FESTIVAL PATRON

ODILE VUILLEMIN

She studied sociology and psychology, followed by ethnology, at the Sorbonne, alongside Chinese and Tahitian. Although she initially aspired to become an ethnologist, she discovered a passion for acting; she abandoned her academic studies to train at the Cours Simon and later in London.

An unconventional actress, she transforms herself to suit the characters she portrays—whether in Benoît Jacquot’s A tout de suite (screened in the "Un Certain Regard" section at Cannes in 2004) or as a ‘”Claudette" in Podium. She tackles a wide range of genres, from comedy and drama to biopics (Pourquoi je vis) and fantasy (Prométhée). She starred as Chloé Saint-Laurent for six seasons in the hit series Profilage.
Named a Chevalier de l’Ordre des Arts et des Lettres, she is also known for her social activism. Her harrowing portrayal of a battered woman in L’emprise (directed by Claude-Michel Rome) earned her the Best Actress award at the 2016 Monte-Carlo Television Festival and helped save many women facing similar situations. In Isabelle Doval’s Deux femmes, she played a free-spirited woman ahead of her time who championed women's rights, winning the acting award at the Luchon Festival. Believing that actors serve to reveal truths about society, she addresses significant issues such as incest (Un homme parfait) and transgender identity in Il est elle—a film nominated for an International Emmy Award in 2022 in the TV Movie category. In 2026, she also appeared in the series Il était deux fois, adapted from the work of Franck Thilliez.

She has retained a love for discovering other cultures from her earlier studies. She travels the world alone—a personal quest from which she distills universal themes. She has just released her first book based on her travels, published by Michel Lafon, accompanied by an exhibition of her photographs. It is a journey of discovery recounted through three of her trips: to Iceland, Greenland, and Indonesia.