Photo: Chitose Suzuki / AP

Born in Paris, France. Daughter of an actress and a sculptor. Appealing, raven-haired lead of international films who was only 23 when she gained recognition as the sexually repressed Tereza (the one without the hat) in THE UNBEARABLE LIGHTNESS OF BEING. Binoche made her professional acting debut as the age of 20 in the French production LES NANAS (1984) / THE CHICKS. She went on to deliver a series of impressive performances for films by several leading French directors including Jean-Luc Godard's HAIL MARY (1985) / JE VOUS SALUE, MARIE, as a jealous former lover of Joseph, and Leo Carax's BAD BLOOD (1986) / MAUVAIS SANG. After her initial impact in UNBEARABLE LIGHTNESS, Binoche returned to her native France and made only infrequent sojourns to the States for projects. She turned in a heart-wrenching performance as a young Polish prostitute befriended by Scott Glenn (as a thinly veiled Henry Miller) in Mike Figgis' segment of HBO's WOMEN & MEN II (1991). Binoche further enhanced her reputation in the early 90s by appearing in Louis Malle's DAMAGE (1992), as the catalyst for Jeremy Irons' downfall, and in BLUE (1993), the first installment of Polish director Krzysztof Kieslowski's French trilogy, as Julie, a woman who must cope with the future after a tragedy. She won the best actress award from the Venice Film Festival for her performance. She then completed the trilogy, appearing in WHITE (1994) and RED (also 1994). She reportedly turned down the lead in JURASSIC PARK (1993) to take a sabbatical from film-making to become a mother. Her son Raphaél was born in September, 1993. His father is Andre Halle, a professional scuba diver. When she returned to work, Binoche was selected as the heroine of France's most expensive (US$35 million) ever: LE HUSSARD SUR LE TOIT / THE HORSEMAN ON THE ROOF (1995). She then made THE ENGLISH PATIENT (1996), for which she won an Oscar®. This was followed by ALICE ET MARTIN (1998), LES ENFANTS DU SIÈCLE (1999), LA VEUVE DE SAINT-PIERRE / THE WIDOW OF SAINT-PIERRE and CODE INCONNU: RÉCIT INCOMPLET DE DIVERS VOYAGES / CODE UNKNOWN (both 2000). Her film CHOCOLAT was also released in 2000, and she was nominated for another Oscar. Binoche's notable subsequent credits include DÉCALAGE HORAIRE / JET LAG (2002), COUNTRY OF MY SKULL (2004), CACHÉ / HIDDEN, BEE SEASON and MARY (all 2005), PARIS, JE T'AIME, QUELQUES JOUR EN SEPTEMBRE / A FEW DAYS IN SEPTEMBER and BREAKING AND ENTERING (all 2006), LE VOYAGE DU BALLON ROUGE / FLIGHT OF THE RED BALLOON, DÉSENGAGEMENT and DAN IN REAL LIFE (all 2007), PARIS and L'HEURE D'ÊTÉ / SUMMER TIME (both scheduled for 2008 release), and THE CERTIFIED COPY (announced for release in 2009).  Best Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role 1996: THE ENGLISH PATIENT  Nominated for Best Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role 2000: CHOCOLAT 2 nominations, 1 Award