Extraordinary interpreter of over 100 films in her 50-year career, she inspires directors, new generations of actresses, and fashion designers in equal measure. The key to her success? Curiosity.

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 Photography by Guilherme Nabhan
 Styling by Pablo Patan&eacute; 
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With The Shadow of Caravaggio by Michele Placido and Mrs. Harris Goes to Paris&nbsp;in cinemas, La Syndacaliste, presented in Venice, to be released in France in March, the revival of three of her theatrical hits (until the end of December she will be on stage in Paris with The Glass Zoo directed by Ivo van Hove, in March in Taiwan with The Cherry Orchard,&nbsp;and then again in Paris in April and May with Mary Said What She Said, a monologue by Mary Stuart directed by Bob Wilson), and, in January, the start of production on a film directed by Andr&eacute; T&eacute;chin&eacute;, La R&eacute;vocation, <a href="https://www.lofficielusa.com/fashion/isabelle-huppert-elsa-jin-brooch-rome-film-festival" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Isabelle Huppert</a> is decidedly center stage. A glance at her filmography makes you dizzy: from 1970 to today she has starred in 118 films, worked with the who's who of French cinema, from Tavernier to Chabrol, from Godard to Ozon and Patrice Ch&eacute;reau, and big international names like Marco Ferreri, Andrzej Wajda, Michael Haneke, David O'Russell, <a href="https://www.lofficielusa.com/fashion/wes-anderson-color-palettes-movies-spring-2021-runwayshttps://www.lofficielitalia.com/video/lea-seydoux-007-wes-anderson-the-french-dispatch-film-intervista" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Wes Anderson</a>, Paul Verhoeven. She took the risk of relying also on directors with her first film&mdash;she was awarded twice at Cannes, for The Pianist by Haneke and Violette Nozi&egrave;re by Chabrol, twice in Venice, for La C&eacute;r&eacute;monie and Story of Women, both directed by Claude Chabrol, received a Golden Lion for Lifetime Achievement, and won a <a href="https://www.lofficielusa.com/fashion/golden-globes-2023-red-carpet-fashion" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Golden Globe</a> for Elle by Verhoeven. 
With such a long career, a variety of films, and so many daring roles, there are so many perceptions of Isabelle Huppert. Mine comes from Ma M&egrave;re, a 2004 film by Christophe Honor&eacute; from a novel by Georges Bataille with Louis Garrel, and from Elle, from 2016&mdash;both films where she is cerebral, sensual, provocative, and sharp. From the image that she has built and has been able to maintain over time, there's never an error, never a yielding, a vulgarity, a hesitation in trying to look younger, or fashionable in the most current and banal sense of the term. Her silhouette remains slim and assertive despite her petite frame and well-below-average height. Her red hair and preference for total black have also remained the same, the allure, under the black glasses, identical. Huppert appropriates a <a href="https://www.lofficielusa.com/fashion-week/every-look-dior-spring-summer-2023-runway-photos" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Dior</a> or <a href="https://www.lofficielusa.com/men/rege-jean-page-bridgerton-armani-code-netflix-fragrance" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Armani</a> evening gown as nonchalantly as an oversized <a href="https://www.lofficielusa.com/fashion-week/every-look-balenciaga-spring-summer-2023-runway-photos-pfw" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Balenciaga</a> T-shirt. Without swollen cheekbones, improbable lips, or drawn eyes like too many of her colleagues.
L'OFFICIEL: An impressive career, many characters who have entered the history of cinema... Which films do you consider most significant in retrospect?
Isabelle Huppert: It's impossible for me to say, all the films I've made have been extremely personal, because I always manage to make them so.

L'O: I turn the question around: Which directors have you forged the most intense chemistry with, the roles that have defined your career?
IH: I made seven films with Claude Chabrol, four with Haneke, and six with Beno&icirc;t Jacquot, choosing one, in particular, would be deeply unfair. Speaking of roles, I would say those of Elle, The Pianist, and The Lacemaker. 
L'O: How do you prepare your characters? Do you have a method or a superstitious trick?
IH: I don't work on the character, rather I absorb the whole atmosphere of the film, the script, the dialogues. 
L'O: How do you choose your films?
IH: I choose based on trust, the confidence that the director and the film, in general, inspire me, the plot, the screenplay, the character. You have to be able to have faith in a movie because if you lose it, it makes no sense. I've worked with internationally renowned directors, and then there it's mainly a matter of script and dialogues, while with lesser-known or younger directors it's basically a matter of how close I feel to the other people involved in the film. I'm proud of all my choices, I think I've built a sufficiently large cinematographic territory. Cinema is not made to be kind, but to explore feelings and actions that normally remain secret, hidden.

"I like to dedicate myself to the theater because I can afford the luxury to work with the best directors there are, absolute geniuses like Ivo Van Hove or Claude Regy."

Isabelle Huppert on cover wearing jacket, Dolce & Gabbana; dress, george Hobeika; earrings, Moschino.

L'O: You have also worked with many Italian directors, from Bolognini to Marco Ferreri, from the Taviani brothers to Bellocchio.
IH: I really like working in Italy, in my opinion, there is a particular dedication to aesthetics at all levels of production.
 L'O: What made you want to become an actress?
IH: I almost don't remember why and how I became that, I was very young, it was very gradual. Absolutely, I love acting because it leaves room for daydreaming.
 L'O: You were 24 when you were in The Lacemaker, 25 when you won at Cannes for Violette Nozi&egrave;re. Your daughter (Lolita Chammah) is an actress, you have often worked together, did she push you to the cinema?
IH: I've never really talked to my daughter about why she became an actress too. Even if at least on a subconscious level I guess I influenced her choice.

