Charlotte Gainsbourg

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Charlotte Gainsbourg
Charlotte Gainsbourg Cannes 2019.jpg
Gainsbourg at the 2019 Cannes Film Festival
Born
Charlotte Lucy Gainsbourg

(1971-07-21) 21 July 1971 (age 48)
London, England
Nationality
  • British
  • French
Occupation
  • Actress
  • singer
Years active1984–present
Partner(s)Yvan Attal (1991–present; engaged)
Children3
Parent(s)
Relatives
Musical career
Genres
Labels
Associated acts
Websitecharlottegainsbourg.com

Charlotte Lucy Gainsbourg (French pronunciation: [ʃaʁlɔt ɡɛ̃sbuʁ] (About this soundlisten); born 21 July 1971) is an English-French actress and singer. She is the daughter of English actress Jane Birkin and French singer and songwriter Serge Gainsbourg. After making her musical debut with her father on the song "Lemon Incest" at the age of 12,[1] she released an album with her father at the age of 15. More than 20 years passed before she released the first of four albums as an adult (5:55, IRM, Stage Whisper and Rest) to commercial and critical success. Gainsbourg has also appeared in many films, including several directed by Lars von Trier, and has received both a César Award and the Cannes Film Festival Best Actress Award.

Background[edit]

Gainsbourg with her mother Jane Birkin in 2010

Gainsbourg was born on 21 July 1971[2] in London, to English actress and singer Jane Birkin and French actor and singer-songwriter Serge Gainsbourg.[3] Gainsbourg was born at the height of her parents' fame; they had made headlines several years earlier with the sexually explicit song "Je t'aime... moi non plus" and by that point had become notorious for their turbulent relationship and multiple artistic collaborations.[4][5] As a result, her birth and childhood were well publicised.[6]

At birth she received the surname of Gainsbourg, her father's stage name, but at the age of 18 she changed her surname to Ginsburg, her father's legal surname.[7]

Her maternal grandmother was actress Judy Campbell, and her uncle is screenwriter Andrew Birkin, who directed her in The Cement Garden. She is a cousin of theatre and opera director Sophie Hunter.[8][9][10] Gainsbourg's father was Jewish, whereas her mother is from a Protestant background.[11][12] Gainsbourg attended École Active Bilingue Jeannine Manuel in Paris and Collège Alpin International Beau Soleil[13] in Switzerland. French is Gainsbourg's first language, but she is also fluent in English.

Gainsbourg was raised in Paris alongside her half-sister from her mother's marriage to composer John Barry, Kate Barry, who died in 2013 after falling out of a window.[14] According to Birkin, both parents were somewhat neglectful, often spending their nights going out to parties and drinking.[15] She has a young brother, Lucien "Lulu" Gainsbourg, born in 1986 from her father's relationship with Bambou. On her father's side she also had two older siblings born from his second marriage to Françoise-Antoinette "Béatrice" Pancrazzi.

By 1980, her parents' relationship had dissolved and her mother left her father for the director Jacques Doillon. Her half sister Lou Doillon was born in 1982 as a result of the union. Gainsbourg would go on to work with her stepfather in the film The Temptation of Isabelle in 1985 and later in Amoureuse in 1992, which also starred her future partner Yvan Attal.

In 1987, she was the target of a bungled kidnapping.[16]

After her parents separated, Gainsbourg's father descended into alcoholism, eventually dying of a heart attack in 1991. Gainsbourg remained devoted to preserving his legacy and preserved his home, saying she hoped to eventually turn it into a museum.[17] She eventually abandoned the project and decided to maintain the house as a private residence instead.[18]

On 5 September 2007, Gainsbourg was rushed to a Paris hospital where she underwent surgery for a cerebral hemorrhage. She had been experiencing headaches since a waterskiing accident in the United States several weeks earlier.[19]

Career[edit]

Gainsbourg at the 25th César Awards in 2000

Acting[edit]

