Sandrine Bonnaire

Biography

Sandrine Bonnaire, born on May 31, 1967, in Gannat, Allier, is a renowned French actress with an impressive filmography exceeding 40 titles, including notable Hollywood productions. Growing up in a working-class family as the seventh of eleven siblings, Bonnaire embarked on her acting journey at the young age of 16 with her role in Maurice Pialat’s 1983 film, À nos amours, where she depicted a suburban girl's sexual awakening. Her outstanding performance earned her the César Award for Most Promising Actress in 1984.

Bonnaire gained international acclaim in 1986 for her leading role in Agnès Varda's Sans toit ni loi (Vagabond), portraying a vagrant facing both physical and moral challenges, a role that secured her a second César Award. She continued to collaborate with esteemed directors, such as Patrice Leconte, whose 1989 film Monsieur Hire featured her prominently, and further projects with Jacques Doillon and Claude Sautet followed. In 2004, she starred in Leconte’s Intimate Strangers, which became a surprise hit in the U.S. arthouse circuit.

In her personal life, Bonnaire has a daughter, Jeanne, from her relationship with actor William Hurt, whom she met during the filming of La Peste (The Plague) in 1991. They also co-starred in Secrets Shared with a Stranger (1994). Since March 2003, she has been married to actor and screenwriter Guillaume Laurant, with whom she shares a second daughter.