Catherine Jacob (born 16 December 1956) is a French film and theatre actress who has won a César Award for her role in Life Is a Long Quiet River (1988), and was nominated for Best Supporting Actress in Tatie Danielle (1990), Merci la vie (1991) and Neuf mois (1994). She has been two-time president of the Lumière Awards. She is known for her voice and her charisma.
Early life
Born in Paris on 16 December 1956, Catherine Jacob spent part of her childhood and adolescence in Compiègne, where she was educated at primary school and then Pierre d'Ailly High School. Her father was a dental surgeon and her mother an orthodontist. She has a younger brother.
Career
1980–1987: Beginnings After obtaining a diploma in architecture, Catherine Jacob moved to Paris. From 1978 to 1980, she studied acting at the Cours Florent, then located on Saint Louis Island.
She started to act in the early 1980s as an extra in movies like Swann in Love by Volker Schlöndorff (1984), Les Nanas by Annick Lanoë (1985), State of Grace by Jacques Rouffio (1986) and Malady of Love by Jacques Deray (1987). She also appeared in TV movies and TV series like Dickie-roi by Guy Lefranc, Toutes griffes dehors by Michel Boisrond, Julien Fontanes, magistrat, Marie Pervenche, Sentiments and Qui c'est ce garçon ? by Nadine Trintignant in minor roles.
In 1985, she wrote and starred in her first one-woman show called Welcome to the Club, directed by , drawing eleven portraits of characters. She appeared in several festivals with her show and toured with it the following year.
1988–1997: César and success In 1988, she played Marie-Thérèse in the cult film Life Is a Long Quiet River by Étienne Chatiliez. The movie was a huge success, and Jacob won the César Award for Most Promising Actress. She also played in the TV miniseries Le vent des moissons alongside Annie Girardot. That same year, she and Jacques Bonnaffé also had a huge success with the play Paris-Nord - Attractions pour noces et banquets. It was planned to be shown only for 10 nights, but due to the success, the play continued for three years.
In 1989, she continued her tour with the play Paris-Nord - Attractions pour noces et banquets. She got a supporting role in Les Maris, les Femmes, les Amants by Pascal Thomas, with Jean-François Stévenin and Michel Robin. She starred in two TV movies: L'été de la révolution with Bruno Cremer and Brigitte Fossey and Le vagabond de la Bastille by . She also appeared in an episode of the TV series Imogène with Dominique Lavanant.
In 1990, she ended her tour with the play Paris-Nord - Attractions pour noces et banquets after three years. She appeared in the second movie of the director Étienne Chatiliez, Tatie Danielle with Tsilla Chelton, Isabelle Nanty and Karin Viard. It was shown at the Toronto International Film Festival. The movie was again a big success at the box office, well received by the critics and became a cult movie. Jacob was nominated for the César Award for Best Supporting Actress.
In 1991, she starred in The Imaginary Invalid by Molière, directed by at the Théâtre national de Chaillot. She had a supporting role in Merci la vie by Bertrand Blier, alongside Charlotte Gainsbourg, Anouk Grinberg, Michel Blanc, Jean Carmet, Annie Girardot, Jean-Louis Trintignant and Gérard Depardieu. Jacob was nominated for her third César Award for Best Supporting Actress. She appeared in My Father the Hero by Gérard Lauzier, with Gérard Depardieu, Marie Gillain and Charlotte de Turckheim. She was also in the short Contes à rebours, directed by Gilles Porte.
In 1992, she starred in two new plays: Ubu Roi by Alfred Jarry, directed by Roland Topor at the Théâtre national de Chaillot, and Chambres by , directed by Hans-Peter Cloos at the . She played Rose in La Fille de l'air by Maroun Bagdadi, with Béatrice Dalle, Hippolyte Girardot and Jean-Claude Dreyfus. She also acted in Bella vista by Alfredo Arias, with Wadeck Stanczak. Jacob was in three shorts: Tout petit déjà by David Carayon, O mon amour with Artus de Penguern and Cocon by Martin Provost.
