Top 50 Most Popular French Actresses Of All Time

Often described as one of the best actresses in the world, Isabelle Huppert has participated in over 120 motion pictures since her debut in 1971.

She has received the maximum number of nominations for the César Awards (16) and has managed to win it twice. It is not surprising then that she was placed at number 2 in The New York Times list of the greatest actors of the 21st century.

Huppert has played roles for the most acclaimed filmmakers of the French New Wave. She has received five Lumières Awards, a BAFTA Award, three Cannes Film Festival honors, and a Golden Globe Award in her illustrious career, thus far.

Among the most prolific actresses of the 21st century, she has appeared in movies such as Violette Nozière, La Cérémonie, Loulou, La Séparation, Gabrielle, Amour, and Elle.

The iconic actress has also served as the President of the Jury at the 62nd Cannes Film Festival.

Marion Cotillard moved to Paris at the age of 16 to pursue a career as a professional actress. The actress started acting in the early 1990s and had her first role in a play written by her father.

The lovely Marion shot to fame after her Oscar-winning performance as Edith Piaf in the movie La Vie En Rose.

A recipient of a British Academy Film Award, a Golden Globe Award, a European Film Award, a Lumières Award, and two César Awards, Cotillard became a Knight of the Order of Arts and Letters in France in 2010.

Some of her finest film credits include Taxi, A Very Long Engagement, Two Days, One Night, Public Enemies, and Contagion.

A film star, artist, and dancer, Juliette Binoche has participated in more than 60 full-length features in her career so far.

She rose to fame with her Oscar-winning role as Hana in 1996's The English Patient. The actor was also nominated for the Academy Award for Best Actress for her character projection in the romantic comedy Chocolat.

An esteemed political activist and supporter of the Cambodian charity Children of Asia, Binoche has been a part of notable motion pictures such as Rendez-Vous, The English Patient, Three Colours: Blue, and The Unbearable Lightness of Being.

Hailed as one of the greatest European actresses to have ever graced the big screen, Catherine Deneuve was as popular for her beauty as for her many remarkable performances.

Often seen portraying icy, aloof, and enigmatic beauties for some of the finest French filmmakers of her time, the actress was made the official face of Marianne, France's national symbol of liberty.

Not many are aware of the fact that this iconic movie star made her screen debut at the young age of 13 in 1953. Her performance in Jacques Demy's 1964 musical The Umbrellas of Cherbourg brought her into the limelight for the very first time.

Deneuve is fluent in French, Italian, and English languages. She has worked in some amazing classics such as Repulsion (1965), Belle du Jour (1967), Indochine (1992), and Place Vendôme (1998). She is a 14-time César Award nominee.

The only reason why this British actress is finding a spot in our story is that she holds a French citizenship. A five-time BAFTA Award nominee, Kristin made her acting debut in the first half of the 1980s.

She established herself as a prominent screen performer after appearing in titles such as Four Weddings and a Funeral and The English Patient.

The Darkest Hour star was appointed Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) and was named a Chevalier of the Légion d'honneur by the French government in 2005.

Best known for her leading role as Adèle in the critically acclaimed drama Blue is the Warmest Colour, the beautiful Adèle Exarchopoulos made her feature film debut in 2007's Boxes.

All thanks to her performance in Blue is the Warmest Colour, she became the youngest person in the history of the Cannes Film Festival to be awarded the Palme d'Or.

After being spotted by an agent in 2006, Exarchopoulos was given the opportunity to appear in an episode of the French police series R.I.S, police scientifique.

The scintillating Isabelle Adjani is the only performer in history to receive five César Awards for acting.

Besides being the first French actress to earn two Oscar nominations for foreign language films, she has also received other prestigious awards like the Silver Bear for Best Actress.

Adjani was made a Chevalier of the Legion of Honour in 2010 and a Commander of the Order of Arts and Letters in 2014.

Some of her finest performances came in movies such as The Story of Adèle H, Camille Claudel, French Women, and Possession.

