Maïwenn

Maïwenn
Maïwenn at the 2011 Cannes Film Festival
Born	(1976-04-17) 17 April 1976 Les Lilas, France
Occupation	Actress, film director, screenwriter, producer
Years active	1981–present
Spouse(s)	Luc Besson (1992–1997) Jean-Yves Le Fur (2002–2004)
Children	2

Maïwenn (sometimes credited as Maïwenn Besco or her birth name Maïwenn Le Besco, French: [maj.wɛn lə bɛs.ko]; born 17 April 1976) is a French actress, film director and screenwriter.

Life and career

Maïwenn's mom ushered her into the entertainment industry at a young age, an experience later chronicled by Maïwenn in her one-woman shows Le Pois Chiche (The Chickpea) and I'm an Actress. Maïwenn starred in several films as a child, then teen, actress—notably as "Elle, as a child" (the child version of the lead role played by Isabelle Adjani) in the 1983 hit film L'été meurtrier (One Deadly Summer).

The 15 year old Maïwenn met director and producer Luc Besson in 1991. That same year, due to her difficult relationship with her parents, she decided to use only her given name professionally.^[1] She and Besson soon began a relationship, and Maïwenn gave birth to their daughter when she was 16. Having lost her motivation as an actress, she interrupted her career for several years, living in Beverly Hills with Besson and raising their daughter.^[2] During this period, she only appeared in a supporting part in Besson's Léon (1994), in which she was credited as Ouin-Ouin.^[3] She also directed the film's making-of. Perhaps Maïwenn's most internationally-seen film role was her appearance as the alien Diva Plavalaguna in Besson's The Fifth Element (1997).

After her breakup with Luc Besson, Maïwenn returned to France and resumed her career as an actress. She performed as a standup comedian in an autobiographical one-woman-show, and reentered the movie business after several filmmakers saw her comedy routine in Paris. She appeared in several notable movies, including the horror film Haute Tension (English title: High Tension), in which she starred opposite Cécile de France. In 2006, she directed her first feature film, the semi-autobiographical Pardonnez-moi.

Her 2011 film Polisse won the Jury Prize at the 2011 Cannes Film Festival.^[4] Her 2015 film Mon roi was selected to compete for the Palme d'Or at the 2015 Cannes Film Festival.^[5]

Personal life

Maïwenn gave birth to daughter Shanna in January 1993 with husband Luc Besson, when she was 16 years old.^[6] She was 20 at the beginning of filming (early 1996) for The Fifth Element, during which Besson left her for the film's star, Milla Jovovich.^[7] Maïwenn later had a son, Diego, with her second ex-husband, real estate developer Jean-Yves Le Fur, the former fiancé of Karen Mulder.

Filmography

Maïwenn in 2009 at the Deauville American Film Festival.

Actress

Director / screenwriter / producer

Theatrical writer

• 2003 : Café de la Gare : Le pois chiche

References

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Maïwenn.

• (French) (English) Official website
• Maïwenn at the Internet Movie Database