Trivia

In 1996, she was nominated for a Best Supporting Actress Oscar for her role in The English Patient (1996). Legendary actress Lauren Bacall was roundly expected to win in that category for her performance in The Mirror Has Two Faces (1996), but Binoche won the Oscar instead, in one of the biggest surprise wins in Oscar history. In her acceptance speech, she said, "I don't have a speech prepared. I thought Lauren would get it." Bacall was given an honorary Oscar in 2010.

Is one of 5 French actors to have won an Academy Award. The others in chronological order are: Claudette Colbert for It Happened One Night (1934), Simone Signoret for Room at the Top (1958), Marion Cotillard for La Vie En Rose (2007) and Jean Dujardin for The Artist (2011).

She has turned down Hollywood many times.

She was the highest paid French actress in history in the 90s and early 2000s. (2002).

Joanne Harris, the author of Chocolat (2000), was stunned one weekend when she opened the front door of her small house in Barnsley, Yorkshire. On her doorstep was French actress Juliette Binoche, who had landed the lead role for the Film version of Joanne's book. Juliette loved the book and wanted to meet Joanne and she spent the weekend at the house as they discussed the book and the film to come. Juliette met Joanne's young daughter and she borrowed her bedroom to stay over for the weekend. Juliette returned the favour by inviting her to the States as a guest of Miramax films for the Oscars.

Says Quentin Tarantino told her that her last scene in Godzilla (2014) made him cry. "Well, [Quentin] Tarantino said to me, 'That was the first time I've ever cried during a 3D blockbuster. I had to take off my glasses to wipe away my tears'.".

Has a daughter, Hana, with French actor Benoît Magimel, born December 16th, 1999.

Chosen by "People" magazine as one of "the 50 Most Beautiful People in the World" (1997).

Accepted the role in Godzilla (2014) for two reasons: First of all, her son was a major fan of the original franchise and second of all, she was sent a charming letter from director Gareth Edwards in which he claimed that she was "The Queen of Acting".

In 2000, during promotion for the film Chocolat (2000), Binoche was invited to the White House by then president Bill Clinton. However, she was unable to make the trip as she was starring in a Broadway re-vamp of Harold Pinter's "Betrayal". Instead, the Clintons came to New York to meet Binoche.

Famously turned down roles in three Steven Spielberg films: Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade (1989), Jurassic Park (1993), and Schindler's List (1993).

Close friends with her The English Patient (1996) co-star Ralph Fiennes.

She is the first actress to win the European 'Triple Crown': Best Actress at Venice, Berlin and Cannes film festivals for Trois Couleurs Bleu, The English Patient and Copie Conforme respectively.

Her parents divorced when she was four, so she grew up living between each parent and a Catholic boarding school.

Is an avid painter. In 1994, she exhibited work done in collaboration with the designer Christian Fenouillat. She has also designed posters for a number of her movies including The Lovers on the Bridge (1991) and Children of the Century (1999). Binoche is currently working on a poster for In My Country (2004).

Appeared in her first Playboy spread aged 43 in the November 2007 French edition.

She is affectionately known by the French press simply as "La Binoche".

Was offered the role of Dr. Ellie Sattler in Jurassic Park (1993), but turned it down to make Three Colors: Blue (1993).

Godmother to nine Cambodian children.

Nelson Mandela is the public figure the actress most admires.

She, Charlotte Rampling and Isabelle Huppert are the only winners of 2 EFAs (European Film Awards) for Best Actress.

One of four people to have achieved the rare feat of winning the top acting prizes at the three major film festivals: Venice Film Festivel, Cannes Film Festival and Berlin International Film Festival. The others to do so are Julianne Moore, Sean Penn and Jack Lemmon. Additionally, all four actors have won acting Oscars.

Companion of Olivier Martinez between 1994 and 1997.

Learned to play the violin for Alice and Martin (1998).

Last name is pronounced "Bee-nosh".

Gael García Bernal lists Juliette Binoche as his favorite actress.

Sister of actress/photographer Marion Stalens and older half-sister of Camille Humeau, born in the late 70's.

In 1990, she wrote to the president of France, François Mitterrand, to ask him for funds for her film The Lovers on the Bridge (1991). However he didn't help. In 1993, Mitterand asked Binoche to dinner at the presidential palace in Paris. When asked by the press why he invited her, he said "I dreamt one night that I kissed her, now I hope she will be my mistress". Binoche declined the invitation. Soon after, they bumped into each other in a Paris market and had a long discussion about art, love, books and poetry.