Known for her unconventional and earthy sexiness, the magnificent Jeanne Moreau was a multi-talented personality. Aside from being a major movie star, she was also a singer, screenwriter, director, and socialite.

While she kick-started her career by playing small parts in films, she soon went on to establish herself as one of the leading actresses of the Comédie-Française.

Among the most beloved actresses in the history of French cinema, Moreau continued to appear in films into her 80s. She was called "one of the greatest actresses in the world" by the acclaimed filmmaker and actor Orson Welles.

The Diary of a Chambermaid star delivered award-winning performances in titles such as Seven Days... Seven Nights, Viva Maria!, and The Old Lady Who Walked in the Sea.

However, before he stepped into the movies, she excelled in playing characters in several plays. Her theatrical debut was in 1947 and by the time she was in her 20s, Moreau was already one the leading and best-known actresses in theatre's troupe.

A recipient of two César Awards and a Lumières Award, Mélanie Laurent established herself as a well-known film star in French cinema after having made her professional acting debut in the late 1990s.

She rose to prominence after appearing in movies such as Inglourious Basterds, Now You See Me, 6 Underground, and Operation Finale.

In addition to her successful film career, Laurent has also made her presence felt in several stage productions and made her singing debut in 2011.

Besides Quentin Tarantino's Inglourious Basterds, the actress has mesmerized the viewers with roles in features such as Dikkenek, Don't Worry, I'm Fine, and Beginners.

Léa Seydoux is often seen portraying mysterious and melancholy roles on celluloid. We strongly believe that she is one of the finest French actresses to have ever graced the silver screen.

She first grabbed eyeballs after having delivered a mind-blowing performance in the critically acclaimed romantic drama Blue is the Warmest Colour.

The actress gained international recognition after playing the gorgeous Bond girl in hits such as Spectre and No Time to Die.

Also known for her successful modeling career, Seydoux has demonstrated her undeniable acting skills in films such as The Beautiful Person, Belle Épine, and Grand Central.

She continues to make her undeniable presence felt in tent-pole Hollywood productions.

Adèle Haenel's natural and unaffected style of acting has been on full display in the motion pictures that she has been a part of so far; especially the critically acclaimed Portrait of a Lady on Fire.

A recipient of two César Awards and one Lumières Award, she shot to fame as a teenager in her home country after having made her screen debut as a 12-year-old.

The handsome performer in Haenel continued to garner recognition for her roles in Water Lillies, Suzanne, and Love at First Sight.

However, it was her relentlessly graceful character play in Portrait of a Lady on Fire that fetched her fame in the true sense of the word.

This French-Argentine actress first gained recognition after playing a crucial role in A Knight's Tale, in which she was seen sharing the screen with Heath Ledger.

She rose to prominence in the true sense of the word after portraying Peppy Miller in The Artist. Her performance in the film won her the César Award for Best Actress and earned her a nomination for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress.

Bejo also charmed the viewers with her character protection in the French-Italian-Iranian drama film, The Past, helmed by acclaimed filmmaker Asghar Farhadi.

The actress was invited to join the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences in 2012.

This British-French actress and singer made her musical debut with her father at the age of 12. Since both of her parents were involved in filmmaking, the actress pretty much grew on sets.

After being pushed by her mother to take up acting as a career, Charlotte Gainsbourg made her motion picture debut by portraying Catherine Deneuve's daughter in Paroles et Musique.

She won a César Award for "Most Promising Actress" for her performance in An Impudent Girl. The Antichrist star has also been endorsing the Hear the World Foundation as an ambassador.

A respected personality within the French film fraternity, Fanny Ardant is an actor and film director who has been a recipient of numerous accolades, including two César Awards and a Lumières Award.

Courtesy of her performances in motion pictures such as La Femme d'à côté and Vivement dimanche!, she turned out to be a reliable movie star during the 1980s.

While it was Fanny's youthful beauty that made her popular among the masses at first, she soon earned their respect by proving to be a versatile screen performer as well.

