Josiane Balasko

Josiane Balasko
Josiane Balasko in February 2014.
Born	Josiane Balašković (1950-04-15) 15 April 1950 Paris, France
Occupation	Actress, comedian, director, writer
Years active	1973–present
Spouse(s)	George Aguilar (2003–present)
Partner(s)	Bruno Moynot (1974-1981) Philippe Berry (1982-1999)
Children	2
Relatives	Marilou Berry (daughter) Richard Berry (brother in law) Rudy Berry (son) Joséphine Berry (niece)

Josiane Balasko (born Josiane Balašković; 15 April 1950) is a French actress, writer and director. She has won two César Award on seven nominations.

Personal life

She is married to George Aguilar, also an actor.

Career

One of Balasko's most recognized roles among English speakers is as a lesbian in 1995's Gazon maudit (French Twist). She won the 1996 César Award (shared with Telsche Boorman) for best screenplay, and was also nominated as best director. The movie itself was nominated for best film.

Balasko's other César nominations for best actress were for Too Beautiful for You (1989), Tout le monde n'a pas eu la chance d'avoir des parents communistes (1993), and Cette femme-là (2003).

She's one of the favorite actress of the French.

1973-1980 : The beginning

Josiane began her career in 1973. She was 23 years old when she first appeared on screen, in the short "L'Agression", with Patrick Bouchitey. She was also in the movie "L'an 01", directed by Jacques Doillon, with François Cavanna, Christian Clavier, Coluche, Gérard Depardieu, Lee Falk, Marcel Gotlib, Jacques Higelin, Gérard Jugnot, Nelly Kaplan, Patrice Leconte, Stan Lee, Thierry Lhermitte and Miou-Miou.

After an absence of three years she returned to the screen in 1976 in the film The Tenant directed by Roman Polanski, with a screenplay was written by him and Gérard Brach. The movie was based on the novel written by Roland Topor and it starred Isabelle Adjani, Melvyn Douglas, Jo Van Fleet, Lila Kedrova, Claude Piéplu, Rufus, Jacques Monod, Michel Blanc and Shelley Winters.

Her career really exploded in 1977, with her appearing in seven films over the course of the year. She first appeared in "Solveig et le Violon turc", with Eugène Ionesco and Dominique Lavanant. Then, she played Simone in "Une fille unique" alongside her boyfriend at time, Bruno Moynot. She made an appearance in Animal, directed by Claude Zidi, on a screenplay written by him, Michel Audiard and Dominique Fabre. The movie starred Jean-Paul Belmondo, Raquel Welch, Jane Birkin, Johnny Hallyday, Yves Mourousi, Claude Chabrol, Julien Guiomar, Aldo Maccione and Richard Bohringer. It was a big success with more than three million attendances in France, the movie was #5 in 1977 in France. She also play in Pardon Mon Affaire, Too!, directed by Yves Robert and written by him and Jean-Loup Dabadie, it starred Jean Rochefort, Claude Brasseur, Guy Bedos, Victor Lanoux, Danièle Delorme, Marthe Villalonga, Jean-Pierre Castaldi and Daniel Gélin. The movie was also a big success with more than two million attendances in France, and was #8 in 1977 in France. She played Nadine in This Sweet Sickness, directed by Claude Miller, based on the novel written by Patricia Highsmith. The movie starred Gérard Depardieu, Miou-Miou, Claude Piéplu, Dominique Laffin and Christian Clavier. She also acted, under the direction of Philippe Monnier, in "Monsieur Papa", in which the dialogue was written by Jean-Marie Poiré. She starred alongside Claude Brasseur, Nathalie Baye, Daniel Auteuil and Éva Darlan. Finally, she appeared (in an uncredited role) in Herbie Goes to Monte Carlo, directed by Vincent McEveety, written by Don Nelson and starring Dean Jones, Don Knotts, Julie Sommars, Jacques Marin, Roy Kinnear, Bernard Fox, Eric Braeden, Johnny Haymer and Gérard Jugnot. With almost three millions attendances in France and nearly 30 million worldwide, the movie was a big success.

In 1978, she played in "Si vous n'aimez pas ça, n'en dégoûtez pas les autres", with Gérard Jugnot and Thierry Lhermitte, and in "Les Petits Câlins", directed by Jean-Marie Poiré, alongside Dominique Laffin, Françoise Bertin and Gérard Jugnot. Then, she was in "La Tortue sur le dos", with Jean-François Stévenin, Bernadette Lafont, Claude Miller, Marion Game, Valérie Quennessen, Michel Blanc, Marie-Anne Chazel and Christian Clavier. She had the leading role in the comedy "Pauline et l'Ordinateur", for which she wrote the dialogue and where she acted next to Gérard Jugnot, Éva Darlan, Jacques Attali and Marie-Anne Chazel. Finally, she played Nathalie Morin in the cult comedy Les Bronzés, directed by Patrice Leconte, with her friends from Le Splendid, Marie-Anne Chazel, Michel Blanc, Gérard Jugnot, Thierry Lhermitte, Christian Clavier and Dominique Lavanant. The movie was a hit with more than two million attendances.

