Cécile de France grew up in an artist environment. Her parents actually ran Le Vieux Clocher in Namur, a café where some big names crossed paths. So, it’s only natural that she devoted herself to acting since she was 15 years old. Now, she is at the helm of a career of almost 30 years. It led her to a special request from Clint Eastwood, as well as two César awards. She won the Best Female Newcomer César for “L’Auberge espagnole,” then the Best Actress in a Supporting Role César for “Les Poupées russes.”
The Belgian actress divides her time between cinema and television. She also enjoys portraying very different female characters. Whether a good friend or a warrior defending her rights, she likes to leave a piece of herself in each of these performances. And at 50, she states firmly, standing her ground: Cécile de France will never touch her face. Forget plastic surgery, she wants to embody women who embrace their age, like herself.
Why did Cécile de France have trouble with her last name? On Thursday, April 16, she confided in Madame Figaro about a little handicap from her childhood that followed her at the beginning of her acting career. It was the particle in front of her last name, a subject of prejudice towards her. “When I was young, my parents enrolled me in the best local school, a private Catholic and bourgeois school. Because of my name, people thought I was an aristocrat, when it was quite the opposite,” she explains to the magazine. This misunderstanding could have hurt her in the film industry.
“Everyone thought I lived in a castle, that I was a descendant of a great family, when in fact, I was a street performer in Brussels, my boyfriend played the djembe, and I was a fire breather!” Cécile de France jokes about this unusual profession. For a long time, she felt “obliged to justify” herself because she felt “misrepresented.” As the years went by, the misunderstanding no longer exists. “But today, people understand, they don’t care, and I have learned to free myself from all that,” she concludes. Talent beyond baseless rumors.
Does Cécile de France have children? Cécile de France is not just a fulfilled actress. She is also the proud mother of two children with Guillaume Siron, her husband of 20 years. They welcomed a son and a daughter: Lino in 2007 and Joy, born in 2012. She has stated in Paris Match that she is a mother who gives her children a lot of freedom.
Cécile de France lets them “experience things for themselves.” A parenting style she justified as, “I have absolute confidence in them. It’s the only way for them to have confidence in themselves later on, and that’s the true key to happiness.” A nurturing mother who also ensures that her little ones are fulfilled!