In 1993, she starred in the successful La Soif de l'or by Gérard Oury, with Tsilla Chelton and Christian Clavier. She appeared in the short Stella plage with Dominique Pinon and in the TV movie L'Éternel Mari by Denys Granier-Deferre, with Roger Hanin and Macha Méril.
In 1994, she played Dominique in the cult film Neuf mois by Patrick Braoudé, with Daniel Russo. Jacob was again nominated for the César Award for Best Supporting Actress. She had the leading role in Les Braqueuses by Jean-Paul Salomé, with Clémentine Célarié and in Oh God, Women Are So Loving by Magali Clément, with Mathieu Carrière. She acted in the TV movie Le jardin des plantes by Philippe de Broca, with Claude Rich. She also starred in a new play written and directed by Victor Lanoux called Drame au Concert, with Roland Giraud. She and Lanoux didn't get along at all, and she called him a "filthy guy" and "a shithead", but was forced by her contract to do 130 performances. She recalled the experience as "a nightmare" and regretted having accepted the role, since she had to refuse the role of "La Pinthade" in Chantecler directed by Jérôme Savary with whom she would later work with.Archived at Ghostarchive and the Wayback Machine:
In 1995, she worked for the third time with director Étienne Chatiliez in the big success Happiness Is in the Field, alongside Michel Serrault, Eddy Mitchell, Sabine Azéma and Carmen Maura. She was also in the TV movie Les maîtresses de mon mari with Marie-Christine Barrault.
In 1996, she came back to the theater with Le Bourgeois gentilhomme by Molière, directed by Jérôme Savary, at the Théâtre national de Chaillot. She played the diva Carla Milo in Les Grands Ducs by Patrice Leconte, with Jean-Pierre Marielle, Philippe Noiret, Jean Rochefort and Michel Blanc. She starred in the movie Oui by Alexandre Jardin, with Dany Boon, Jean-Marie Bigard and Claire Keim, and in Let's Hope it Lasts with Ticky Holgado and Gérard Darmon. She was in two shorts: Un bel après-midi d'été by Artus de Penguern and Ultima hora with François Berléand. She also made two TV movies, Sur un air de mambo by Jean-Louis Bertucelli, for which she became the first French woman to win the Golden Goblet Award for Best Actress, and Barrage sur l'Orénoque with Elizabeth Bourgine and Georges Corraface.
In 1997, she was in Messieurs les enfants, with Pierre Arditi, François Morel, Zinedine Soualem and Michel Aumont, in XXL by Ariel Zeitoun, with Michel Boujenah, Gérard Depardieu, Elsa Zylberstein, Emmanuelle Riva and Gad Elmaleh, and in La ballade de Titus with Jean-Claude Dreyfus and Antoine Duléry. She also had the leading role in two TV movies: Maintenant ou jamais with Daniel Russo, Samy Naceri and Chantal Lauby and La vie à trois with Aurélien Recoing.
1998–2011: Television and festivals
In 1998, she was cast in Let There Be Light by Arthur Joffé, an ensemble comedy. She was in three TV movies: Théo et Marie with Véronique Jannot, Qui mange qui ? with Julien Guiomar and Maintenant et pour toujours with Marisa Berenson, Marlène Jobert and Agathe de La Boulaye. She also appeared in an episode of Chercheur d'héritiers with Bernadette Lafont.
In 1999, she played in the TV movie Fleurs de sel with François Berléand and Frédéric Pierrot. She appeared in one episode of the TV series Marc Eliot, directed by Josée Dayan. She came back to the theater after 3 years, with The Miser by Molière, directed by Jérôme Savary at the Théâtre des Célestins. She was invited to present an award at the 13th Molière Awards.
In 2000, she toured France with The Miser by Molière. She starred in Le coeur à l'ouvrage, with Mathilde Seigner and Amira Casar. She had the leading role in two TV movies: La Double Vie de Jeanne with Micheline Presle and Christine Citti, and Les faux-fuyants, with Arielle Dombasle and Nicolas Vaude.