Gainsbourg grew up on film sets, as both of her parents were involved in the film industry. She stated that her mother had pushed her into acting, believing that she wanted to be an actress and encouraging her to make her motion picture debut playing Catherine Deneuve's daughter in the film Paroles et musique (1984).[20]

In 1986, Gainsbourg won a César Award for "Most Promising Actress" for An Impudent Girl. That same year Gainsbourg appeared in the film Charlotte for Ever about a man who develops incestuous desires for his teenage daughter after his wife dies. Written and directed by Gainsbourg's father Serge Gainsbourg, who also took the role of Gainsbourg's father on screen, the film heightened the controversy that had resulted from Gainsbourg's debut single Lemon Incest, which had similar themes and also was created and sung with her father Serge causing press speculation that the material was autobiographical.[21]

In 1988, she appeared together with her mother in a set of films, Kung Fu Master and the documentary drama Jane B. by Agnes V., both directed by Agnès Varda. In 1993, Gainsbourg made her English-speaking debut in The Cement Garden, written and directed by her uncle, Andrew Birkin. Her stage debut was in 1994, in David Mamet's Oleanna at the Théâtre de la Gaîté-Montparnasse. In 1996, Gainsbourg starred as the title character in Jane Eyre, a film adaption of Charlotte Brontë's 1847 novel. In 2000, she won the César Award for "Best Supporting Actress" for the film La Bûche.

In 2003, Gainsbourg starred in 21 Grams, with Naomi Watts, Sean Penn and Benicio del Toro. In 2006, Gainsbourg appeared alongside Gael García Bernal in Michel Gondry's The Science of Sleep. In 2007, she appeared as Claire in the Todd Haynes-directed Bob Dylan biographical film I'm Not There, also contributing a cover version of the Dylan song "Just Like a Woman" to the film soundtrack. In 2009, she won the award for Best Actress at the 2009 Cannes Film Festival for the film Antichrist.[22] Gainsbourg starred in the French/Australian production, The Tree, released in 2010, and in Lars von Trier's science fiction disaster film, Melancholia.[23] She was on the jury for the 62nd Berlin International Film Festival in February 2012.[24] In May 2012 Confession of a Child of the Century premiered, where she starred alongside the British musician Pete Doherty.[25]

Gainsbourg collaborated with von Trier once again on his 2013 film Nymphomaniac, in which she played the title role. The 5½-hour film depicts the life of a sex addict from youth to middle age. When asked about the nature of the role, Gainsbourg responded, "The sex scenes weren't so hard. For me, it was all the masochistic scenes. Those were embarrassing and, yes, a little humiliating."[26]

In 2014, she starred in Three Hearts and Olivier Nakache & Éric Toledano film Samba, for which she was nominated for a Lumières Award for Best Actress. She then played Dr. Catherine Marceaux in Independence Day: Resurgence, sequel of the 1996 film Independence Day. In 2017, she starred alongside Michael Fassbender and Rebecca Ferguson in the crime thriller film, The Snowman.

Music[edit]

Gainsbourg at Webster Hall, New York City, April 2010

Gainsbourg made her musical debut on the controversial song "Lemon Incest" in 1984.[27] Sung by Gainsbourg and her father Serge, the lyrics implied a pedophiliac relationship between a father and daughter and led people to believe that the material was autobiographical.[28] Gainsbourg, who was 13 at the time of the song's release, later stated that she had just begun boarding school and was therefore unaware of the controversy regarding the song until she was much older.

In 1986, she released her debut album Charlotte for Ever, which was produced by her father. In 2000, Gainsbourg was featured on the Madonna album Music on the track "What It Feels Like for a Girl". The lengthy spoken introduction by Gainsbourg is taken from the film The Cement Garden, which inspired the title of the song. The track was further remixed for a single version in 2001, with Gainsbourg's The Cement Garden speech repeated during the song.