Number 88 on Channel 4 (UK)'s 100 Greatest movie Stars.

Was nominated for Broadway's 2001 Tony Award as Best Actress (Play) for a revival of Harold Pinter's "Betrayal."

Gave birth to her son Raphaël, whose father is Andre Halle, a professional scuba driver, on 2 September 1993.

Lists Gena Rowlands, Liv Ullmann, and Anna Magnani as her favorite actresses.

Is one of 13 French actresses to have received an Academy Award nomination. The others in chronological order are: Claudette Colbert, Colette Marchand, Leslie Caron, Simone Signoret, Anouk Aimée, Isabelle Adjani, Marie-Christine Barrault, Catherine Deneuve, Marion Cotillard, Bérénice Bejo, Emmanuelle Riva and Isabelle Huppert.

She returned as the face of Lancome perfume "Poeme" in January 2008 after an 8 year break.

Contributed a chapter to the book "Truth: Personas, Need, and Flaws in the Art of Building Actors and Creating Characters" by her friend and acting consultant Susan Batson.

Juliette's father, Jean-Marie Binoche, is French. Jean-Marie is also of one eighth Portuguese/Brazilian ancestry, from his own great-grandmother, Ursula Rosa de Araujo Mattos. Juliette's father was raised partly in Morocco by his French parents, and Juliette's paternal grandfather died in Agadir, Morocco. Juliette's mother, Monique Yvette Stalens, was born in Czestochowa, Poland. Juliette's maternal grandfather, Andrzej Stalens, was also born in Czestochowa, to French-born parents Henri/Henryka Stalens and Marie Rosalie Houzé, who were both of French and Belgian (Walloon) ancestry. Juliette's maternal grandmother, Julii Heleny Mlynarczyk, was born in Czestochowa as well, and had Polish ancestry; Julii's parents were Pawla Mlynarczyka and Anieli Melon. Juliette's maternal grandparents were active in the theatre.

Was one of France's highest paid actresses during the 1990s, earning up to nearly $1 million per film.

Was the advertising face of Lancome perfume "Poeme" from 1995 to 2000

Wrote the preface for the French book "Le grand livre de la tendresse", published in 2002.

Graduated from the CNSAD (National Conservatory of Dramatic Art of Paris)

Companion of actor Mathieu Amalric from 2003 to 2004.

Chosen by Empire magazine as one of the 100 Sexiest Stars in film history (#48) (1995).

Appeared in the 1998 play "Naked" in London.

Was the 110th actress to receive an Academy Award; she won the Best Supporting Actress Oscar for The English Patient (1996) at The 69th Annual Academy Awards (1997) on March 24, 1997.

As of 2022, she has been nominated 10 times for the César Awards and won once, for Three Colors: Blue (1993).

Binoche and Merle Oberon have both played George Sand - in Children of the Century (1999) and in A Song to Remember (1945) respectively. They have also both played Cathy in "Wuthering Heights"; Binoche in the 1992 version and Oberon in the 1939 version.

Is one of 14 actresses who won their Best Supporting Actress Oscars in a movie that also won the Best Picture Oscar (she won for The English Patient (1996)). The others are Hattie McDaniel for Gone with the Wind (1939), Teresa Wright for Mrs. Miniver (1942), Celeste Holm for Gentleman's Agreement (1947), Mercedes McCambridge for All the King's Men (1949), Donna Reed for From Here to Eternity (1953), Eva Marie Saint for On the Waterfront (1954), Rita Moreno for West Side Story (1961), Meryl Streep for Kramer vs. Kramer (1979), Judi Dench for Shakespeare in Love (1998), Jennifer Connelly for A Beautiful Mind (2001), Catherine Zeta-Jones for Chicago (2002),Lupita Nyong'o for 12 Years a Slave (2013) and Jamie Lee Curtis for Everything Everywhere All at Once (2022).

Ranked #93 in Empire (UK) magazine's "The Top 100 Movie Stars of All Time" list (October 1997).

Appears on the cover of Lauren Lawrence's book, "Private Dreams of Public People".

As of 2022, she has had 7 films in the official competition of the Cannes Film Festival, and a total of 8 films screened at the festival.