Virginie Efira

Virginie Efira (born 5 May 1977) is a Belgian-French actress and television presenter.

Virginie Efira
Efira in 2016
Born (1977-05-05) 5 May 1977
Schaerbeek, Brussels, Belgium
OccupationActress, television presenter
Years active2005–present
Spouse(s)
​
(
m. 2002; div. 2005)
Partner(s)Niels Schneider (present)
Children1

Efira got her first leading role in the romantic comedy It Boy (2013). She subsequently received critical praise for her performance in the comedy-drama In Bed with Victoria (2016), for which she received a Magritte Award for Best Actress as well as a César Award for Best Actress nomination. She then appeared in Paul Verhoeven's psychological thriller Elle (2016), the drama An Impossible Love (2018) and the comedy-drama Sibyl (2019).

Early life

She is the daughter of Professor André Efira, hemato-oncologist, and Carine Verelst. Efira is of partial Greek descent.[1][2]

Career

1998–2008: Television anchor
Virginie Efira at the Deauville American Film Festival in 2010

She was first hired by Club RTL (A Belgian TV channel in the RTL Group) to present a children's show called Mégamix. She went on to present other programmes in Belgium, including A la recherche de la nouvelle Star. In September 2002 she was offered the job of the presenter of Belgian's version of Star Academy.

After casting to be a weather girl on France's M6 channel, she was soon pushed into the limelight as one of M6's main public faces, presenting shows such as Le Grand Zap, La saga des ..., Follement Gay, Absolument 80/90, Le Grand Piège and Drôles d'équipes. She was the host of Classé Confidentiel for one year, before replacing Benjamin Castaldi as the host of the popular musical reality show Nouvelle Star for the end of the show's fourth series. She also presents various shows on RTL-TVi (a spin-off channel in the RTL Group).

2004–2015: Early roles and romantic parts

Efira's film career took off in 2004, appearing as Dr. Liz Wilson in the French-language version of Garfield: The Movie, as well as playing Piper in the French version of the 2005 film Robots. She also voiced the characters of Kitty Softpaws in Puss in Boots and Mavis in Hotel Transylvania (2012), Hotel Transylvania 2 (2015) and Hotel Transylvania 3: Summer Vacation (2018). Efira also guest-starred in two episodes of the highly successful French show Kaamelott.

In 2010, she participated in Rendez-vous en terre inconnue. Efira next had a supporting role as a social worker in the comedy-drama My Worst Nightmare (2011) directed by Anne Fontaine, opposite Isabelle Huppert, Benoît Poelvoorde and André Dussollier. The following year, she won the Audience Award at the 2nd Magritte Awards.[3]

In 2013, Efira starred alongside Pierre Niney in the romantic comedy It Boy, about a 38-year-old woman and her relationship with a teenage boy. The film was highly successful in France and garnered positives reviews. Regarding her performance, Variety wrote she "has a particular talent for transmitting thoughts and eliciting laughs using facial expressions alone, a gift that gets another glorious workout here".[4]

2016–present: Expansion to dramatic roles
Virginie Efira in 2017

In 2016, Efira starred in the romantic comedy-drama In Bed with Victoria, about a single mom and criminal lawyer who goes through a midlife crisis. The film was screened in the International Critics' Week section at the 2016 Cannes Film Festival, where it obtained very favourable reviews. Efira's performance was described by The Hollywood Reporter as both "vibrant" and "well-tuned", and earned her a Magritte Award for Best Actress as well as a César Award for Best Actress nomination.[5] That same year, Efira had a small but crucial role opposite Isabelle Huppert in Paul Verhoeven's psychological thriller Elle.[6] Her final release of 2016 was Up for Love, a romantic comedy with Jean Dujardin, in which she played a lawyer who falls in love with a man of diminutive stature.[7] The following year, she made a guest appearance as herself in one episode of the successful French series Call My Agent!.

In 2018, Efira took on the leading role in the drama An Impossible Love, Catherine Corsini's adaptation of the best-selling novel by Christine Angot – the story of the incestuous father of Angot and her mother who has not seen anything. The film and her performance received critical acclaim. Screen International felt that the actress "previously known for lighter material (In Bed With Victoria), shows herself more than capable of a heavyweight dramatic role, subtly maturing from romantic 20s to careworn middle age" and also added that "she offers a powerful, assured performance in a film that's likely to score highly both as a superior and very accessible melodrama and as an intelligent conversation piece".[8] She received Cesar Award, Globe de Cristal Award and Lumières Award nominations in the Best Actress category for her performance in the film.

