Julie Delpy

Biography

Julie Delpy (born 21 December 1969 in Paris) is a French-American actress, director, screenwriter, producer and musician. She works in both Europe and the United States, and is best known for the trilogy of films directed by Richard Linklater that she made with Ethan Hawke.

The daughter of actors Albert Delpy and Marie Pillet, she grew up surrounded by the arts. She made her stage debut at five, and at fourteen she won her first film role in Détective, directed by Jean-Luc Godard. She used her earnings from La Passion Béatrice to pay for her first trip to New York City, and she moved there permanently in 1990.

Her international breakthrough came with Europa Europa (1990), directed by Agnieszka Holland, in which she played a Hitler Youth member who falls in love with a Jewish boy without knowing his identity. Hollywood and European productions soon followed. In 1993 Krzysztof Kieślowski cast her as the female lead in Three Colours: White, and she made brief appearances in the other two films of his trilogy.

Her breakthrough in the United States came with Before Sunrise (1995), directed by Richard Linklater and co-starring Ethan Hawke. Critics responded warmly, and the film is now regarded as one of the key works of the 1990s independent cinema. Her next major studio-era role was in An American Werewolf in Paris, which was less well received. She returned as Céline in Before Sunset (2004), co-writing the screenplay with Linklater and Hawke, earning an Academy Award nomination for Best Adapted Screenplay.

She made her debut as a director with the short Blah Blah Blah (1995). In 2002 she made her feature debut with Looking for Jimmy, which she also wrote, produced and starred in. With 2 Days in Paris (2007) she again wrote, directed and starred, and composed the score. Before Midnight (2013) brought her another Academy Award nomination for Best Adapted Screenplay, along with a Golden Globe nomination for Best Actress in a Motion Picture, Musical or Comedy.

She has also released music, including the 2003 album Julie Delpy, three of whose tracks appeared in Before Sunset. She lives in Los Angeles, became a naturalized US citizen in 2001 and kept her French citizenship. Her legacy rests on the Before trilogy, but also on her work as a director and screenwriter, including Lolo (2015), which she directed.

Key films

• Before Sunrise (1995), directed by Richard Linklater: her role opposite Ethan Hawke established her in American cinema.
• Europa Europa (1990), directed by Agnieszka Holland: her first major international success, as a Hitler Youth member.
• Three Colours: White (1994), directed by Krzysztof Kieślowski: the female lead of the second film in the trilogy.
• Before Sunset (2004): she reprised Céline and co-wrote the screenplay, earning an Oscar nomination.
• Before Midnight (2013): the closing chapter of the trilogy, also nominated for Best Adapted Screenplay.
• 2 Days in Paris (2007): written, directed and starred in by her, with her real-life parents playing her character's parents.