Elsa Zylberstein (born Elsa Florence Zylbersztejn, 16 October 1968) is a French actress. After studying drama, she began her film career in 1989, and has appeared in more than 60 films. She won the César Award for Best Supporting Actress for I've Loved You So Long (2008).
Early life and education Zylberstein was born Elsa Florence Zylbersztejn on 16 October 1968 in Boulogne-Billancourt, in Paris to a Polish-Jewish father, Albert Zylbersztejn (born 1938). Her mother was French Catholic, Liliane Chenard (born 1940). Her father is a former physicist and her mother is a beautician for Dior. She has a brother, Benjamin (born 1970). Zylberstein felt both Jewish and Christian; now she is "attracted to Buddhist rites".
She has practised classical dance since her childhood. After a Baccalauréat A3, she began university and studied English, but she was strongly attracted to artistic pursuits. She studied acting under Francis Huster at the Cours Florent on the advice of Charlotte Rampling, whom Elsa Zylberstein's father met by chance on a plane, and also works with a professor at the Actors Studio.
Career
In 1991, Elsa Zylberstein appeared in Van Gogh, a film directed by Maurice Pialat. In 1992, she won the Michel Simon Prize and the first of her three nominations for the César Award for Most Promising Actress. In 1993, she played a student in Beau fixe, and won the Prix Romy Schneider.
She inspired young directors such as Pascale Bailly, Diane Bertrand, and especially Martine Dugowson, who offered her the lead role alongside Romane Bohringer in Mina Tannenbaum (1994). She then appeared in Farinelli, Mr N., and Jefferson in Paris. She played Suzanne Valadon in Lautrec, and then Jeanne Hébuterne in Modigliani. Zylberstein played a Yiddish-language singer who falls in love with a gay clarinetist in Man Is a Woman, which also starred Antoine de Caunes. She also appeared in the films Time Regained, Love Torn in a Dream, and That Day, all three of which were directed by Raúl Ruiz.
In 2006 she played Mathilde, an Orthodox Jewish woman faced with marriage problems, in Little Jerusalem. She also appeared in J'invente rien, based on a novel by Christine Angot. In 2008, she was in two films which were each presented at the Berlin Festival: I've Loved You So Long, with Kristin Scott Thomas, directed by Philippe Claudel, and La Fabrique des sentiments.
Other activities She has been a member of several festival juries, including the 1999 Deauville American Film Festival, the 2010 British Film Festival in Dinard, the Beaune International Detective Film Festival (in both 2009 and 2015) and the Cannes Film Festival in 2021.
Recognition and awards Zylberstein received the Michel Simon Prize in 1992 for her performance in Van Gogh, as well as a César nomination for Best Female Newcomer.
In 1993 she won the Romy Schneider Prize for Mina Tannenbaum.
In 2009, she won the César Award for Best Supporting Actress for her role in I've Loved You So Long.
In 2020, Zylberstein won the Best Acting Award for Tout nous sourit at the Alpe d'Huez Comedy Festival.
Personal life Zylberstein dated Antoine de Caunes between 1997 and 2005. She then dated Nicolas Bedos from 2005 to 2008.
In 2009, Zylberstein signed a petition in support of film director Roman Polanski, calling for his release after Polanski was arrested in Switzerland in relation to his 1977 sexual abuse case.
Filmography Year Title Role Director Notes1989 Baptême Gabrielle René Féret 1990 Chillers Isabelle Maurice Dugowson TV series (1 Episode)1991 Génial, mes parents divorcent ! Thomas's Sister Patrick Braoudé Van Gogh Cathy Maurice Pialat Acteurs à l'Écran - Best ActressNominated - César Award for Most Promising Actress La neige et le feu Claude Pinoteau Alisée Alisée André Blanchard 1992 Amoureuse The Farsighted Jacques Doillon Beau fixe Frederique Christian Vincent Nominated - César Award for Most Promising Actress Princesse Alexandra Sister Ermenegilde Denis Amar TV movie La grande collection Mercedes Gérard Vergez TV series (1 Episode)1993 De force avec d'autres Do Simon Reggiani La place d'un autre Florence René Féret (2) Comment font les gens Yvette Pascale Bailly Short L'orange amère Fanny Olivier Sadock Short The Young Indiana Jones Chronicles The Telephone Girl Simon Wincer & Carl Schultz TV series (1 Episode)1994 Mina Tannenbaum Ethel Benegui Martine Dugowson Nominated - César Award for Most Promising Actress Farinelli Alexandra Gérard Corbiau 1995 Jefferson