Gérard Depardieu

Table of Contents

Introduction References & Edit History Quick Facts & Related Topics

Images

Gérard Depardieu

French actor

Written and fact-checked by The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica

Last Updated: Oct 29, 2024 • Article History

Quick Facts

Born:: December 27, 1948, Châteauroux, France (age 75)

Also Known As:: Gérard Xavier Marcel Depardieu

Married To:: Elisabeth Depardieu (1970–1996)

Movies/Tv Shows (Acted In):: "Fahim" (2019); "Thalasso" (2019); "Convoi exceptionnel" (2019); "Alad'2" (2018); "Saving My Pig" (2018); "Les confins du monde" (2018); "Amoureux de ma femme" (2018); "Sgt. Stubby: An American Hero" (2018); "Marseille" (2016–2018); "Carbone" (2017); "Bonne pomme" (2017); "Sólo se vive una vez" (2017); "Un beau soleil intérieur" (2017); "Mata Hari" (2016–2017); "Le divan de Staline" (2016); "Tour de France" (2016); "La Dream Team" (2016); "Saint Amour" (2016); "The End" (2016); "Capitaine Marleau" (2015); "Valley of Love" (2015); "Sex, kofe, sigarety" (2014); "Viktor" (2014); "La voix des steppes" (2014); "United Passions" (2014); "Welcome to New York" (2014); "Cadences obstinées" (2013); "Le tourbillon de Jeanne" (2013); "Les invincibles" (2013); "La marque des anges - Miserere" (2013); "Niente può fermarci" (2013); "A Farewell to Fools" (2013); "Turf" (2013); "Moy greshnyy angel" (2012); "Astérix & Obélix: Au service de sa Majesté" (2012); "Life of Pi" (2012); "L'homme qui rit" (2012); "Le grand soir" (2012); "Rasputin" (2011); "Un baiser papillon" (2011); "Je n'ai rien oublié" (2010); "Pozdnyaya lyubov" (2010); "Potiche" (2010); "La tête en friche" (2010); "Glenn, the Flying Robot" (2010); "Mammuth" (2010); "L'autre Dumas" (2010); "Groland magzine" (2009); "À l'origine" (2009); "Bellamy" (2009); "Coco" (2009); "Diamant 13" (2009); "Les enfants de Timpelbach" (2008); "Hello Goodbye" (2008); "Bouquet final" (2008); "L'ennemi public n°1" (2008); "L'instinct de mort" (2008); "Babylon A.D." (2008); "Sans arme, ni haine, ni violence" (2008); "Disco" (2008); "Vsyo mogut koroli" (2008); "Astérix aux jeux olympiques" (2008); "Michou d'Auber" (2007); "La môme" (2007); "Quand j'étais chanteur" (2006); "Paris, je t'aime" (2006); "Last Holiday" (2006); "Olé!" (2005); "Les rois maudits" (2005); "Combien tu m'aimes?" (2005); "Boudu" (2005); "Je préfère qu'on reste amis" (2005); "La vie de Michel Muller est plus belle que la vôtre" (2005); "La Femme Musketeer" (2004); "Les temps qui changent" (2004); "36 Quai des Orfèvres" (2004); "Nouvelle-France" (2004); "San Antonio" (2004); "RRRrrrr!!!" (2004); "Uboynaya sila" (2003); "Les clefs de bagnole" (2003); "Tais-toi!" (2003); "Nathalie..." (2003); "Bon voyage" (2003); "Crime Spree" (2003); "Le pacte du silence" (2003); "Napoléon" (2002); "Blanche" (2002); "City of Ghosts" (2002); "Between Strangers" (2002); "Aime ton père" (2002); "I Am Dina" (2002); "Astérix & Obélix: Mission Cléopâtre" (2002); "Streghe verso nord" (2001); "Vidocq" (2001); "CQ" (2001); "Concorrenza sleale" (2001); "Le placard" (2001); "102 Dalmatians" (2000); "Zavist bogov" (2000); "Les misérables" (2000); "Vatel" (2000); "Les acteurs" (2000); "Tutto l'amore che c'è" (2000); "Mirka" (2000); "Un pont entre deux rives" (1999); "Astérix & Obélix contre César" (1999); "Bimboland" (1998); "Le Comte de Monte Cristo" (1998); "La parola amore esiste" (1998); "The Man in the Iron Mask" (1998); "XXL" (1997); "Hamlet" (1996); "Le plus beau métier du monde" (1996); "The Secret Agent" (1996); "Bogus" (1996); "Unhook the Stars" (1996); "Le garçu" (1995); "Les anges gardiens" (1995); "Élisa" (1995); "Les cent et une nuits de Simon Cinéma" (1995); "La machine" (1994); "Le colonel Chabert" (1994); "Una pura formalità" (1994); "My Father the Hero" (1994); "Germinal" (1993); "Hélas pour moi" (1993); "1492: Conquest of Paradise" (1992); "Tous les matins du monde" (1991); "Mon père, ce héros." (1991); "Merci la vie" (1991); "Green Card" (1990); "Uranus" (1990); "Cyrano de Bergerac" (1990); "I Want to Go Home" (1989); "Trop belle pour toi" (1989); "Deux" (1989); "Camille Claudel" (1988); "Drôle d'endroit pour une rencontre" (1988); "Sous le soleil de Satan" (1987); "Les fugitifs" (1986); "Rue du Départ" (1986); "Jean de Florette" (1986); "Tenue de soirée" (1986); "Une femme ou deux" (1985); "Police" (1985); "Rive droite, rive gauche" (1984); "Le tartuffe" (1984); "Fort Saganne" (1984); "Les compères" (1983); "La lune dans le caniveau" (1983); "Danton" (1983); "Le grand frère" (1982); "Le retour de Martin Guerre" (1982); "La chèvre" (1981); "La femme d'à côté" (1981); "Le choix des armes" (1981); "Je vous aime" (1980); "Inspecteur la Bavure" (1980); "Le dernier métro" (1980); "Loulou" (1980); "Mon oncle d'Amérique" (1980); "Temporale Rosy" (1980); "Buffet froid" (1979); "Les chiens" (1979); "L'ingorgo" (1979); "Le sucre" (1978); "Die linkshändige Frau" (1978); "Ciao maschio" (1978); "Préparez vos mouchoirs" (1978); "La nuit, tous les chats sont gris" (1977); "Dites-lui que je l'aime" (1977); "Violanta" (1977); "Baxter, Vera Baxter" (1977); "Le camion" (1977); "René la canne" (1977); "Barocco" (1976); "Novecento" (1976); "La dernière femme" (1976); "Je t'aime moi non plus" (1976); "Maîtresse" (1976); "7 morts sur ordonnance" (1975); "Pas si méchant que ça" (1975); "Vincent, François, Paul... et les autres" (1974); "Stavisky..." (1974); "La femme du Gange" (1974); "Les valseuses" (1974); "Les gaspards" (1974); "Rude journée pour la reine" (1973); "Deux hommes dans la ville" (1973); "Un monsieur bien rangé" (1973); "Les enquêtes du commissaire Maigret" (1973); "L'affaire Dominici" (1973); "L'an 01" (1973); "Au rendez-vous de la mort joyeuse" (1973); "La scoumoune" (1972); "Nathalie Granger" (1972); "Le tueur" (1972); "Le viager" (1972); "Un peu de soleil dans l'eau froide" (1971); "Le cri du cormoran, le soir au-dessus des jonques" (1971); "Rendez-vous à Badenberg" (1970)

