Years active 1981–present Role Actress | Name Maïwenn Le Besco | |
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Occupation Actress, film director, screenwriter, producer Movies Similar People Emmanuelle Bercot, Isild Le Besco, Luc Besson, Shanna Besson, Joeystarr | ||
L’interview de Maïwenn - Stupéfiant !
Maïwenn (sometimes credited as Maïwenn Besco or her birth name Maïwenn Le Besco, [maj.wɛn lə bɛs.ko]; born 17 April 1976) is a French actress, film director and screenwriter.
Contents
Louis Garrel & Maïwenn | 'My King' Q&A | Rendez-Vous with French Cinema
Early life
17 April 1976 Maïwenn was born as Maïwenn Le Besco in Les Lilas, Seine-Saint-Denis, France. It is a suburb area East of Paris. Maïwenn is of mixed Breton, Vietnamese, French and Algerian descent. Her Algerian ancestry comes from her maternal grandfather. Maïwenn's mother is Catherine Belkhodja.
Life and career
Maïwenn's mom ushered her into the entertainment industry at a young age, an experience later chronicled by Maïwenn in her one-woman shows Le Pois Chiche (The Chickpea) and I'm an Actress. Maïwenn starred in several films as a child, then teen, actress—notably as "Elle, as a child" (the child version of the lead role played by Isabelle Adjani) in the 1983 hit film L'été meurtrier (One Deadly Summer).
The 15 year old Maïwenn met director and producer Luc Besson in 1991. That same year, due to her difficult relationship with her parents, she decided to use only her given name professionally. She and Besson soon began a relationship, and Maïwenn gave birth to their daughter when she was 16. Having lost her motivation as an actress, she interrupted her career for several years, living in Beverly Hills with Besson and raising their daughter. During this period, she only appeared in a supporting part in Besson's Léon (1994), in which she was credited as Ouin-Ouin. She also directed the film's making-of. Perhaps Maïwenn's most internationally-seen film role was her appearance as the alien Diva Plavalaguna in Besson's The Fifth Element (1997).
After her breakup with Luc Besson, Maïwenn returned to France and resumed her career as an actress. She performed as a standup comedian in an autobiographical one-woman-show, and reentered the movie business after several filmmakers saw her comedy routine in Paris. She appeared in several notable movies, including the horror film Haute Tension (English title: High Tension), in which she starred opposite Cécile de France. In 2006, she directed her first feature film, the semi-autobiographical Pardonnez-moi.
Her 2011 film Polisse won the Jury Prize at the 2011 Cannes Film Festival. Her 2015 film Mon roi was selected to compete for the Palme d'Or at the 2015 Cannes Film Festival.
Personal life
In 1991, Maïwenn met director and producer Luc Besson. In January 1993, at age 16, Maïwenn gave birth to daughter Shanna with husband Luc Besson. She was 20 at the beginning of filming (early 1996) for The Fifth Element, during which Besson left her for the film's star, Milla Jovovich.
In 2004, Maïwenn had a son, Diego, with Jean-Yves Le Fur, her second ex-husband who is a real estate developer.