Name	Clotilde Courau
Height
Naionality	Franch
Date of Birth	3 April 1969
Place of Birth	Levallois-Perret, Hauts-de-Seine, France
Famous for

Clotilde Courau had performed in a number of plays, most notably 1989’s “Lorenzaccio,” before gaining her big breakthrough in Petit criminel, Le/ The Little Gangster (1990), playing La soeur, Nathalie. Under the direction of Jacques Doillon, the relatively newcomer won a European Film for Best Actress, as well as received a César nod for Most Promising Actress.

After the auspicious debut, Clotilde, who once supported herself by working as trainee hairdresser and cleaning lady, among other odd jobs, supported Danny Aiello and Dyan Cannon in the American-made comedy Polski Crash (1993) and stayed in the United States for eight months to a theater tour with John Malkovitch. The same year, she was also seen in German film Polski Crash and the Vincent Ward-directed Map of the Human Heart, opposite Anne Parillaud.

The busy actress then found herself acting in Ugly Meets the People (1995), Tom is alone (1995, opposite Florent Pagny), the crime-drama The Bait (1995) and Fidèle infidèle, La (1995, TV). However, it was her performance opposite Vanessa Paradis and Gérard Depardieu in the Jean Becker-directed Élisa (1995) that put Clotilde on the radar again. For her fine portrayal of Solange, she received two César nominations for Best Supporting Actress and Most Promising Actress. She also picked up a 1995 Prix Suzanne Bianchetti for France’s Most Promising Young Film Actress.

The success brought Clotilde various roles in such films as the thriller Fred (1997, opposite Vincent Lindon), the drama Marthe (1997, had the title role) and the comedy-crime Poulpe, Le (1998, starred Jean-Pierre Darroussin). She created a reputation as one of the best comediennes with roles in Offside (1998), British amiable black comedy Milk (1999) and American Deterrence (1999), directed by Rod Lurie and starring Kevin Pollak.

2000 saw Clotilde make four movies. She first acted in Mathias Ledoux’s En face, and then starred as Alice in comedy/romance Enchanted Interlude, before having major roles in two thrillers: Deep in the Woods and Olivier Megaton’s Exit. Her prolific career was further confirmed in 2002 when she was signed to play roles in five films, including the comedy The New Jean-Claude and The Code.

After her marriage to the Prince of Venice in 2003, Clotilde put her silver screen career on the backburner. She maintained her presence on the industry by starring in the made-for-television film Beaux jours, Les (2003), followed by feature roles in television films Nuit noire, 17 octobre 1961 (2005) and the Italian-made Signora delle camelie, La (2005).

The Princess of Venice and Piedmont is set to have a small part in the Italian miniseries “Mafalda di Savoia.” She is also scheduled to make her return to film after several years hiatus with the role of Annetta Gassion in writer-director Olivier Dahan’s Môme, La, a drama for 2007 release.