in Paris Adrienne de La Fayette James Ivory 1996 A Saturday on Earth Claire Diane Bertrand Portraits chinois Emma Martine Dugowson (2) 1997 Tenue correcte exigée Lucie Philippe Lioret Metroland Annick Philip Saville XXL Arlette Stern Ariel Zeitoun1998 Man Is a Woman Rosalie Baumann Jean-Jacques Zilbermann Cabourg Film Festival - Best Actress Lautrec Suzanne Valadon Roger Planchon 1999 Je veux tout Eva Guila Braoudé Time Regained Rachel Raúl Ruiz Bonne Nuit Susan TV movie2000 Là-bas... mon pays Pierre Nivel's Wife Alexandre Arcady Love Torn in a Dream Lucrezia / Jessica / Sultane Raúl Ruiz (2) 2001 Les fantômes de Louba Louba Martine Dugowson (3) Un ange Léa Pastore Miguel Courtois Not Afraid, Not Afraid Annette Carducci 2002 Féroce Zébulon Gilles de Maistre Jean Moulin Antoinette Yves Boisset TV movie2003 Monsieur N. Albine de Montholon Antoine de Caunes That Day Livia Raúl Ruiz (3) Three Blind Mice Nathalie Mathias Ledoux Qui perd gagne ! Angèle Berstein Laurent Bénégui 2004 Tomorrow We Move Michèle Chantal Akerman Pourquoi (pas) le Brésil Christine Angot Laetitia Masson Modigliani Jeanne Hébuterne Mick Davis 2005 Little Jerusalem Mathilde Karin Albou Nominated - Globes de Cristal Award for Best Actress La cloche a sonné Léa Bruno Herbulot Journées froides qui menacent les plantes Virginie Chanu 2006 J'invente rien Mathilde Mahut Michel Leclerc Le concile de pierre Clarisse Guillaume Nicloux Petits meurtres en famille Édith Edwin Baily TV Mini-Series2007 Unknown Things The Young Woman Bruno Coppola Childhoods Ingmar Bergman's Mother Safy Nebbou 2008 La fabrique des sentiments Éloïse Jean-Marc Moutout I've Loved You So Long Léa Philippe Claudel César Award for Best Supporting ActressChlotrudis Awards - Best Supporting Actress Nuit de chien Maria de Souza Werner Schroeter Nucingen House Anne-Marie Raúl Ruiz (4) 2009 La folle histoire d'amour de Simon Eskenazy Rosalie Jean-Jacques Zilbermann (2) La double inconstance Flaminia Carole Giacobbi TV movie Myster Mocky présente Various Jean-Pierre Mocky TV series (1 Episode) Vénus & Apollon Angie Pascal Lahmani TV series (8 Episodes)2010 Roses à crédit The Pharmacist Amos Gitai 2011 Un baiser papillon Marie Karine Silla JC comme Jésus Christ Herself Jonathan Zaccaï Les tribulations d'une caissière Marie Pierre Rambaldi 2012 Plan de table Catherine Christelle Raynal Alpe d'Huez International Comedy Film Festival - Best Acting Lines of Wellington Sister Irmã Cordélia Valeria Sarmiento Nominated - CinEuphoria Awards - Best Ensemble2013 À votre bon coeur mesdames Sister Blandine Jean-Pierre Mocky (2) 2014 Gemma Bovery Wizzy Anne Fontaine 2015 The Price of Desire Romaine Brooks Mary McGuckian Un plus une Anna Hamon Claude Lelouch Nominated - Lumière Award for Best Actress Amazon Amazon Priestess Jeno Udvardi 2016 The Stalking Moon Veronique Fournier Antonio Galloro 2017 Un sac de billes Anna Christian Duguay Chacun sa vie et son intime conviction Claude Lelouch À bras ouverts Daphné Fougerole Philippe de Chauveron 2018 Bel Canto Paul Weitz2019I Wish Someone Were Waiting for Me SomewhereHélènaArnaud Viard 2020 Waiting for Anya Jo's mother 2021 Simone Veil, A Woman of the Century Simone Veil 2022 Bigbug Monique Jean-Pierre Jeunet Netflix2023 Club Zero Elsa's Mother Jessica Hausner Coup de chance Caroline Blanc Woody Allen 2024 Finalement Claude Lelouch
Theatre
Year Title Author Director Notes 1990 Joko's Anniversary Roland Topor Jean-Louis Jacopin Petit Odéon 1991 Eurydice Jean Anouilh Georges Wilson Théâtre de l'Œuvre 1993 Pygmalion George Bernard Shaw Bernard Murat Théâtre Hébertot 1997–98 Six Characters in Search of an Author Luigi Pirandello Jorge Lavelli Théâtre de l'Eldorado 2000 Le Malin Plaisir David Hare Jacques Lassalle Théâtre de l'Atelier 2003 Proof David Auburn Bernard Murat (2) Théâtre des Mathurins 2005 Laissez-moi Marcelle Sauvageot Laetitia Masson Théâtre des Bouffes du Nord 2007 Gamines Sylvie Testud Sylvie Testud Théâtre national de Nice 2009 Le Démon de Hannah Antoine Rault Michel Fagadau Théâtre des Champs-Élysées 2011 Le Temps qui passe Karine Silla-Pérez Vincent Pérez Théâtre des Mathurins 2012 Les Derniers Jours de Stefan Zweig Laurent Seksik Gérard Gélas Théâtre Antoine-Simone Berriau2014 Vita and Virginia Eileen Atkins Jean-Marie Besset Festival NAVA Splendour Géraldine Maillet Catherine Schaub Théâtre de ParisGlobes de Cristal Award - Best Actress
References
External links
Official web site
Elsa Zylberstein – Actrices Francaises