Adèle Haenel

Adèle Haenel, born in Paris in 1989, is one of the most prominent actresses in French cinema. She appeared in front of the camera at the age of twelve in Les Diables (2002, directed by Christophe Ruggia). She made her breakthrough in 2007 with Water Lilies by Céline Sciamma, which brought her her first major attention. She won a César Award in 2015 for her role in Les Combattants – known internationally as Love at First Fight. She gained further recognition with films such as Suzanne (2013, directed by Katell Quillévéré), 120 BPM (2017, directed by Robin Campillo) and Portrait of a Lady on Fire (2019, directed by Céline Sciamma), which won an award at Cannes and received critical acclaim worldwide. An important part of her career is the film LES OGRES (2015, directed by Léa Fehner), in which she plays part of a theater troupe. Equally significant is THE UNKNOWN GIRL (2016, directed by Jean-Pierre and Luc Dardenne), a socially critical drama that was shown at the Cannes Film Festival. In addition to her artistic work, Haenel became politically active at an early age. She became one of the most important voices of the #MeToo movement in France and used her public presence to draw attention to abuses in the film industry. Thanks to her statements, director Christophe Ruggia has now also been convicted (two years' probation and €35,000 in damages) for sexually abusing actress Adèle Haenel over a period of four years from when she was twelve years old. With her determined demeanor and consistent stance, she is considered one of the most influential actresses of her generation.