In 2004, she sang a duet with French pop star Étienne Daho on his single "If". In 2006, Gainsbourg released her second album 5:55 to critical acclaim and commercial success, reaching the top spot on the French charts and achieving platinum status in the country. In the UK, the album was moderately successful, reaching No. 78 (The single "The Songs That We Sing" only achieved No. 129). Gainsbourg attributed the twenty-year break between her debut album and 5:55 to her father's death and her reluctance to explore a musical career without him.[29]

In late 2009, Gainsbourg released her third studio album, IRM,[30] which was produced by Beck.[31][32] One of the influential factors in the album's creative process was her time spent filming Antichrist.[33] Gainsbourg's head injury in 2007 influenced the title of the album "IRM", an abbreviation for the French translation of magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). During her brain scan, she began to think about music. "When I was inside that machine," she said, "it was an escape to think about music. It's rhythm. It was very chaotic."[34]

Her song "Heaven Can Wait" was chosen as the Starbucks iTunes Pick of the Week on 2 March 2010.[35] Her song "Trick Pony" appeared at the beginning of the Grey's Anatomy episode "Perfect Little Accident" (Season 6, Episode 16/airdate: 25 February 2010), is featured on the FIFA 11 soundtrack[36] and was used in the 2012 Teleflora Super Bowl advertisement featuring supermodel Adriana Lima.[37]

In 2011, Gainsbourg released the double album Stage Whisper, a collection of unreleased songs from IRM and live tracks.[38] In 2013, Gainsbourg released a cover version of the song "Hey Joe", recorded with Beck, for the soundtrack of the film Nymphomaniac, in which she was the lead actress. Her music influenced artists such as Tove Lo, who cited the simplicity and quirky lyrical content of Charlotte's IRM as the main inspiration behind her career in music and said that it "opened a new world" for her as regards sound.[39]

Since 2014, Gainsbourg has been supporting the Hear the World Foundation as ambassador. In her role she advocates for equal opportunities and a better quality of life for people with hearing loss. She was featured in the Hear the World Calendar 2014, the proceeds of which were to benefit the foundation's projects.[40]

Gainsbourg worked for four years, mainly in New York,[41] with producer Sebastian Akchoté (known as SebastiAn) on her fifth studio album, titled Rest. Rest is a portrayal of her feelings after her father Serge Gainsbourg and her half-sister Kate Barry's death, with the theme of alcohol addiction. About the album, she said "The album took a different direction. I wanted to express [my grief] not only with sadness but with anger."[42] The lyrics are in English and French.[41] In September 2017, music videos for the singles "Rest" and "Deadly Valentine" were released, both are directed by Gainsbourg herself.[43] The music videos feature her children.[41] The album was released on 17 November 2017.[44]

Personal life[edit]

Gainsbourg's longtime partner is French-Israeli actor/director Yvan Attal, whom she met on the set of the 1991 film Aux yeux du monde.[45] Gainsbourg and Attal are not married, and Gainsbourg has attributed her reluctance to do so to the fact that her parents never married. Attal publicly proposed to Gainsbourg on 19 June 2013 during an awards ceremony when he received the French National Order of Merit.[46] In April 2014, Attal confirmed that they were still unwed, with no plans to marry.[47] Together they have three children: a son, Ben (b. 1997), and daughters Alice (b. 2002) and Jo (b. 2011).[48][49]

Gainsbourg was born in Paris and spent most of her life in the city until the death of her sister Kate Barry. Since 2014 she and her family have relocated to New York City.[50]

Filmography[edit]

