Souad Amidou (born 4 July 1959) is a French actress.

Biography

She is the daughter of the actor

Amidou Hamidou Benmessaoud ( ar, حميدو بنمسعود; 2 August 1935 – 19 September 2013), best known as Amidou, was a Moroccan-French film, television, and stage actor. Born in Rabat, at 17 Amidou moved to Paris to attend the CNSAD. In 1968 he m ...

. Her career started working with her father on the short film '' Le thé à la menthe'' in 1963. Then she was chosen by

Claude Lelouch Claude Barruck Joseph Lelouch (; born 30 October 1937) is a French film director, writer, cinematographer, actor and producer. Lelouch grew up in an Algerian Jewish Family. He emerged as a prominent director in the 1960s. Lelouch gained criti ...

to play the daughter of Anouk Aimée in '' Un homme et une femme'' in 1966. When she was younger, she followed acting lessons from Anicette Fray. She followed her training at the "New Square Sylvia Monfort" then continued at Jean-Louis Martin-Barbaz, then with

John Strasberg John Strasberg (born May 20, 1941) is the son of Lee and Paula Strasberg of the Actors Studio, and brother of actress Susan Strasberg. Background and career John Strasberg is an American actor, director, teacher and writer, the son of Lee Str ...

and Andreas Voutsinas. From the early 1980s, she was acting in cinema and television. She became popular with her role in '' Le Grand frère'' from Francis Girod that got her a nomination for the Caesar of the best female hope. She also worked under the direction of Gérald Oury,

Jacques Deray Jacques Deray (born Jacques Desrayaud; 19 February 1929 – 9 August 2003) was a French film director and screenwriter. Deray is prominently known for directing many crime and thriller films. Biography Born Jacques Desrayaud in Lyon, France, in ...

, Ariel Zeitoun,

Gérard Lauzier Gérard Lauzier (30 November 1932 – 6 December 2008) was a French comics author and movie director, best known as one of the leading authors in the more adult-oriented French comics scene of the 1970s and 1980s. Biography Gérard Lauzier was bo ...

and Steven Spielberg. On 23 December 1987 she married the director

Fabien Onteniente Fabien Onteniente (born 27 April 1958) is a French film director and screenwriter. Filmography * 1989 : '' Bobby et l'aspirateur'' (short film) * 1992 : ''À la vitesse d'un cheval au galop'' * 1995 : '' Tom est tout seul'' * 1996 : '' Le Tu ...

; the couple broke up on 15 March 1991. She received the

Legion of Honour The National Order of the Legion of Honour (french: Ordre national de la Légion d'honneur), formerly the Royal Order of the Legion of Honour ('), is the highest French order of merit, both military and civil. Established in 1802 by Napoleon ...

decoration in 2008Décret
du 11 juillet 2008 publié au JO du 13 juin 2008. In 2009, she directed the first short film '' Camille and Jamila'', but she proved her talent as a filmmaker with her second film '' Rendez-vous avec Ninette'', presented in many festivals.

Civic Engagement

Souad Amidou is

vegan Veganism is the practice of abstaining from the use of animal product—particularly in diet—and an associated philosophy that rejects the commodity status of animals. An individual who follows the diet or philosophy is known as a vegan. ...

, member of the sponsorship committee of the ''Institut citoyen du cinéma'' and member of the NGO ''Vegan Marathon''.

Filmography

References

External links

* 1959 births Living people People from Nanterre French film actresses French television actresses French people of Moroccan descent 20th-century French actresses 21st-century French actresses {{france-film-actor-stub