiction film Tykho Moon (1996), Anthony Waller's American Werewolf in Paris (1997), and Mika Kaurismaki's L.A.Without a Map (1998).

   Delpy directed and produced the English-language film Looking for Jimmy (2001), a film cowritten again with Wagner. In 2003, Delpy released a music CD. She later directed a short in French, J'ai peur, j'ai mal, je meurs (2004). In 2005, she appeared with Bill Murray in Jim Jarmusch's Broken Flowers. That same year, she played the lead in John Stimpson's The Legend of Lucy Keyes (2005).

   Historical Dictionary of French Cinema by Dayna Oscherwitz & Mary Ellen Higgins

(1969- )

   Actress, director, producer, and screenwriter. Julie Delpy was born in Paris to actors Albert Delpy and Marie Pillet. She first appeared onscreen when she was seven in Joël Farges's Guerres civiles en France (1978). In the 1980s, she appeared in films by some of France's major directors, such as Jean-Luc Godard's Détective (1985) and Leos Carax's Mauvais sang (1986). Her first major role was in Bertrand Tavernier's La Passion Béatrice (1987), for which she received a César nomination for Most Promising Actress. She later landed a leading role in Jean-Pierre Limosin's L 'Autre nuit (1988).

   In the late 1980s and especially in the 1990s, Delpy developed a solid cosmopolitan presence.International coproductions are prevalent in modern cinema, and sophisticated actors like Delpy travel well. In 1989 she played in Spanish director Carlos Saura's La Noche oscura. In the 1990s, she played significant roles in coproductions such as Agnieszka Holland's Europa, Europa (1991), Volker Schlöndorff's Homo Faber (1991), and Krzysztof Kieslowski's Trois couleurs, blanc (1993). She appeared in German director Percy Adlon's Anglophone Younger and Younger and starred in Roger Avary's French and American production, Killing Zoe (1994).

   In 1995, Delpy directed her first film, a short titled Blah Blah Blah. She cowrote the script with American actress and screenwriter Emily Wagner, who also acts in the film. Also in the mid-1990s, she starred in and composed songs for American director Richard Linklater's Before Sunrise (1995) and later starred in his sequel Before Sunset (2004). Delpy continued to work in international films, among them Enki Bilal's science-fiction film Tykho Moon (1996), Anthony Waller's American Werewolf in Paris (1997), and Mika Kaurismaki's L.A.Without a Map (1998).

   Delpy directed and produced the English-language film Looking for Jimmy (2001), a film cowritten again with Wagner. In 2003, Delpy released a music CD. She later directed a short in French, J'ai peur, j'ai mal, je meurs (2004). In 2005, she appeared with Bill Murray in Jim Jarmusch's Broken Flowers. That same year, she played the lead in John Stimpson's The Legend of Lucy Keyes (2005).