A well-regarded French actress, filmmaker, and screenwriter, the supremely talented Sandrine Bonnaire has appeared in more than 40 films in her career so far.

She not only won the César Award for Most Promising Actress for À Nos Amours but also went on to grab the César Award for Best Actress for Vagabond and the Volpi Cup for Best Actress for La Cérémonie.

Some of her other noteworthy performances came in credits such as Under the Sun of Satan, Monsieur Hire, and The Final Lesson.

The talented Anouk Aimée is known to have excelled at both acting and dancing as a child. A star of over 70 credits, she began her screen career at the very young age of 14.

Even though most of her movies were French, she also appeared in Spanish, British, Italian, German, and American productions during the course of her career.

Following the release of Federico Fellini's La Dolce Vita, Aimée simply exploded onto the mainstream. Noted for her features, she is also considered by many to be among the hundred sexiest stars in cinema history.

Simone Signoret began her career in films by appearing in bit parts. Her primary aim was to be able to earn enough money to support her mother and two brothers.

All thanks to her sharp features and earthy nature, the actress was mostly seen playing a golden-hearted sex worker on celluloid.

Her outstanding character projection in the English independent film, Room at the Top, won her the Best Female Performance Prize at Cannes and the Academy Award for Best Actress.

Signoret was also seen in other notable titles such as Term of Trial, Ship of Fools, and Madame Rosa.

Emmanuelle Béart made her feature film debut during the first half of the 1970s. She has participated in over 60 film and television productions ever since.

An eight-time César Award nominee, she appeared in the 2003 issue of the French edition of Elle magazine; as a result of which it sold around 550,000 copies in just three days.

Béart won the César Award for Best Supporting Actress for her performance in Manon des Sources. Some of her finest films are A French Woman, Les Destinées Sentimentales, and Un cœur en hiver.

The talented and pretty Audrey Tautou made her acting debut at the age of 18 on television. The actress rose to prominence internationally after playing the titular character in the critically and commercially successful drama Amélie.

However, she is also known to have delivered outstanding performances in other mainstream features such as The Da Vinci Code, A Very Long Engagement, and Coco avant Chanel.

Among the few French actors to have ever been invited to join the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS), Tautou has also modeled for Chanel, Montblanc, and L’Oréal.

One of the last surviving stars from the Golden Age of Hollywood cinema, the elegant Leslie Caron made her feature film debut at the beginning of the 1950s.

The French-American actress has been the recipient of a Golden Globe Award, two BAFTA Awards, and a Primetime Emmy Award, respectively.

After having begun her career as a ballerina, Caron made a name for herself by participating in motion pictures such as Lili, Gigi, and Fanny.

She won the Golden Globe Award for Best Actress in a Motion Picture - Drama for her performance in The L-Shaped Room.

This acclaimed film, television and stage actress commenced her screen career on TV in 1970. So far, she has appeared in more than 80 motion pictures.

She is a ten-time César Award nominee and has gone on to earn the award for her performances in titles such as Every Man for Himself, Strange Affair, La Balance, and The Young Lieutenant.

Baye was made a Chevalier of the Legion of Honour in 2009 and can also be seen in full-length features such as Day for Night, Tell No One, The Assistant, and Steven Spielberg's Catch Me If You Can.

Sophie Marceau shot to fame after playing a part in the French comedies The Party and its sequel. However, not a lot of you would be aware of the fact that she has also written a novel and is a cellist by training.

Some of Marceau's better performances came in motion pictures such as L’Étudiante, Pacific Palisades, Fanfan, Revenge of the Musketeers, Jailbirds, Braveheart, Anna Karenina, and Firelight.

That said, the actress was chosen as an Ambassador of Charm for France in East Asia; a region where she enjoys great popularity.

Noémie Merlant made her acting debut in 2011 and rose to prominence after portraying Marianne in Céline Sciamma's historical romantic drama Portrait of a Lady on Fire.

For her performance in the aforementioned classic, the left-handed actress even learned to paint with her right hand.