In 1979, She played Emma-Ammé in one episode of the TV Mini-Series, "Les Quatre Cents Coups de Virginie", alongside Anémone. Then Nathalie Morin again, in the sequel Les Bronzés font du ski with the same cast, which was also a success with more than a millions attendances. She also appeared as a client in the movie "Les héros n'ont pas froid aux oreilles", with Daniel Auteuil, Gérard Jugnot, Roland Giraud, Gérard Lanvin, Michel Blanc, Thierry Lhermitte, Marie-Anne Chazel and Christian Clavier.

1981-1990 : Success & Directing Debut

The year 1981 was very successful for Josiane. First, she played Louise in Clara et les Chics Types, with Daniel Auteuil, Christian Clavier, Thierry Lhermitte, Isabelle Adjani, Roland Giraud and Philippe Nahon. Then, she had the leading role in the very successful comedy Les hommes préfèrent les grosses. The movie was a big success with almost two millions attendances. It was directed by Jean-Marie Poiré, written by Balasko and him and starred Daniel Auteuil, Dominique Lavanant, Thierry Lhermitte, Martin Lamotte and François Berléand. After this, she was in another comedy named Le Maître d'école, directed by Claude Berri. She played Mlle Lajoie alongside Coluche, Charlotte de Turckheim and Roland Giraud. The movie was also a huge success with more than 3 million attendances, this was the #9 movie at the French Box Office in 1981. She then played Colette, a supporting role, in Hotel America directed by André Téchiné, with Catherine Deneuve, Patrick Dewaere and Dominique Lavanant.

In 1982, she was back with Le Splendid (and Anémone) and together they made an other cult movie : Le Père Noël est une ordure. Josiane was directed for the third time by Jean-Marie Poiré. The movie was again a big success with more than a million and a half attendances in France.

In 1983, she continued to follow her road with two comedy hits. First, another cult movie with Le Splendid, Papy fait de la résistance. The movie was again directed by Jean-Marie Poiré, and Le Splendid play alongside Michel Galabru, Dominique Lavanant, Jacques Villeret, Roland Giraud, Martin Lamotte, Pauline Lafont, Julien Guiomar, Jean Carmet, Jean-Claude Brialy and Bernard Giraudeau. There were more than 4 million attendances for this movie which become #7 in the 1983 French box office. Then, she played the leading role in the comedy Signes extérieurs de richesse, directed by Jacques Monnet. Claude Brasseur, Jean-Pierre Marielle, Roland Giraud, Pascale Ogier, Charlotte de Turckheim and Jean Reno also starred in the movie. It was another success for Balasko, with more than a million attendances at the box office.

In 1984, she played a supporting role in the comedy P'tit Con, directed by Gérard Lauzier. The cast include Guy Marchand and Daniel Auteuil. Then, she had the leading role in another comedy, La Smala, directed by Jean-Loup Hubert alongside Victor Lanoux, Dominique Lavanant, Thierry Lhermitte and Martin Lamotte. Finally, she played a supporting role in the comedy La vengeance du serpent à plumes directed by Gérard Oury. Coluche had the leading role in this comedy. The movie was Josiane biggest success of the year with more than two and a half million attendances in France.

In 1985, she appeared in the movie Tranches de vie directed by François Leterrier. In the cast were Laura Antonelli, Michel Boujenah, Jean-Pierre Cassel, Christian Clavier, Jean-Pierre Darroussin, Audrey Dana, Marie-Anne Chazel, Roland Giraud, Pierre Mondy, Daniel Prévost, Gérard Jugnot, Michel Galabru, Anémone and Martin Lamotte. But the year will be mostly important for Balasko who made her directional debut with the comedy Sac de noeuds. She directed, write and starred in the movie. The cast included Isabelle Huppert, Jean Carmet, Coluche and Dominique Lavanant.

1990 onward : Continuing success

Since 1990 she has enjoyed a busy career acting in numerous films in a very wide variety of roles but having an international directing success in 1995 with Gazon Maudit (French Twist) in which she co-starred with Alain Chabat and gained her a César for best screenplay and a nomination for best film. In 2006 she was re-united once again with the Le Splendid team for another Bronzés film Bronzés 3: Amis pour La Vie (Friends for life).

