Charlotte Gainsbourg Bio in Brief
Daughter of a French singer-songwriter and British actress, it seems that
Charlotte Gainsbourg was destined for great things. She was born in London on
July 21, 1971 and grew up in Paris. It didn’t take long before Charlotte was
following in her parents’ creative footsteps. At just 12 years old, Charlotte
got her first role in the French film Paroles et Musique. She received even
more attention for her performance singing with her father the song “Lemon
Incest” and cuddling in bed with him for the music video.

After several roles as a gawky, dysfunctional teen, Charlotte was able to break
into a broader range of roles including Marie in Amoureuse and the title role
in Jane Eyre, which was also the actress’s break into English-speaking film. It
didn’t take long for the public to recognize Charlotte’s charm. Though
Charlotte Gainsbourg had never quite left her music career, she didn’t pick it
up completely until 2006 with her album 5:55. The album was a huge success, as
was her next album IRM which was released in 2009.

Charlotte Gainsbourg is married to Israeli actor and director Yvan Attal and
the couple has a son and daughter together.

Key Moments in Charlotte Gainsbourg’s Filmography
The Charlotte Gainsbourg filmography is impressive with 36 movies to date. The
Anglo-French actress got her start when she was just 12 years old in 1984 with
the film Paroles et musique in which she played the daughter of Catherine
Deneuve. This role in the Charlotte Gainsbourg filmography won the actress the
Cesar Award for “Most Promising Actress.”

Up through the 90s, Charlotte Gainsbourg continued to appear in French films.
It wasn’t until 1993’s The Cement Garden that the Charlotte Gainsbourg
filmography made it to the English-speaking audience. The disturbing film
showed the world what a serious actress Gainsbourg is. This success led to her
receiving the title role of Jane Eyre in the 1996 adaptation by director Franco
Zeffirelli.

By the late 90s, the world was taking notice of Charlotte Gainsbourg. Her next
two films, The Intruder and Love Etc. were well received. In 2000, La Buche
from the Charlotte Gainsbourg filmography won her another Cesar Award, this
time for “Best Supporting Actress.” The lighthearted comedy showed off
Gainsbourg’s diverse range of acting.

The early millennium was a busy time for the actress with several additions to
the Charlotte Gainsbourg filmography. In My Wife is an Actress, Gainsbourg
starred in her husband’s romantic comedy and, in 21 Grams, she costarred with
actors Sean Penn, Benicio Del Toro and Naomi Watts.

It was the 2005 film Lemming that really got Charlotte Gainsbourg praise. The
actress proved her ability to take on complex roles. In her next films, The
Science of Sleep and Gold Door, the complexity of the roles gets even deeper.
The film Antichrist from the Charlotte Gainsbourg filmography really showed off
everything that the actress is capable of when she takes on the violence and
chaos of domestic tragedy in a Lars von Trier horror.

Gainsbourg Music More Just an Actress Gone Pop
Before 2009, we knew Charlotte Gainsbourg for her ability to hold complex roles
on screen and add sophistication even to the most lighthearted of comedies.
However, Charlotte Gainsbourg music was far from most people’s minds. Her first
album, Charlotte for Ever, was released while she was still a young teenager
and was produced by her father. The second Charlotte Gainsbourg music album
wasn’t released until 20 years later in 2006. While 5:55 was a commercial
success, many people still weren’t ready to take the actress seriously as a
singer.

In 2007, Gainsbourg amazingly survived a cerebral hemorrhage. While undergoing
brain scans, the actress/singer started to think about music as a way to escape
the chaos of the machines. Her experiences led to the 2009 album IRM, which
means MRI in French. IRM was produced by the artist Beck. He also wrote the
majority of the songs on the Charlotte Gainsbourg music album based on lines
that she gave him. IRM is a truly original work of art, especially with its use
of MRI machines as instruments and a feeling of chaotic insanity. IRM is much
more than a sequel to the first Charlotte Gainsbourg music album and has the
world thinking of her as a serious music artist.

Lars Von Trier is known for some of intense, dogma style of film which is
constantly pushing the limits. In 2009, he once again shook up the realm of
film with Antichrist. Starring Willem Dafoe and Charlotte Gainsbourg,
Antichrist is the horror story of a couple struggling after their child dies.
When the couple goes into a secluded cabin, they both retreat into a world of
violence, chaos and debauchery.

Video interview about Antichrist

Charlotte Gainsbourg Antichrist received the
Cannes Film Festival Best Actress Award as well as many other prestigious
awards. Despite all the positive reviews, there are still mixed feelings about
Antichrist, mostly due to a genital torture scene.

If you put the Charlotte Gainsbourg Heaven Can Wait track on in the background
without really listening, you will get some upbeat ambience which you may be
tempted to call “peppy.” Then, try actually listening to the song. With lyrics
like “There’s thunder, there’s lightening in an avalanche of faces you know,”
you get the idea that there is something very dark going on beneath all the
peppiness.

For those of us who didn’t listen too closely to Charlotte
Gainsbourg Heaven Can Wait, there is always the freaky video to clue you into
all the dark undercurrents going on.

In Charlotte Gainsbourg Trick Pony, we get an
intense blast of anticipation with the processed kick drum background combined
with a very sultry voice (not shy anymore!). Who would have thought that a
French sweetie could be transformed into a distorted version of an American
blues singer in Trick Pony?