Gainsbourg at the 2011 Cannes Film Festival
Year Film Role Notes
1984 Paroles et musique Charlotte Marker
1985 La tentation d'Isabelle L'enfant
1985 An Impudent Girl Charlotte Castang
1986 Charlotte for Ever Charlotte
1988 Kung Fu Master Lucy
1988 Jane B. par Agnès V. La fille de J.
1988 The Little Thief Janine Castang
1990 The Sun Also Shines at Night Matilda
1991 Merci la vie Camille Pelleveau
1991 Aux yeux du monde Juliette Mangin
1992 Amoureuse Marie
1993 The Cement Garden Julie
1994 Dead Tired Herself
1996 Jane Eyre Jane Eyre
1996 Anna Oz Anna Oz
1996 Love, etc. Marie
1999 The Intruder Catherine Girard
1999 Season's Beatings Milla Robin
2000 Passionnément Alice Almeida
2000 Nuremberg Marie Claude Vaillant-Couturier Miniseries
2000 Les Misérables Fantine Miniseries
2001 Félix et Lola Lola
2001 My Wife Is an Actress Charlotte
2002 La merveilleuse odyssée de l'idiot Toboggan Voice
2003 21 Grams Mary Rivers
2004 Une star internationale Herself Short film
2004 Happily Ever After Gabrielle
2005 L'un reste, l'autre part Judith
2005 Lemming Bénédicte Getty
2006 Nuovomondo Lucy Reed
2006 I Do Emma
2006 The Science of Sleep Stéphanie
2007 I'm Not There Claire Clark
2008 The City of Your Final Destination Arden Langdon
2009 Antichrist She
2009 Persécution Sonia
2010 The Tree Dawn
2011 Melancholia Claire
2012 Confession of a Child of the Century Brigitte
2012 Do Not Disturb Lilly
2013 Nymphomaniac Joe
2014 Jacky in Women's Kingdom La colonelle
2014 Son épouse Catherine de Rosa
2014 Samba Alice
2014 Three Hearts Sylvie Berger
2014 Misunderstood Madre
2015 Every Thing Will Be Fine Kate
2016 The Jews Mathilde Bensoussan
2016 Independence Day: Resurgence Dr. Catherine Marceaux
2016 Norman: The Moderate Rise and Tragic Fall of a New York Fixer Alex Green
2016 Dark Crimes Kasia
2017 Ismael's Ghosts Sylvia
2017 The Snowman Rakel Fauke
2017 La promesse de l'aube Nina Kacew
2018 I Think We're Alone Now Violet
2019 Lux Æterna Charlotte
2019 My Dog Stupid Cécile Mohen
2020 Suzanna Andler Suzanna Andler Filming

Discography[edit]

Year Album details Peak chart positions Certifications
(sales thresholds)
FRA
[51] 		AUT
[52] 		BE (Fl)
[53] 		BE (Wa)
[54] 		GER
[55] 		NLD
[56] 		SWE
[57] 		SWI
[58] 		UK
[59] 		US
[60]
1986 Charlotte for Ever — — — — — — — — — —
2006 5:55 1 41 15 2 38 99 57 12 78 196
2009 IRM[62]
  • Released: 4 December 2009
  • Label: Because Music/Elektra
 4 — 35 8 — — 46 28 62 69
2011 Stage Whisper
  • Released: 13 December 2011
  • Label: Because Music/Elektra
 84 — — 98 89 — — — — —
2017 Rest
  • Released: 17 November 2017
  • Label: Because Music
 14
[63] 		49 18 9 74 — — 8 89

Decorations[edit]

References[edit]