The Jumbo star has been nominated for her performances twice at the César Awards so far. She had her breakthrough in the 2016 film Heaven Will Wait.

Merlant is also known to have directed two short features.

Romy Schneider was a German-French movie star who commenced her acting career by appearing in the German Heimatfilm genre in the early 1950s.

The actress burst onto the scene with her portrayal of Empress Elisabeth of Austria in the romantic biopic Sissi and its two sequels.

It is said that during the filming of Christine, Schneider and the very popular Alain Delon fell in love.

The What's New Pussycat the star had a successful film career in France where she was seen working with some of the top directors of the time.

The affable Eva Green began her career in theatre before making her film debut at the dawn of the new century.

Green, who rose to instant fame with The Dreamers, went on to star in several notable projects such as Kingdom of Heaven, Casino Royale, Dark Shadows, and Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children.

The actress earned a nomination for the César Award for Best Actress for her performance in Proxima.

That said, she has also starred in the TV series Penny Dreadful; a show for which she received a nomination for Best Actress in a Television Series - Drama at the 73rd Golden Globe Awards.

Diehard fans of the Harry Potter films can never forget Fleur Delacour; a character that was introduced in the fourth installment of the beloved series and was portrayed ably by French actress and fashion model Clémence Poésy.

The actress, who studied drama, has been actively participating in both film and television productions since 1999. Poésy can be seen playing a role in features such as In Bruges, 127 Hours, and War and Peace.

This French singer, model, and actress went on to become a child star at the young age of 14 with the success of her single "Joe le taxi".

At the age of 18, she staked a claim for being the next big thing when she was awarded France's highest honors as both a singer and an actress.

Some of her finest performances came in feature films such as Élisa, Witch Way Love, Une chance sur deux, Girl on the Bridge, and Heartbreaker.

Paradis was made Officier (Officer) in the Ordre des Arts et des Lettres in 2011, and Chevalier (Knight) in the Ordre national de la Légion d'honneur in 2015, respectively.

Jane Birkin is an English-French singer and actress who rose to prominence while being in a professional and personal partnership with Serge Gainsbourg.

Also a very competent screen performer, she was seen appearing in the Agatha Christie films Death on the Nile and Evil Under the Sun.

Berkin continued to record and produce her music while appearing in motion pictures pertaining to different genres. She was awarded the French Ordre National du Mérite and won the Best Actress trophy at the Orleans Film Festival for Leave All Fair in 1985.

Josiane Balasko is an admired French actress, writer, and director, who has been nominated seven times for César Awards; winning it twice.

Her career exploded in 1977 as she was seen participating in seven motion pictures that year. Soon after, the actress could be seen toplining several critically and commercially successful ventures.

Balasko also managed to find international directing success during the 1990s.

The attractive Anne Parillaud has been a mainstream screen performer within the French entertainment industry ever since she first faced the camera in the second half of the 1970s. 

Best known internationally for playing the titular character in Luc Besson's film La Femme Nikita, the actress left her home country to star in three motion pictures abroad, namely Map of the Human Heart, Innocent Blood, and Frankie Starlight.

Parillaud received the César Award for Best Actress in 1991 for her performance in La Femme Nikita.

Often seen playing put-upon but distant Gallic beauties, Anna Karina was a Danish-French film avant-garde actress, director, writer, and singer.

Known for her successful collaboration with French New Wave director Jean-Luc Godard during the 1960s, she received the Silver Bear Award for Best Actress at the Berlin Film Festival for her performance in A Woman is a Woman.

An icon of 1960s cinema, she had been described by the New York Times as "one of the screen's great beauties and an enduring symbol of the French New Wave."

Roxane Mesquida made her professional acting debut at the fag end of the bygone century. The French-American actress and model, who is currently based in Los Angeles, California, is fluent in English and French.

In addition, she can speak Spanish, Italian, and German. After having been discovered at the age of 11 while walking on a road with her mom, Mesquida shot to fame and got a grasp on her craft by working in films such as Fat Girl, Sex is Comedy, and The Last Mistress.

