Hollande affair claims: Who is Julie Gayet?
Joshua Melvin - [email protected]
Published: 10 Jan, 2014 CET.
Updated: Fri 10 Jan 2014 10:33 CET
Revelations about French President François Hollande's alleged affair with French actress Julie Gayet hit the headlines in France on Friday. But who is the woman who "the president loves in secret", as Closer magazine has claimed? Here are ten facts about the actress.
Julie Gayet's life in ten facts:
- She's a native of the wealthy western Parisian suburb of Suresnes and began her career as an actress studying at the Actor’s Studio in London at age 17.
- Gayet's father was a surgeon and teacher who asked her to put on little shows in his patients' rooms. She witnessed her first death at the age of seven.
- After training to be an opera singer when she was younger she landed her first big role in 1994 in the French film "La Belle Etoile" and has mostly appeared in French film comedies and dramas. Her biggest success to date was in the comedy "Delphine 1 - Yvan 0". She’s appeared in 48 films since her 1993 debut. And it's not just movies she's appeared in. She was in this music video for a song by French musician Benjamin Biolay called Let The Dogs Bark.
- She has "a rock 'n' roll temperament and a very smooth approach", was how one colleague in the French film industry described her. But her career has never taken off to the point where she has achieved star status or has become a name in the world of French arthouse cinema.
- The actress has two children with her estranged husband Santiago Amigorena, an Argentine-born director and writer.
- She has never hidden her support for the political Left in France and even appeared in a promo video for François Hollande's presidential election campaign. In the clip, she described Hollande as "a good listener", "marvellous" and "humble" (see clip below, which is in French). She has also appeared, along with other personalities at several political functions held by president and is a supporter of the Socialist Paris mayoral candidate Anne Hidalgo.
- After rumours of her affair with Hollande appeared on the internet in 2013 she filed a formal complaint for “infringement of personal privacy". At the time her lawyer made a statement saying there was no basis to the rumours.
- She says she does not have a career plan and goes from job to job and says she is not in acting for the money.
- Gayet won best actress at the Tokyo Film Festival in 2009 for her leading role in French film "8 Times Up".
- She has also lent her voice to animated films, including "Kerity La Maison des Contes" in 2009. In one of her recent films "Quai d'Orsay", she played the role of a political advisor to the Interior Minister. "Did she get advice from her new boyfriend on how to play the role?" Metro news speculated on Friday.
Hollande 'having affair with actress': Closer
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Julie Gayet's life in ten facts:
- She's a native of the wealthy western Parisian suburb of Suresnes and began her career as an actress studying at the Actor’s Studio in London at age 17.
- Gayet's father was a surgeon and teacher who asked her to put on little shows in his patients' rooms. She witnessed her first death at the age of seven.
- After training to be an opera singer when she was younger she landed her first big role in 1994 in the French film "La Belle Etoile" and has mostly appeared in French film comedies and dramas. Her biggest success to date was in the comedy "Delphine 1 - Yvan 0". She’s appeared in 48 films since her 1993 debut. And it's not just movies she's appeared in. She was in this music video for a song by French musician Benjamin Biolay called Let The Dogs Bark.
- She has "a rock 'n' roll temperament and a very smooth approach", was how one colleague in the French film industry described her. But her career has never taken off to the point where she has achieved star status or has become a name in the world of French arthouse cinema.
- The actress has two children with her estranged husband Santiago Amigorena, an Argentine-born director and writer.
- She has never hidden her support for the political Left in France and even appeared in a promo video for François Hollande's presidential election campaign. In the clip, she described Hollande as "a good listener", "marvellous" and "humble" (see clip below, which is in French). She has also appeared, along with other personalities at several political functions held by president and is a supporter of the Socialist Paris mayoral candidate Anne Hidalgo.
- After rumours of her affair with Hollande appeared on the internet in 2013 she filed a formal complaint for “infringement of personal privacy". At the time her lawyer made a statement saying there was no basis to the rumours.
- She says she does not have a career plan and goes from job to job and says she is not in acting for the money.
- Gayet won best actress at the Tokyo Film Festival in 2009 for her leading role in French film "8 Times Up".
- She has also lent her voice to animated films, including "Kerity La Maison des Contes" in 2009. In one of her recent films "Quai d'Orsay", she played the role of a political advisor to the Interior Minister. "Did she get advice from her new boyfriend on how to play the role?" Metro news speculated on Friday.
Hollande 'having affair with actress': Closer
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