  1. ^ Phil Daoust (24 September 2002). "I have a very easy life". The Guardian. Retrieved 13 February 2014.
  2. ^ "Born between July 15th and July 21st". Vogue Italia. Retrieved 5 September 2018.
  3. ^ Source of real name and birth date: birth certificate provided by the French Ministère des affaires étrangères, according to [1]
  4. ^ "Serge Gainsbourg – Histoire De Melody Nelson – On Second Thought". Stylus Magazine. Retrieved 2 August 2012.
  5. ^ Spencer, Neil (22 May 2005). "The 10 most x-rated records". Observer Music Monthly. London: Guardian Newspapers. Retrieved 3 August 2010.
  6. ^ Swanson, Carl. "Lars's Real Girl: Charlotte Gainsbourg on Nymphomaniac and Working with von Trier". Retrieved 21 September 2015.
  7. ^ Mahdawi, Arwa. "Charlotte Gainsbourg: 'Everything now is so politically correct. So boring'". Retrieved 26 October 2019.
  8. ^ "Sophie Hunter Superstar". Spiegel.
  9. ^ "Les Heures Ou Je M'Eclipse". Record of the Day.
  10. ^ "Guy & Sophie Hunter Chambers: Isis Project". WowHD. Archived from the original on 26 June 2015.
  11. ^ "De 7 Hoofdzonden volgens Jane Birkin – Humo: The Wild Site". Humo.be. 11 April 2006. Retrieved 20 November 2013.
  12. ^ https://forward.com/culture/film-tv/430941/charlotte-gainsbourg-not-your-typical-jewish-mother/
  13. ^ "CHARLOTTE GAINSBOURG "J'AI ÉCRIT POUR RÉINVESTIR MON HISTOIRE"". Paris Match Suisse (in French). 13 December 2018. Retrieved 2 June 2019.
  14. ^ Levy, Geoffrey (13 December 2013). "Drink, drugs and a decadent childhood: The troubled life of Jane Birkin's daughter Kate Barry, who this week plunged to her death from her Paris apartment". Retrieved 21 September 2015.
  15. ^ Barlow, Helen (9 June 2007). "A bit twisted". Retrieved 21 September 2015.
  16. ^ Serge of French logic, Stuart Wavell. The Guardian (1959–2003) [London (UK)] 12 March 1987: 36.
  17. ^ Robinson, Lisa. "The Secret World of Serge Gainsbourg". Retrieved 21 September 2015.
  18. ^ Jody Macgregor (16 April 2014). "8 secret music destinations you need to visit right now". Faster Louder. Faster Louder Pty Ltd. Archived from the original on 20 April 2014. Retrieved 18 April 2014.
  19. ^ "Charlotte Gainsbourg has emergency brain surgery". NME. UK. 6 September 2007.
  20. ^ Orr, Deborah (17 July 2009). "Charlotte Gainsbourg: 'My parents put me second. But I like to think of them in Paris having fun, not thinking too much'". Retrieved 21 September 2015.
  21. ^ Gorman, Francine (28 February 2011). "Serge Gainsbourg's 20 most scandalous moments". The Guardian. Retrieved 21 September 2015.
  22. ^ "Festival de Cannes: Antichrist". festival-cannes.com. Archived from the original on 4 July 2009. Retrieved 9 May 2009.
  23. ^ Latest on von Trier's Melancholia Empire online. 25 March 2010
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  25. ^ Film role for Peter Doherty The Independent. 9 December 2010
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  27. ^ Slater, Lydia (3 June 2007). "Charlottes web". The Times. London. Retrieved 28 April 2010.
  28. ^ O'Hagan, Sean (10 January 2010). "Charlotte Gainsbourg: 'I had no idea how scared I was of dying'". The Guardian. Retrieved 20 September 2015.
  29. ^ Adams, Sam. "Charlotte Gainsbourg". Retrieved 21 September 2015.
  30. ^ "Une fin d'année sous le signe de Charlotte Gainsbourg". 29 July 2009. Archived from the original on 25 July 2009.
  31. ^ "Beck to Appear on Charlotte Gainsbour Album". Contact Music. 19 November 2008.