One can also find her playing Béatrice in the fifth season of the American teen drama television series Gossip Girl.

A well-known supermodel and actress, Laetitia Casta was discovered at age of 15 while lying on the beach with her family.

The popular lady soon became a "GUESS? Girl" in 1993 and gained further fame as a Victoria's Secret Angel from 1998 to 2000.

She has appeared on the cover of world-famous magazines such as Cosmopolitan, Vogue, Rolling Stone, Elle, and Glamour.

When it comes to cinema, Casta can be seen playing a role in titles such as Gainsbourg: A Heroic Life, Face, and The Blue Bicycle.

This French-Spanish actress and model made her acting debut on French television in 2007, and in the movies the following year. 

Àstrid Bergès-Frisbey, who currently serves as a brand ambassador for Chanel, made her English-language debut with Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides.

A recipient of the Best Actress trophy at the Taormina Film Fest for her performance in L'Autre, she can also be seen playing promising roles in titles such as Alaska and L'Autre.

Emmanuelle Seigner is an actress, former fashion model and singer, who made her acting debut in the 1984 film Year of the Jellyfish.

The actress has been married to Polish film director Roman Polanski. She was nominated for a César Award for Best Actress for Venus in Fur, and for two César Awards for Best Supporting Actress for Place Vendôme and La Vie En Rose, respectively.

Seigner released a solo album called Distant Lover in 2014. Previously, she had participated in Jerzy Skolimowski's Essential Killing; a title that went on to win the Special Jury Prize at the Venice Film Festival.

Born to a British mother and a French father, Emma Mackey is one of the youngest actors to make it to our list.

Known for her soft-spoken and charming personality, she had her breakthrough playing Maeve Wiley in the popular Netflix comedy-drama series Sex Education.

Besides the aforementioned show, Mackey is also known for her character projection in features such as Eiffel, Death on the Nile, and Barbie.

Needless to mention, the young star is here to stay.

Olga Kurylenko is a Ukrainian-French actress and model who commenced her acting career in 2005. She first found success after starring as Nika Boronina in the film adaptation of the video game Hitman.

Not long after that, the actor was seen playing a part in the Tom Cruise starrer Oblivion and the 22nd Bond flick, Quantum of Solace.

The Black Widow star will next be seen in Thunderbolts, which is tipped to hit the screens in 2024.

Famed for her movie roles and her status as one of the most popular sex symbols in the world during the 1950s and 1960s, Brigitte Bardot is a French movie icon who was, once upon a time, a source of inspiration for French philosopher and feminist activist Simone de Beauvoir.

She rose to fame by portraying sexually emancipated characters on the silver screen. Even though she decided to retire from the movies in 1973, she continues to be a noted figure in the French entertainment industry today.

The actress starred in notable feature films such as La Vérité (1960), Le Mépris (1963), and Viva Maria! (1965) at the peak of her career.

Also, let's not forget to mention that she is often credited with popularizing the bikini back in the day.

Carole Bouquet has marked her presence in more than 60 films after having made her screen debut in 1977. A recipient of the César Award for Best Actress for her role in Too Beautiful for You, she was the face of Chanel No. 5 fragrance from 1986 to 1997.

Bouquet also owns vineyards in Pantelleria, Italy, and speaks Italian fluently. She shot to fame after working in movies such as That Obscure Object of Desire and For Your Eyes Only.

While it might be a little early to add Lily-Rose Depp to our list, we are certain that she is going to justify her presence here, and probably slide up in our compilation in the near future.

The young French-American actress and model made her feature film debut in 2014's Tusk. She soon started to gain attention after participating in motion pictures such as Planetarium and The King.

For her performances in both The Dancer and A Faithful Man, Depp was nominated for César Awards for Most Promising Actress.

Known for being a housing ambassador for Chanel since 2002, the good-looking Anna Mouglalis made her professional acting debut in 1998's Terminale.

Aside from the French language, the actor is known to be fluent in English, Italian, and Spanish as well. She even understands Greek to an extent.