Filmography

Actress

Year	Title	Role	Director	Notes
1973	The Year 01		Jacques Doillon, Alain Resnais & Jean Rouch
	L'Agression		Frank Cassenti	Short
1976	The Tenant	Office Worker	Roman Polanski
1977	Animal	Supermarket Girl	Claude Zidi
	Pardon Mon Affaire, Too!	Josy	Yves Robert
	This Sweet Sickness	Nadine	Claude Miller
	Monsieur Papa		Philippe Monnier
	Herbie Goes to Monte Carlo		Vincent McEveety
	Solveig et le Violon turc		Jean-Jacques Grand-Jouan
	An Unusual Girl	Simone	Philippe Nahoun
1978	French Fried Vacation	Nathalie Morin	Patrice Leconte
	The Little Wheedlers	Corinne	Jean-Marie Poiré
	Si vous n'aimez pas ça, n'en dégoûtez pas les autres	A spectator	Raymond Lewin
	Like a Turtle on Its Back		Luc Béraud
	Pauline et l'Ordinateur	Pauline	Francis Fehr
1979	French Fried Vacation 2	Nathalie Morin	Patrice Leconte (2)
	Heroes Are Not Wet Behind the Ears	A client	Charles Nemes
	Les Quatre Cents Coups de Virginie	Emma-Ammé	Bernard Queysanne	TV Mini-Series
1981	Clara et les Chics Types	Louise	Jacques Monnet
	Men Prefer Fat Girls	Lydie Langlois	Jean-Marie Poiré (2)
	Le Maître d'école	Mlle Lajoie	Claude Berri
	Hotel America	Colette	André Téchiné
1982	Santa Claus Is a Stinker	Madame Musquin	Jean-Marie Poiré (3)
1983	Signes extérieurs de richesse	Béatrice Flamand	Jacques Monnet (2)
	Gramps Is in the Resistance	The pharmacist	Jean-Marie Poiré (4)
1984	P'tit Con	Rolande	Gérard Lauzier
	La smala	Simone	Jean-Loup Hubert
	The Vengeance of the Winged Serpent	Jackie	Gérard Oury
1985	All Mixed Up	Anita	Josiane Balasko
	Tranches de vie	Madame Dupuis	François Leterrier
1986	Nuit d'ivresse	Frède	Bernard Nauer
	The Joint Brothers	Aline	Hervé Palud
1987	Lady Cops	Mireille Molineux	Josiane Balasko (2)
1988	Without Fear or Blame	Handmaid	Gérard Jugnot
	Nuit d'ivresse	Simone	Alain Dhénaut	TV Movie
1989	Une nuit à l'Assemblée Nationale	The Journalist	Jean-Pierre Mocky
	Too Beautiful for You	Colette Chevassu	Bertrand Blier	Nominated - César Award for Best Actress
1991	My Life Is Hell	Leah Lemonier	Josiane Balasko (3)
	The Professional Secrets of Dr. Apfelgluck	The scientist	Alessandro Capone, Thierry Lhermitte, ..
1993	Not Everybody's Lucky Enough to Have Communist Parents	Irène	Jean-Jacques Zilbermann	Nominated - César Award for Best Actress
	Shadow of a Doubt	Sophia	Aline Issermann
1994	Dead Tired	Herself	Michel Blanc
1995	French Twist	Marijo	Josiane Balasko (4)
1997	Didier	Madame Massart	Alain Chabat
	Arlette	Arlette Bathiat	Claude Zidi (2)
1998	Un grand cri d'amour	Gigi Ortega	Josiane Balasko (5)
1999	The Frenchman's Son	Suzanne	Gérard Lauzier (2)
2000	The Libertine	Baroness Holbach	Gabriel Aghion
	Actors	André Dussollier 2	Bertrand Blier (2)
	Chicken Run	Bernadette	Peter Lord & Nick Park	French Voice
2001	A Crime in Paradise	Lucienne Braconnier	Jean Becker
	Absolutely Fabulous	Edith Mousson	Gabriel Aghion (2)
2002	The Race	Madame Jo	Djamel Bensalah
2003	That Woman	Michèle Varin	Guillaume Nicloux	Nominated - César Award for Best Actress
2004	Madame Édouard	Nina Tchitchi	Nadine Monfils
2005	The Ex-Wife of My Life	Marie-Pierre Sarrazin	Josiane Balasko (6)
	It's Our Life!	Blanche Delhomme	Gérard Krawczyk
	I Saw Ben Barka Get Killed	Marguerite Duras	Serge Le Péron & Saïd Smihi
2006	French Fried Vacation 3	Nathalie Morin	Patrice Leconte (3)
2007	L'Auberge rouge	Rose Martin	Gérard Krawczyk (2)
	The Key	Michèle Varin	Guillaume Nicloux (2)
2008	A Day at the Museum	Chanel's Mother	Jean-Michel Ribes
	A French Gigolo	Irène	Josiane Balasko (7)
	Ruby Blue	Stéphanie	Jan Dunn
2009	Park Benches	Solange Renivelle	Bruno Podalydès
	The Hedgehog	Renée Michel	Mona Achache	Nominated - Women Film Critics Circle for Courage in Acting Award
	Neuilly Yo Mama!	School's director	Gabriel Julien-Laferrière
2010	Holiday	Christiane Mercier	Guillaume Nicloux (3)
2011	Beur sur la ville	Mamie Nova	Djamel Bensalah (2)
	A Happy Event	Claire	Rémi Bezançon
2012	Sport de filles	Joséphine de Silène	Patricia Mazuy
	Maman	Paulette Mine	Alexandra Leclère
	Mes héros	Olga	Eric Besnard
2013	Demi-soeur	Antoinette	Josiane Balasko (8)
2014	Les Gazelles	Brigitte	Mona Achache (2)
	Aunt Hilda!	Dolorès	Benoît Chieux & Jacques-Rémy Girerd
	La loi de Barbara	Barbara Malo	Didier Le Pêcheur	TV Series (3 Episodes)
2015	Le grand partage	Bernadette	Alexandra Leclère (2)
2016	Arrête ton cinéma	Brigitte	Diane Kurys
	Joséphine est enceinte	Josephine's Mother	Marilou Berry
	Retour chez ma mère	The Mother	Éric Lavaine
	Mamie Loto	Yvette Bert	Patrice Leconte (4)	Pre-Production