That same year, Efira was part of the ensemble cast in the comedy Sink or Swim directed by Gilles Lellouche, which was screened out of competition at the 2018 Cannes Film Festival, and earned her a Cesar Award nomination, for Best Supporting Actress. Also in 2018, her performance in the drama Keep Going was praised, with The Hollywood Reporter writing that she "is excellent here as a woman caught between her fiercely independent nature and her desire to be a good mother, trying to steer her son on the right path".[9] The following year, Efira starred in the comedy-drama Sibyl, her second collaboration with director Justine Triet, playing a psychotherapist who wants to return to writing. The film was selected to compete for the Palme d'Or at the 2019 Cannes Film Festival, where it received mostly positive reviews with particular praise for Efira's performance. Variety stated that "Sibyl seals the arrival of Efira, once pegged as a likable but lightweight comedienne, as a first-class leading lady of consistently expanding range and elan — with the emotional honesty and deadpan pluck to pull off the more outrageous character turns in Triet and Arthur Harari’s limber original script."[10] while The Hollywood Reporter felt that "the actress plays several roles at the same time — the astute psychologist, the struggling author, the affectionate yet neglectful mom, the fervid lover in two very candid sex scenes — and she does each one extremely well, turning Sibyl’s altered states into a whole that reflects her drive to be many things at once."[11]

In 2020, Efira reunited with Paul Verhoeven to appear as Benedetta Carlini, a 17th-century nun who suffers from disturbing religious and erotic visions, in the historical drama Benedetta.[12]

Personal life

She was married to Patrick Ridremont from 2002 to 2005 when they separated.[13] They filed for divorce in February 2009.[14] From 2013 to 2014, she was engaged to Mabrouk El Mechri, with whom she has a daughter, Ali, born 24 May 2013 in Paris.[15] She is now in a relationship with Niels Schneider. She became a French citizen in 2016.

Filmography

Feature films
Title Year Role Director(s) Notes
Africains poids-moyens 2005 Vickie Marie Daniel Cattier Short film
The Barons 2009 The Artist Nabil Ben Yadir
Le Siffleur 2010 Candice Philippe Lefebvre
L'amour c'est mieux à deux 2010 Angèle Dominique Farrugia & Arnaud Lemort
Kill Me Please 2010 Inspector Evrard Olias Barco Nominated – Magritte Award for Best Supporting Actress
La chance de ma vie 2011 Joanna Sorini Nicolas Cuche Monte-Carlo Comedy Film Festival – Best Actress
My Worst Nightmare 2011 Julie Anne Fontaine
Hénaut Président 2012 Herself Michel Muller
Dead Man Talking 2012 Élisabeth Lacroix Patrick Ridremont
Cookie 2013 Delphine Léa Fazer
It Boy 2013 Alice Lantins David Moreau
Les Invincibles 2013 Caroline Frédéric Berthe
Turning Tide 2013 Marie Drevil Christophe Offenstein
Caprice 2015 Alicia Emmanuel Mouret
Une famille à louer 2015 Violette Jean-Pierre Améris
The Sense of Wonder 2015 Louise Éric Besnard
Et ta sœur 2016 Marie Marion Vernoux
Up for Love 2016 Diane Laurent Tirard Nominated – Globes de Cristal Award for Best Actress
Elle 2016 Rebecca Paul Verhoeven Nominated – Magritte Award for Best Supporting Actress
In Bed with Victoria 2016 Victoria Justine Triet Magritte Award for Best Actress
Nominated — César Award for Best Actress
Nominated — Lumières Award for Best Actress
Pris de court 2017 Nathalie Emmanuelle Cuau
Sink or Swim 2018 Delphine Gilles Lellouche Nominated – Cesar Award for Best Supporting Actress
An Impossible Love 2018 Rachel Catherine Corsini Nominated — César Award for Best Actress
Nominated — Globe de Cristal Award for Best Actress
Nominated — Lumières Award for Best Actress
Keep Going 2018 Sybille Joachim Lafosse
Sybil 2019 Sybil Justine Triet
Benedetta 2020 Benedetta Carlini Paul Verhoeven
Key
Denotes films that have not yet been released

Television
Title Year Role Director Notes
Kaamelott 2006–2009 Berlewen, Bohort's wife Alexandre Astier Television series, 2 episodes
Un amour de fantôme 2007 Anna Daniel Cattier Television film
Off Prime 2007 Herself Television series
En chantier, monsieur Tanner 2010 The Banker Stefan Liberski Television film
À la maison pour Noël 2011 Sarah Christian Merret-Palmair Television film
La Folle Soirée du Palmashow 3 2016 Herself Television series
Call My Agent! 2017 Herself Laurent Tirard Television series, 1 episode