Mouglalis is best known for her character projection of the fashion designer Coco Chanel in Coco Chanel & Igor Stravinsky, and actress Paula Maxa in The Most Assassinated Woman in the World.

The first non-American actress to portray Elektra Natchios in a live-action adaption of the character, the charming Elodie Yung made her screen debut by playing a part in the television series La vie devant nous in 2002.

Aside from her work on television, the actress is also known to have appeared in popular mainstream features such as G.I. Joe: Retaliation, Gods of Egypt, and The Hitman's Bodyguard.

Yung also gained attention for her roles in the Disney+ film Secret Society of Second-Born Royals and the crime drama series The Cleaning Lady.

A member of the Jury of the 76th Venice Film Festival in 2019, Stacy Martin made her acting debut by playing a crucial role in the controversial 2013 motion picture Nymphomaniac.

Her audacious character play in the aforementioned film earned her nominations for Best Actress at the Robert Awards and the Bodil Awards, respectively.

Martin, who has served as the face of Miu Miu's first fragrance, can also be seen in projects such as The Evening Hour, All the Money in the World, and Rosy.

Pom Klementieff is a French actress and model who trained at the Cours Florent drama school in Paris. Soon after her training, she was seen appearing in features such as The Easy Way and Sleepless Night.

The actress made her American film debut with Oldboy in 2013 and received worldwide recognition for her role as Mantis in some of the biggest Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) movies.

Klementieff reprised the role in The Guardians of the Galaxy Holiday Special and Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3.

Sarah Bernhardt was an admired French stage actress who appeared in some of the most popular French plays of the late 19th and early 20th centuries.

She was given the nickname "The Divine Sarah" by those who loved to see her perform, courtesy of her knack for performing serious dramatic roles with elan.

Her famous stage appearances helped her stay in demand in Europe and the Americas. Bernhardt also made her presence felt in a handful of short and full-length feature films.

Reportedly the first black woman to star in a major motion picture, Josephine Baker was an American-born French dancer, singer, and actress, who started making her presence felt in the movies during the mid-1920s.

Baker used to set the stage on fire with her dancing and costumes. It is not surprising then that she soon went on to become the symbol of both the Jazz Age and the Roaring Twenties.

Among the most celebrated performers to headline the revues of the Folies Bergère in Paris, she was lauded by the artists and intellectuals of the era.

Known for her non-conforming personality, Capucine was a renowned French model and actor of her time. She was perhaps best known for her witty roles in The Pink Panther and What's New Pussycat.

The stunning celebrity was seen sharing the screen with iconic actors such as Charles Bronson, Toshirō Mifune, Alain Delon, and Ursula Andress in the Franco-Italian international co-production Spaghetti Western film, Red Sun.

Besides the movies, Capucine continued to appear in television productions even after her career lost momentum in the 1970s; particularly after the demise of Charles K. Feldman.

The gorgeous Bérénice Marlohe is best known for playing the glamorous and mysterious Bond girl Sévérine in the twenty-third James Bond film, Skyfall.

A brand ambassador for Omega Watches, she has appeared in a number of French TV shows since her debut in 2008.

After her stint in Skyfall, Marlohe delivered a solid performance in the 2015 romantic drama 5 to 7.

Best known for her character play of Petra Solano on The CW's television series Jane the Virgin, this French-Israeli actress was able to establish her popularity among Israel's teenage audiences following her stint on her debut show Ha-E.

Yael Grobglas gained further fame after appearing in the Israeli horror film Rabies, which participated in the Tribeca Film Festival and other venues globally.

However, it'd be safe to say that casting her as Petra for Jane the Virgin was a turning point in her career.

This French-American actress first gained attention by portraying Gwen Raiden in the fourth season of the TV series Angel.

Also seen playing Special Agent Kristin Gaines in the CBS drama series FBI: Most Wanted, Alexa Davalos is fond of traveling and reading.

She can be seen playing a part in popular Hollywood productions such as The Mist, Defiance, and Clash of the Titans.