Céline S. Cousteau (born June 6, 1972) is a socio-environmental advocate and public figure. She is known for her work as a documentary film director, producer, explorer, artist, public speaker, brand ambassador, designer, author, and wellness workshop facilitator. She has been a panelist at the United Nations in New York, speaks on stage to audiences around the world, and has interviewed many prominent figures including President Lasso of Ecuador. She is the Founder/Director of CauseCentric Productions and previously Co-founder/ Chairman of the Board of the Outdoor Film Fellowship. She is the daughter of ocean explorer and filmmaker

Jean-Michel Cousteau Jean-Michel Cousteau (born 6 May 1938) is a French oceanographic explorer, environmentalist, educator and film producer. The first son of ocean explorer Jacques Cousteau, he is the father of Fabien Cousteau and Céline Cousteau. Life and ca ...

, and granddaughter of

Jacques Cousteau Jacques-Yves Cousteau, (, also , ; 11 June 191025 June 1997) was a French naval officer, oceanographer, filmmaker and author. He co-invented the first successful open-circuit self-contained underwater breathing apparatus (SCUBA), called the ...

Early years and personal life

Cousteau is the third generation of the Cousteau family of explorers. She was born in California to

, a documentary-filmmaker and environmental advocate, and Anne-Marie Cousteau, an expedition photographer. She is the sister of Fabien Cousteau, an ocean explorer and shark advocate, and granddaughter of pioneering ocean explorer

. She grew up in their family homes in France and the United States. Cousteau spent some of her youth aboard her grandfather's research vessel the '' Calypso'' with her family. One of her major expeditions on board was at age nine when she journeyed to the Amazon. The expedition lasted 18 months of which she spent 2 weeks navigating its coastal and jungle waters in areas that were still largely unknown to the outside world. It was through this experience that Cousteau began to learn about the interconnectedness of not only the environment, but humanity. She has spent her life dedicated to understanding the human "tribe" and the relationships forged between individuals, communities and ecosystems; this has been the inspiration behind her films, artworks and activism. She has one son with her partner Çapkin van Alphen, an Australian cameraman.

Education

Cousteau attended the

Norfolk Academy Norfolk Academy (NA) is an independent co-educational day school in Norfolk, Virginia. Chartered in 1728, it is the oldest private school in Virginia and the eighth oldest school in the United States. In 1966, Norfolk Academy merged with Country ...

Virginia Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern and Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States between the East Coast of the United States ...

and the

United Nations International School The United Nations International School (UNIS) is a private international school in New York City which was established in 1947. Many members of the United Nations staff arriving with young families found unexpected difficulties with the school s ...

in New York City, and graduated from

Skidmore College Skidmore College is a Private school, private liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college in Saratoga Springs, New York. Approximately 2,700 students are enrolled at Skidmore pursuing a Bachelor of Arts or Bachelor of Scien ...

in 1994, where she majored in psychology and minored in studio art. She received her master's degree in International and Intercultural Management from the

School for International Training The School for International Training, widely known by its SIT Graduate Institute, is a private non-profit regionally-accredited institution headquartered in Brattleboro, Vermont, United States. The institution has two main divisions. Graduate ...

. She received an honorary doctoral degree from the University of Aveiro.

Career

Cousteau is the founder and CEO of CauseCentric Productions. CauseCentric Productions produces and distributes multi-media content with an emphasis on short films to amplify the voices and communicate the stories of solution focused grassroots organizations and individuals working on environmental and socio-cultural issues. She also the co-founded of the Outdoor Film Fellowship, formerly the Céline Cousteau Film Fellowship, a film fellowship program that existed for 3 years equipping young filmmakers, creatives, and activists to motivate change through storytelling. Cousteau released her first feature documentary, ''Tribes on Edge'', in 2019. She first went to the Vale do Javari Indigenous territory in the Brazilian Amazon in 2007 as part of a documentary for PBS, "Return to the Amazon". In 2010, the Indigenous Peoples of that land asked her asked her to come back and tell their story to the world. There she spent time with tribes of the

Vale do Javari Vale do Javari (English language: Javari Valley) is one of the largest indigenous territories in Brazil, encompassing 85,444.82 km2 (32,990 mi2) – an area larger than Austria. It is named after the Javari River, the most important r ...

Brazilian Amazon Brazilian commonly refers to: * Brazil, a country * Brazilians, its people * Brazilian Portuguese, its dialect Brazilian may also refer to: * "The Brazilian", a 1986 instrumental music piece by Genesis * Brazilian Café, Baghdad, Iraq (1937) * Bra ...

whose existence has increasingly become threatened by the modern world.

Art and fashion

* Spring/Summer 2016 - Ocean Mysteries Collection, guest Designer for Swarovski * Fall/Winter 2016 - Tribute to Tribe Collection, guest Designer for Swarovski * Fall 2017 - Regenerating the Reef Couture Collection, Associate Designer for Deborah Milner

Ambassadorships and associations

* International Spokeswoman, La Prairie skincare company (2007–2014) * Sustainability Partner, Contiki Holidays (2010–2014) * Advisory Council Member, Adventurers and Scientists for Conservation (2012) * Council Member on Global Agenda Council of Oceans, World Economic Forum, (2012–2016) * Ambassador, the TreadRight Foundation (2014–Present) * Ambassador, Jane Goodall's Roots & Shoots program (2015) * Advisory Board Members, Marine Construction Technologies (2015–2019) * Brand Ambassador, Keen Footwear (2016) * Advisory Board Member, the Himalayan Consensus (2017–2019) * Board of Directors, National Aquarium in Baltimore (2018–Present)

Filmography

References

External links

*
CauseCentric ProductionsThe Javari ProjectThe Céline Cousteau Film Fellowship
{{DEFAULTSORT:Cousteau, Celine Living people American expatriates in France Celine American people of French descent Skidmore College alumni People from Los Angeles County, California 1972 births SIT Graduate Institute alumni American documentary film directors People from Provence American environmentalists American women environmentalists French environmentalists French women environmentalists French documentary film directors Female explorers 21st-century American explorers Artists from Norfolk, Virginia Activists from California American women documentary filmmakers French documentary film producers 21st-century American women Women Divers Hall of Fame French women documentary filmmakers