Isabelle Adjani

Born on 27 June 1955 in Paris, Isabelle Adjani is a world-famous French-Algerian actor who has achieved several historic firsts, including the youngest Best Actress nomination at the Academy Awards and being the only star to have won five César Awards for acting, all in the Best Actress category. She was raised in the northwestern suburbs of Paris, in Gennevilliers (Hauts-de-Seine) and started her journey on the stage before making her film debut at fourteen. After working with a cache of leading directors, including François Truffaut, André Téchiné, Werner Herzog, and Luc Besson, she forged a musical career in tandem with her acting one, largely thanks to Serge Gainsbourg, collaborating first on "Rocking Chair" in 1974 and nine years later on her 1983 self-titled debut album written and produced by Serge Gainsbourg. She also starred in a hit video for the LP's "Pull Marine" track, which was directed by Luc Besson. She released another single, "Princesse au petit pois," in 1986, and collaborated with the French indie-electro band the Penelopes in 2019 for "The Last Goodbye," but it would be forty years until a follow-up album saw the light. Bande Originale was released in November 2023 and features a host of A-list guests, including Seal, Simon Le Bon, and Youssou N'Dour.