Eva Green

Eva Gaëlle Green (, ; born ) is a French actress and model. The daughter of actress Marlène Jobert, she began her career in theatre before making her film debut in Bernardo Bertolucci's '' The Dreamers'' (2003). She achieved international recognition for her portrayal of Sibylla, Queen of Jerusalem in Ridley Scott's historical epic ''Kingdom of Heaven'' (2005). The following year, she played Bond girl Vesper Lynd in the James Bond film '' Casino Royale'' (2006), for which she received the BAFTA Rising Star Award.

Green has since starred in numerous independent films, including '' Cracks'' (2009), ''Womb'' (2010), and ''Perfect Sense'' (2011). In 2014, she played Artemisia in the ''300'' sequel, '' 300: Rise of an Empire'', and Ava Lord in Frank Miller and Robert Rodriguez's ''Sin City'' sequel, '' Sin City: A Dame to Kill For''. Green is also known for her collaborations with director Tim Burton, starring as Angelique Bouchard in the horror comedy film ''Dark Shadows'' (2012), Miss Alma Peregrine in the fantasy film ''Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children'' (2016), and Colette Marchant in the fantasy film ''Dumbo'' (2019). For her role as an astronaut mother in the drama film '' Proxima'' (2019), she earned a nomination for the César Award for Best Actress.

Green starred as Morgan Pendragon in the Starz historical fantasy series ''Camelot'' (2011). She also starred as Vanessa Ives in the Showtime horror drama series ''Penny Dreadful'' (2014–2016), earning critical acclaim and a nomination for Best Actress in a Television Series – Drama at the 73rd Golden Globe Awards.

Early life

Eva Gaëlle Green was born two minutes earlier than her fraternal twin sister, Joy, on 6 July 1980. She is the daughter of Marlène Jobert, an actress and author, and Walter Green, a dental surgeon and occasional actor (''Au Hasard Balthazar'' directed by Robert Bresson). Her father is of Breton and Swedish descent; through him, she is the great-granddaughter of composer Paul Le Flem.

Green is of Jewish descent through her Algerian-born mother, who is of Sephardic Jewish ( Algerian-Jewish) and Pied-Noir descent. Green has described herself as "a secular Jew who never attended synagogue as a girl" and feels "like a citizen of the world". She has described her family as " bourgeois" and has said that her sister is very different from her. Green is naturally dark blonde; she has dyed her hair brown since she was 15 years old. She is the niece of actress Marika Green and the maternal first cousin of singer Elsa Lunghini and actress Joséphine Jobert. The surname "Green" ; is Swedish. It does not originate from the English word "green", which is "grön" in Swedish. "Green" is derived from the Swedish word "gren", which means "tree branch".

Green was raised in France and attended the American University of Paris, an English-speaking institution. She also spent time between London and Ireland growing up. She was quiet in school, and developed an interest in Egyptology when she visited the Louvre at age seven. At age 14, after seeing Isabelle Adjani in ''The Story of Adele H.'', Green decided to become an actress. Her mother initially feared that an acting career would be too much for her sensitive daughter, but later came to support her ambitions. Green continued her studies at Cours Eva Saint Paul in Paris, and took an acting course at the Webber Douglas Academy of Dramatic Art in London. After that, Green returned to Paris, where she performed in several plays. Green stated that when she was in drama school, she "always picked the really evil roles" because "it's a great way to deal with your everyday emotions".

Career

2001–2005

Green appeared on stage in ''Jalousie en Trois Fax'' (2001) for which she was nominated for a Molière Award. She also appeared in ''Turcaret'' (2002).

In 2002, Green had her film debut, when director Bernardo Bertolucci cast her for the role of Isabelle in '' The Dreamers'' (2003), which involved her in extensive full frontal nude scenes and rear nude scenes as well as graphic sex scenes. Green told ''The Guardian'' that her agent and her parents begged her not to take the role, concerned that the film would cause her career to "have the same destiny as Maria Schneider",Stealing beauty
a February 2004 article from ''The Guardian'' because of Schneider's traumatic experience during the filming of Bertolucci's ''Last Tango in Paris''. Green said that with Bertolucci's guidance she felt comfortable during the filming of the nude and sex scenes but was embarrassed when her family saw the film. Her performance was well-received, and some compared her to Liv Tyler. Green expressed surprise when a minute was cut from the film for the American market, stating, " ere is so much violence, both on the streets and on the screen. They think nothing of it. Yet I think they are frightened by sex." Her next film was ''Arsène Lupin'' (2004), in which she portrayed Lupin's love interest. She enjoyed the light-hearted role, although she has stated that she generally prefers more complex characters.

Her performance in ''The Dreamers'' led Ridley Scott to cast Green in ''Kingdom of Heaven'' (2005), a film about the Crusades where she played Sibylla, Princess of Jerusalem. Green performed six screen tests and was hired only a week before principal photography began. Green found the atmosphere of coming onto a film so late tense and exciting, and she liked the film's ambiguity in approaching its subject matter. To her disappointment, much of her screen time was cut. Stephanie Zacharek of ''Salon.com'' praised her performance: "She doesn't quite know what to do with her character's stilted dialogue, but she carries herself so regally that you barely notice." Nev Pierce of the BBC
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