L'O: In 1996, 25 years after your film debut, you took the stage in Schiller's Mary Stuart at the National Theater in London. Since then you have staged Shakespeare, Ibsen, Tennessee Williams, Marivaux, and Chekhov, but also Yasmine Reza and The Mother by Florian Zeller, the second installment of a trilogy on the family that the director has also begun to translate into cinema with The Father&nbsp;with Olivia Colman and Anthony Hopkins. What fascinates you about the theater?
IH: I like doing theater because I have the luxury of working with the best directors there are, absolute geniuses like Ivo van Hove or Claude Regy. L'O: Many actresses, <a href="https://www.lofficielusa.com/film-tv/jessica-chastain-movies-interview-eyes-of-tammy-faye-scenes-from-a-marriage" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Jessica Chastain</a> for example, are role models. Who do you particularly like among your colleagues?
IH: As an actress, I feel a very special pleasure, a real thrill watching other actresses play, to understand the nuances of interpretation. L'O: Have you ever thought about directing?
IH: In certain moments yes, and I don't exclude that sooner or later it could happen. I've never had the time until now, it takes incredible energy, patience, and courage. If I think about the level of personal involvement that I put into the character of another's film, when I am absolutely convinced that the film is first and foremost the director's film, I know that if I were to make a film I would expect to check every detail and make it my own.

"I'm proud of all my choices, I think I've built a sufficiently large cinematographic territory. Cinema is not made to be kind, but to explore feelings and actions that normally remain secret, hidden."

L'O: How would you describe yourself?
IH: I'm a curious person, when I get to a place I don't know the first thing I do is open all the doors. I'm an enthusiast, which is the same thing, I have a passion for discovering new things. L'O: A Parisian hotel institution like the Lutetia asked you to design a suite, considering it the very embodiment of the Rive Gauche spirit. For many stylists, you are a style reference&mdash;Demna Gvasalia and Gherardo Felloni of Roger Vivier wanted you in their campaigns, Charles de Vilmorin proclaimed you as his muse in French Vogue... Your style is extremely defined, in the sense of almost a recognizable brand. What is your relationship with fashion?
IH: I love fashion, it's superficial of course, but it gives me real pleasure. L'O: There is also a limited edition fragrance under your name, Piguet's cult fragrance created in 1948 by Germaine Cellier. Is it still your signature perfume?
IH: Yes, in general, I like niche perfumes, I also really like those by Fr&eacute;d&eacute;ric Malle, for example. L'O: You live in Paris. What do you love about the city?
IH: I don't drive, I've never had a driving license and so I walk a lot and Paris is perfect for that, wherever I go I see wonderful corners that continue to amaze me, but in general it's hard not to find beautiful things in other cities as well. Cities in general fascinate me a lot.

L'O: Is there a director, a role, or a story that represents your secret dream?
IH: I have no secret dreams, I'm not like that, cinema is concrete like cooking, it's made of ingredients. &nbsp; 
L'O: Like Juliette Binoche, Marion Cotillard, Isabelle Adjani, and other French actresses, you cut a lock of her hair in a video to support the protest of Iranian women after the assassination of Masha Amini. Did you intervene on other causes?
IH: I don't consider myself an activist, it takes a lot of courage, but certainly as a citizen of the world it seemed logical to me, with what's happening in Iran, to take a stand for and defend the freedom of women of that country. L'O: I didn't know the (true) story of Maureen Kearney, who you play in Jean-Paul Salome's La Syndicaliste.
IH: I really like the English title, "The Sitting Duck" (easy target), because it sums up the story of a woman who fights against a financial and political elite that she doesn't belong to. I met Kearney because she came several times on the set. In 2012, she was in the workers' union of Areva, a nuclear energy company that was about to be taken over by its Chinese partner, so her fight was to save 50,000 French jobs. At one point, she was found tied to a chair in her home with an A carved into her stomach and a knife with a handle driven into her vagina. She reported her kidnapping to the police but was not believed and indeed was accused of having organized it herself [Editor's note: to the point of being sentenced to a fine and prison, a sentence later overturned on appeal in 2018]. Beyond the story that deserves to be told, I wouldn't be interested in participating in a documentary: I chose to take part in the film because according to the director's choices, it is extremely fascinating in itself.

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 HAIR Rudy Martins @ THE WALL GROUP MAKE UP Morgane Martini @ THE WALL GROUP NAILS&nbsp;Julie Villanova @ ARTLIST SET DESIGN Cl&eacute;ment Pelisson PRODUCTION Serena Bonnefoy @ B AGENCY PHOTO ASSISTANT Matheus Agudelo HAIR ASSISTANT&nbsp;Lukas Laloue SET DESIGN ASSISTANT&nbsp;Maud Guyon POST-PRODUCTION&nbsp;Rumeurs, Flavia Cardoso Lefebvre, Ga&euml;lle Bijani and Laura Alday RETOUCH&nbsp;Angelica Marinacci STYLIST ASSISTANTS&nbsp;Chlo&eacute; Sauge-Gautier and Adrien Bedoucha
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A New Era: Isabelle Huppert

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