Acting
Apr 16, 1976
Les Lilas, Seine-Saint-Denis, France
Maïwenn
Acting
Biography
Maïwenn Aurélia Nedjma Le Besco, known mononymously as Maïwenn, is a French actress and filmmaker. Maïwenn starred in several films as a child, then teen, actress—notably as "Elle, as a child" (the child version of the lead role played by Isabelle Adjani) in the 1983 hit film L'été meurtrier (One Deadly Summer). Following her marriage to director Luc Besson and the birth of their daughter in 1993, Maïwenn interrupted her career for several years. During this period, she only appeared in a supporting part in Besson's Léon (1994), in which she was credited as Ouin-Ouin. She also directed the film's making-of. Perhaps Maïwenn's most internationally-seen film role was her appearance as the alien Diva Plavalaguna in Besson's The Fifth Element (1997). After she and Besson divorced, Maïwenn returned to France. She performed as a stand-up comedian in an autobiographical one-woman-show, and reentered the movie business after several filmmakers saw her comedy routine in Paris. She appeared in several notable movies, including the horror film Haute Tension (English title: High Tension), in which she starred opposite Cécile de France. By the time the film came out in 2003, she had decided she wanted to try directing. In 2006, Maïwenn wrote and directed her first feature film, Pardonnez-moi, a drama about a dysfunctional family.[6][10] She also starred in the film which earned her nominations for the César Award for Best First Feature Film and César Award for Most Promising Actress in the 2007. Her second film was Le bal des actrices (2009, All About Actresses), in which she appears as herself making a documentary. She achieved international recognition when her third film, the social drama Polisse (2011), won the Jury Prize at the 2011 Cannes Film Festival. Maïwenn's 2015 film Mon roi was selected to compete for the Palme d'Or at the 2015 Cannes Film Festival. She co-wrote, directed, and starred in the 2020 film, DNA, an Official Selection of the 2020 Cannes Film Festival which was cancelled due to COVID-19 pandemic. She co-wrote, directed, and starred in her first period film, the 2023 film Jeanne du Barry about the life of Madame du Barry with Louis XV portrayed by Johnny Depp, which opened the 2023 Cannes Film Festival out of competition and earned the highest French gross for a Cannes opening film since 2013.
Feature Films (30)
In 2263, a taxi driver is unintentionally given the task of saving a young girl who is part of the key that will ensure the survival of humanity.
The Fifth Element
When Éric and Marie go to meet their parents at the harbor for the holidays, the latter are victims of an overnight hit-and-run. Marie hides the truth from Éric, investigates the accident alone, and soon finds the presumed culprit.
The Other Night
"Stars: The Best Of Videos 1992-2002" is a music video compilation DVD by the Irish rock band The Cranberries, released in late 2002 alongside their greatest hits album. The DVD features 17 official promotional music videos spanning a decade of the band's career, as well as alternative versions and live performances as bonus content.
The Cranberries - Stars: The Best Of Videos 1992-2002
Best friends Marie and Alexia decide to spend a quiet weekend at Alexia's parents' secluded farmhouse. But on the night of their arrival, the girls' idyllic getaway turns into an endless night of horror.
High Tension
A director wants to make a documentary about actresses, all actresses: the popular ones, the unknown ones, the intellectuals, the comedians, the forgotten ones... Filming everything, with or without their consent, the director gets caught up in the game and lets herself be devoured by these women, who are as fragile as they are manipulative.
All About Actresses
Television & Series (5)
Salut les Terriens! is a French talk show hosted by Thierry Ardisson, launched on Canal+ on November 4, 2006, and then moved to C8 on September 10, 2016. The show subsequently changed its name and format in 2018 to become Les Terriens du Samedi! (The Earthlings of Saturday!). Initially conceived as a humorous take on current events with several guests and various games and segments, it later evolved into a more structured format with panel discussions and regular segments. In 2018, Thierry Ardisson sought to revamp the concept, believing the previous version had run its course, hence the transition to Les Terriens du samedi! with a new set and new segments, and a 360-degree turn in the ideology of the guests.
Salut les Terriens !
Quotidien (nicknamed "The French Show with the Good Lighting" abroad) is a French daily infotainment television program broadcast in the early evening on TMC since September 12, 2016. The show is hosted by Yann Barthès and produced by Bangumi. It consists of segments and reports produced by the team of commentators and journalists surrounding Yann Barthès and features daily guests including newsmakers, intellectuals, politicians, and French and international celebrities.
Quotidien
For thirty years, Zone Interdite has been the magazine that documents and analyzes the upheavals in French society. Conducted over time, the investigations broadcast in the program reveal the taboos, passions, and struggles of the French people at the heart of current events.
Zone interdite
A mother, herself retired from the police, embarks on an underground exploration of Paris to find her daughter, a missing investigator on a mission.