Movies/Tv Shows (Directed):: "La voix des steppes" (2014); "Paris, je t'aime" (2006); "Un pont entre deux rives" (1999); "Le tartuffe" (1984)

News •

Renowned French actor says Depardieu's sex assault case underlines a need for change • Oct. 29, 2024, 2:01 AM ET (AP)

A French court postpones Gérard Depardieu's sex assault trial because of his health • Oct. 28, 2024, 3:10 PM ET (AP)

Gérard Depardieu (born December 27, 1948, Châteauroux, France) is a French motion-picture actor noted for his versatility and for his unusual combination of gentleness and physicality.

The son of migrant labourers, Depardieu received little formal education and at age 15 went to Paris, where he studied acting. He made his screen debut in the short film Le Beatnik et le minet (1965) and began to appear as a bit player in full-length films in the early 1970s. His performance as a young thug in Les Valseuses (1973; Going Places) brought him his first real notice, and he subsequently appeared in such major films as Bernardo Bertolucci’s 1900 (1976), François Truffaut’s Le Dernier Métro (1980; The Last Metro), Loulou (1980), Le Retour de Martin Guerre (1981; The Return of Martin Guerre), Andrzej Wajda’s Danton (1983), Jean de Florette (1986), and its sequel, Manon des Sources (1986; Manon of the Spring). He starred in Camille Claudel (1989), and in 1990 he won the best actor award at the Cannes film festival for his role in Cyrano de Bergerac (1990).

Depardieu played a wide variety of roles, including both historical figures (from peasants to the French Revolutionary leader Georges Danton and artist Auguste Rodin) and contemporary figures (from composers to thugs). He was notable for projecting a screen image of masculine strength that was nevertheless imbued with gentleness and sensitivity. He acted in as many as six films a year, and by the late 1980s he had become the most popular actor in France and had achieved an international reputation.

USA 2006 - 78th Annual Academy Awards. Closeup of giant Oscar statue at the entrance of the Kodak Theatre in Los Angeles, California. Hompepage blog 2009, arts and entertainment, film movie hollywood

Britannica Quiz

Pop Culture Quiz

Throughout the 1990s and into the 21st century, Depardieu continued his prolific acting career. His performances in the French films Le Colonel Chabert (1994; Colonel Chabert), about a soldier who returns home from war to find his wife married to another man, and Quand j’étais chanteur (2006; The Singer), were well received in France. In La Môme (2007; also released as La Vie en rose) he portrayed the nightclub impresario who discovered Edith Piaf. He later appeared as a crime boss in the true-life gangster movie L’Instinct de mort (2008; Mesrine: Killer Instinct), as the titular police detective in Claude Chabrol’s thriller Bellamy (2009; Inspector Bellamy), and as a labour activist opposite frequent costar Catherine Deneuve in the comedy Potiche (2010).

Depardieu also took the title role in several biopics, including L’Autre Dumas (2010; Dumas), about Alexandre Dumas père, and Rasputin (2011). Other movies included Mammuth (2010), Valley of Love (2015), Un Beau Soleil intérieur (2017; Let the Sunshine In), and Mon cochon et moi (2018; Saving My Pig). From 2016 to 2018 Depardieu appeared in the Netflix TV series Marseille, a French-language drama about corruption and politics. He also starred in a number of American films, including Green Card (1990), My Father the Hero (1994), Crime Spree (2003), Last Holiday (2006), and Life of Pi (2012).

Seeking to avoid a proposed tax increase in France, Depardieu became a Russian citizen in 2013.

The Editors of Encyclopaedia BritannicaThis article was most recently revised and updated by Encyclopaedia Britannica.