  32. ^ "Beck collaborates with Charlotte Gainsbourg on new album". NME. UK. 18 November 2008.
  33. ^ "From the Darkness of Shadows: Charlotte Gainsbourg Interviewed". The Quietus. 4 November 2009.
  34. ^ "Charlotte Gainsbourg's Skull Sessions". L.A. Weekly. 7 February 2010. Archived from the original on 26 October 2010.
  35. ^ Charlotte Gainsbourg (featuring Beck) – Heaven Can Wait. www.mark-heringer.com (2 March 2010). Retrieved on 24 August 2011.
  36. ^ 6.16 Perfect Little Accident – Grey's Anatomy Archived 6 June 2010 at the Wayback Machine Thegreysanatomywiki.com. Retrieved on 24 August 2011.
  37. ^ Taylor (15 February 2012). "Commercial Watch: Bon Iver, Art Brut, Roxy Music, M83, Kanye West + more". Music for kids who can't read good. Archived from the original on 24 December 2013. Retrieved 21 December 2013.
  38. ^ "Charlotte Gainsbourg: Stage Whisper". Paste Magazine. 12 December 2011.
  39. ^ "Listen: Charlotte Gainsbourg's Beck-Produced "Hey Joe" Coverfrom the Nymphomaniac Soundtrack". Pitchfork. 13 December 2013.
  40. ^ "Hear the World Celebrity Ambassadors". Hear the World Foundation.
  41. ^ a b c E.W. (12 October 2017). "In "Rest", Charlotte Gainsbourg explores the sharp edges of grief". The Economist.
  42. ^ "In "Rest", Charlotte Gainsbourg explores the sharp edges of grief". The Economist. 12 October 2017.
  43. ^ "Video: Charlotte Gainsbourg – "Rest"". 25 September 2017.
  44. ^ Robinson, Lisa. "Charlotte Gainsbourg Has Learned How to Cope with Stage Fright".
  45. ^ Mapes, Marty. (25 July 2002) Interview with Charlotte Gainsbourg and Yvan Attal. Movie Habit. Retrieved on 24 August 2011.
  46. ^ "Photos: Yvan Attal: regardez-le demander Charlotte Gainsbourg en mariage..." Retrieved 22 September 2015.
  47. ^ Guinhut, Hélène. "Yvan Attal: avec Charlotte "on ne va pas se marier"". Retrieved 22 September 2015.
  48. ^ (in French) Charlotte Gainsbourg bio: biographie de Charlotte Gainsbourg – Gala. Gala.fr. Retrieved on 24 August 2011.
  49. ^ "Charlotte Gainsbourg a accouché d'une petite Joe". Voici.fr. 22 July 2011. Retrieved 26 February 2012.
  50. ^ Claymore, Gabriel Tully. "Charlotte Gainsbourg, After Rest". Retrieved 7 January 2020.
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  54. ^ "Chart Stats – Charlotte Gainsbourg". ultratop.be/fr. Retrieved 27 November 2011.
  55. ^ "Gainsbourg, Charlotte / Longplay" (in German). musicline.de. Archived from the original on 28 January 2012. Retrieved 15 June 2010.
  56. ^ "Discografie Charlotte Gainsbourg". DutchCharts.nl. Retrieved 27 November 2011.
  57. ^ "Discography Charlotte Gainsbourg". SwedishCharts.com. Retrieved 27 November 2011.
  58. ^ "Discography Charlotte Gainsbourg". hitparade.ch. Retrieved 27 November 2011.
  59. ^ "Discography Charlotte Gainsbourg". theofficialcharts.com. Retrieved 27 November 2011.
  60. ^ "Discography Charlotte Gainsbourg". .billboard.com. Retrieved 27 November 2011.
  61. ^ Atlantic Records :: Charlotte Gainsbourg News Archived 29 September 2007 at the Wayback Machine
  62. ^ Charlotte Gainsbourg/Beck Album Details. Pitchfork. Retrieved on 24 August 2011.
  63. ^ "Le Top de la semaine : Top Albums – SNEP (Week 47, 2017)" (in French). Syndicat National de l'Édition Phonographique. Retrieved 27 November 2017.
  64. ^ "Nomination dans l'ordre des Arts et des Lettres janvier 2016" (in French). Ministère de la Culture. 10 February 2016. Retrieved 2 August 2017.

External links[edit]

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