Elsa Zylberstein
| Elsa Zylberstein | |
|---|---|
 Elsa Zylberstein at the 2009 César Awards | |
| Born | Elsa Florence Zylbersztejn October 16, 1968 Paris, France |
| Other name(s) | Elsa Steiner |
| Occupation | actress |
| Years active | 1989–present |
| Official website | |
Elsa Zylberstein (born 16 October 1968)[1] is a French film, TV, and stage actress. After having a dramatic education, Zylberstein began film career in 1989, and has appeared in about 50 films. She won the César Award for Best Supporting Actress for I've Loved You So Long (2008).
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[edit] Early life
Zylberstein was born Elsa Florence Zylbersztejn[1] in Paris to an Ashkenazi Polish father, Albert Zylberstein, and a Catholic mother. Her father is a physicist. Previously, Zylberstein considered herself Jewish, but now she identifies more with Buddhism.[2] She has practiced classical dance since her childhood. After a bac A3, she began university and studied English, but she was strongly attracted to artistic pursuits. She was in the same class as Francis Huster at the Cours Florent.[3]
[edit] Career
Elsa Zylberstein appeared for the first time on screen in 1989 in Baptême. She also appeared in Van Gogh directed by Maurice Pialat. In 1992, she won the Michel Simon Prize and the first of her three nominations for the César Award for Most Promising Actress. In 1993, she played a student in Beau fixe, and won the Prix Romy Schneider.
She inspired young directors such as Pascale Bailly, Diane Bertrand and especially Martine Dugowson, who offered her the lead role alongside Romane Bohringer in Mina Tannenbaum (1994). She then appeared in Farinelli, Mr N., and Jefferson in Paris. She played Suzanne Valadon in Lautrec, and then the mistress of the artist, Modigliani, in Modigliani. Zylberstein played a Yiddish singer who falls in love with a gay clarinetist in Man Is a Woman, with Antoine de Caunes. She also gained roles in Time Regained, Combat d'amour en songe, and Ce jour-là.
In 2006 she played Mathilde, an Orthodox Jewish woman faced with marriage problems in Little Jerusalem. She also appeared in J'invente rien, based on a novel by Christine Angot. In 2008, she was in two films presented at the Berlin Festival: I've Loved You So Long, with Kristin Scott Thomas, and La Fabrique des sentiments.
[edit] Personal life
Zylberstein dated Antoine de Caunes between 1997 and 2005. Later she dated Georges-Marc Benamou, advisor to French president Nicolas Sarkozy, although she is a staunch supporter of the Socialist Party.
[edit] Filmography
- Baptême (1989) - Gabrielle
- Alisée (1991) - Alisée
- Génial, mes parents divorcent! (1991) - La soeur de Thomas
- Van Gogh (1991, by Maurice Pialat) - Cathy
- La neige et le feu (1991)
- Lover (1992, by Jacques Doillon) - Clairvoyant
- Beau fixe (1992) - Frédérique
- De force avec d'autres (1993) - Do
- Comment font les gens (1993) - Yvette
- La place d'un autre (1993) - Florence
- Mina Tannenbaum (1994) - Ethel Bénégui
- Farinelli (1994) - Alexandra
- Jefferson in Paris (1995, by James Ivory) - Adrienne de Lafayette
- A Saturday on Earth (1996) - Claire
- Portraits chinois (1996) - Emma
- Tenue correcte exigée (1997) - Lucie
- Metroland (1997) - Annick
- XXL (1997) - Arlette Stern
- Man Is a Woman (1998) - Rosalie Baumann
- Lautrec (1998, by Roger Planchon) - Suzanne Valadon
- Je veux tout (1999) - Eva
- Le Temps retrouvé [aka Time Regained] (1999, by Raoul Ruiz) - Rachel
- Return to Algiers (2000) - Pierre Nivel's wife
- Combat d'amour en songe (2000, by Raoul Ruiz) - Lucrezia/Jessica/The sultan
- Not Afraid, Not Afraid (2001)
- Les fantômes de Louba (2001) - Louba
- Un ange (2001) - Léa Pastore
- Ferocious (2002) - Zébulon, la conseillère en communication
- Monsieur N. (2003) - Albine de Montholon
- Ce jour-là (2003, by Raoul Ruiz) - Livia
- 3 Blind Mice (2003) - Nathalie Cross
- Tomorrow We Move (2004) - Michèle
- Loser Takes All! (2004) - Angèle
- Modigliani (2004) - Jeanne Hébuterne
- Why (Not) Brazil? (2004) - Laetitia Masson/Christine Angot
- Journées froides qui menacent les plantes (2005)
- Little Jerusalem (2005) - Mathilde
- La cloche a sonné (2005) - Léa
- J'invente rien (2006) - Mathilde Mahut
- Une naissance (2006) - La mère
- The Stone Council (2006) - Clarisse
- Enfances (2007) - La mère d'Ingmar Bergman
- La Fabrique des sentiments [aka The Feelings Factory] (2008) - Éloïse
- I've Loved You So Long (2008) - Léa
- Nuit de chien [aka This Night] (2008)
- Nucingen Haus [aka Nucingen House] (2008) - Anne-Marie
[edit] Awards
- Prix Michel Simon in 1992
- Prix Romy Schneider in 1993
[edit] Cesar
- 1992: Nomination - César Award for Most Promising Actress for Van Gogh
- 1993: Nomination - César Award for Most Promising Actress for Beau fixe
- 1995: Nomination - César Award for Most Promising Actress for Mina Tannenbaum
- 2009: Won - César Award for Best Supporting Actress for I've Loved You So Long
[edit] References
- ^ a b "ZYLBERSTEIN Elsa". Les Gens du Cinéma. last updated on 13-03-2009. http://www.lesgensducinema.com/affiche_acteur.php?mots=Elsa+Zylberstein&nom_acteur=ZYLBERSTEIN%20Elsa&ident=61620&debut=0&record=1.
- ^ "The original blonde of Elsa Zylberstein". Interview by Paris Match. http://www.elsa-zylberstein.com/eninterview.html. Retrieved 2008-03-06. "P.M. Do you speak Hebrew? E.Z. Not at all. For the film, I had to learn everything. A religious girl guided me for the texts, rituals, songs and traditions, such as the mikveh, the ritual bath of purification. My name is very strong, but I am not practicing. Raised between a Catholic mother and a Jewish father, they took me to the synagogue once a year. So I felt Jewish, and at the same time, I made a crèche for Christmas. My father was tearing his hair out. Since then, I stopped, and today I am attracted to Buddhist rites."
- ^ "Elsa Zylberstein". Evene.fr. http://www.evene.fr/celebre/biographie/elsa-zylberstein-17848.php. Retrieved 2009-08-11.
[edit] External links
 | Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Elsa Zylberstein |