Dubbing
Title Year Role Director(s) Notes
Garfield: The Movie 2004 Dr. Liz Wilson Peter Hewitt French voice
Robots 2005 Piper Chris Wedge & Carlos Saldanha French voice
Garfield: A Tail of Two Kitties 2006 Dr. Liz Wilson Tim Himm French voice
Max & Co 2008 Cathy Samuel Guillaume & Frédéric Guillaume
Puss in Boots 2011 Kitty Softpaws Chris Miller French voice
Hotel Transylvania 2012 Mavis Genndy Tartakovsky French voice
Hotel Transylvania 2 2015 Mavis Genndy Tartakovsky French voice
Drôles de petites bêtes 2017 Huguette the wasp Arnaud Bouron & Antoon Krings
Hotel Transylvania 3: Summer Vacation 2018 Mavis Genndy Tartakovsky French voice

Awards and nominations
Year Award Category Nominated work Result
2012 Magritte Award Audience Award Won
Best Supporting Actress Kill Me Please Nominated
2017 César Award Best Actress In Bed with Victoria Nominated
Lumières Award Best Actress Nominated
Magritte Award Best Actress Won
Best Supporting Actress Elle Nominated
Globes de Cristal Awards Best Actress Up for Love Nominated
2019 César Award Best Actress An Impossible Love Nominated
Best Supporting Actress Sink or Swim Nominated
Globes de Cristal Awards Best Actress An Impossible Love Nominated
Lumières Award Best Actress Nominated
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References
  1. "Virginie Efira révèle pourquoi elle a choisi d'appeler sa fille Ali..." purepeople.com (in French). Retrieved 16 June 2020.
  2. "Virginie Efira, sur les traces de Mary Poppins". Femina (in French). Retrieved 16 June 2020.
  3. "Magritte : Virginie Efira, la préférée du public". La Libre Belgique (in French). 5 February 2012. Retrieved 9 February 2013.
  4. van Hoeij, Boyd (30 April 2013). "Film Review: 'It Boy'". Variety. Los Angeles, California: Michelle Sobrino-Stearns. Retrieved 13 November 2018.
  5. Mintzer, Jordan (12 May 2016). "'In Bed With Victoria' ('Victoria'): Cannes Review". The Hollywood Reporter. Los Angeles, California: Eldridge Industries. Retrieved 13 November 2018.
  6. Nesselson, Lisa (12 May 2016). "'In Bed With Victoria': Cannes Review". Screen International. London, England: Media Business Insight. Retrieved 13 November 2018.
  7. DeFore, John (13 March 2016). "'Up for Love' ('Un homme à la hauteur'): SIFF Review". The Hollywood Reporter. Los Angeles, California: Eldridge Industries. Retrieved 13 November 2018.
  8. Romney, Jonathan (19 October 2018). "'An Impossible Love': London Review". Screen International. London, England: Media Business Insight. Retrieved 13 November 2018.
  9. Mintzer, Jordan (31 August 2018). "'Keep Going' ('Continuer'): Film Review". The Hollywood Reporter. Los Angeles, California: Eldridge Industries. Retrieved 14 November 2018.
  10. Lodge, Guy (24 May 2019). "Cannes Film Review: 'Sibyl'". Variety. Los Angeles, California: Michelle Sobrino-Stearns. Retrieved 30 May 2019.
  11. Mintzer, Jordan (24 May 2019). "'Sibyl': Film Review : Cannes 2019". The Hollywood Reporter. Los Angeles, California: Eldridge Industries. Retrieved 30 May 2019.
  12. Goodfellow, Melanie (29 August 2018). "First image of Paul Verhoeven's newly titled nun drama 'Benedetta'". Screen International. London, England: Media Business Insight. Retrieved 13 November 2018.
  13. "La fin d'une belle histoire". La Dernière Heure (in French). 17 August 2005. Retrieved 9 February 2013.
  14. Bernard, Sophie (13 February 2009). "Virginie Efira divorce en direct" (in French). News-de-stars.com. Archived from the original on 14 February 2009. Retrieved 9 February 2013.
  15. "Virginie Efira est maman". Pure People (in French). 26 May 2013. Retrieved 26 May 2013.

Sources
  • This article is based on the translation of the corresponding article of the French Wikipedia.
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