In 2001, she had the leading role in the movie J'ai faim !!!, directed by Florence Quentin, with Michèle Laroque. The movie was shown during the Yokohama French Film Festival in Japan. She starred in the movie God Is Great and I'm Not with Audrey Tautou, Édouard Baer, Julie Depardieu, Philippe Laudenbach and Thierry Neuvic. It was screened at the Seattle International Film Festival. She was also in the short La concierge est dans l'ascenseur, with Michel Vuillermoz, Omar Sy and Fred Testot.
In 2002, she starred in the TV movies La torpille, with Pierre Cassignard and the sequel of Qui mange qui ?, called Qui mange quoi ?, directed by Jean-Paul Lilienfeld. Jacob also lent her voice to the animated TV miniseries Corto Maltese, with Richard Berry, Patrick Bouchitey and Marie Trintignant.
In 2003, she appeared in Who Killed Bambi?, directed by Gilles Marchand, with Sophie Quinton, Laurent Lucas, Yasmine Belmadi, Valérie Donzelli and Joséphine de Meaux. The movie was screened at the Cannes Film Festival,http://www.gettyimages.fr/pictures/56th-cannes-film-festival-stairs-of-qui-a-tue-bambie-in-news-photo-115134935 the Toronto International Film Festival, the Seattle International Film Festival and other festivals. She starred in two TV movies: L'adieu, with Thomas Jouannet, Mélanie Doutey, Gilles Lellouche, Jean Benguigui, and Cécile Cassel, and L'île atlantique by . Jacob was a member of the jury at the Festival international du film fantastique de Gérardmer, presided by William Friedkin.http://www.gettyimages.fr/pictures/portraits-of-stars-at-the-fantasticarts-2003-film-festival-news-photo-124058790
In 2004, she was in The First Time I Turned Twenty by Lorraine Lévy, with Marilou Berry, Serge Riaboukine, Pierre Arditi, Raphaël Personnaz and Michel Vuillermoz. The movie was presented at the San Francisco Jewish Film Festival, the San Diego Jewish Film Festival and the Women Make Waves Festival. She had a role in the animated short La Méthode Bourchnikov with Lorànt Deutsch, Dieudonné and Daniel Prévost. The short was presented at the Clermont-Ferrand International Short Film Festival, the CFC Worldwide Short Film Festival and several others. It was nominated for the César Award for Best Short Film. She had the leading role in the third and last of the "Qui mange...?" series of TV movies entitled Qui mange quand ?, directed by Jean-Paul Lilienfeld. She also starred in the TV movie Joe Pollox et les mauvais esprits with Pascal Légitimus and Laurent Lafitte and in the TV miniseries Colette, une femme libre directed by Nadine Trintignant, with Marie Trintignant and Lambert Wilson. She began a new TV series, Clara et associés, directed by Gérard Marx, with François Berléand and Antoine Duléry.
In 2005, she starred in Quartier V.I.P. by Laurent Firode, with Johnny Hallyday, Pascal Légitimus, Valeria Bruni Tedeschi, François Berléand and Jean-Claude Brialy. She had roles in three TV movies: Une vie by Élisabeth Rappeneau, with Wladimir Yordanoff and Barbara Schulz, Louise, with Huguette Oligny and Désiré Landru with Patrick Timsit and Danièle Lebrun. She also appeared in an episode of the TV series Vénus & Apollon with Zinedine Soualem and Maria de Medeiros. She was a member of the jury of the 16th Valenciennes Film Festival.http://www.gettyimages.fr/pictures/the-official-jury-chaired-by-frederic-schoendoerffer-and-news-photo-111046927 and she was invited to the Marrakech International Film Festival.http://www.gettyimages.fr/pictures/spanish-party-at-the-international-marrakech-film-festival-news-photo-113335819