Director

Year	Title	Box Office	Notes
1985	Sac de noeuds	$4,749,150
1987	Les keufs	$8,036,002
1991	My Life Is Hell	$8,778,922
1995	French Twist	$75,216,631	César Award for Best Writing Palm Springs International Film Festival - Best Foreign Language Film Lumières Award for Best Screenplay Nominated - Golden Globe Award for Best Foreign Language Film Nominated - César Award for Best Film Nominated - César Award for Best Director Nominated - GLAAD Media Award for Outstanding Film – Limited Release Nominated - Festival du Film Francophone - Film in Competition
1998	Un grand cri d'amour	$3,417,315
2005	L'Ex-femme de ma vie	$6,814,155
2008	Cliente	$10,086,921	Nominated - Sundance Film Festival for Grand Jury Prize : World Cinema Dramatic Nominated - Rome Film Festival for Golden Marc'Aurelio Award Nominated - City of Lights, City of Angels - In Competition Nominated - Hublot d'Or - Best Adaptation Nominated - Young Public Award - Best Adaptation Nominated - RAIMU Award - Best Comedy Film Nominated - RAIMU Award - Best Actress Nominated - RAIMU Award - Best Screenplay Nominated - RAIMU Award - Best Direction Nominated - Festival du Film Francophone - Film in Competition
2013	Demi-soeur	$1,568,263

Box-office

Movies starring Josiane Balasko with more than a million of entries in France.

	Films	Director	Year	France (entries)
1	Les Bronzés 3: Amis pour la vie	Patrice Leconte	2006	10,355,930
2	Papy fait de la résistance	Jean-Marie Poiré	1983	4,104,082
3	French Twist	Josiane Balasko	1995	3,990,094
4	Animal	Claude Zidi	1977	3,157,789
5	Le Maître d'école	Claude Berri	1981	3,015,596
6	Didier	Alain Chabat	1997	2,902,960
7	La vengeance du serpent à plumes	Gérard Oury	1984	2,663,303
8	Neuilly sa mère!	Gabriel Julien-Laferrière	2009	2,517,140
9	Les Bronzés	Patrice Leconte (2)	1978	2,308,644
10	Les Frères Pétard	Hervé Palud	1986	2,179,370
11	A Crime in Paradise	Jean Becker	2001	2,137,829
12	Pardon Mon Affaire, Too!	Yves Robert	1977	2,080,789
13	Too Beautiful for You	Bertrand Blier	1989	2,031,131
14	Grosse fatigue	Michel Blanc	1994	2,015,230
15	Les hommes préfèrent les grosses	Jean-Marie Poiré (2)	1981	1,931,038
16	Le Père Noël est une ordure	Jean-Marie Poiré (3)	1982	1,582,732
17	Les Bronzés font du ski	Patrice Leconte (3)	1979	1,535,781
18	The Race	Djamel Bensalah	2002	1,456,267
19	Nuit d'ivresse	Bernard Nauer	1986	1,381,464
20	Absolument fabuleux	Gabriel Aghion	2001	1,370,394
21	My Life Is Hell	Josiane Balasko (2)	1991	1,170,523
22	Signes extérieurs de richesse	Jacques Monnet	1983	1,074,802
23	Les Keufs	Josiane Balasko (3)	1987	1,071,467

Theater

Year	Title	Author	Director
1970	La pipelette ne pipa pas	Josiane Balasko	Josiane Balasko
1971	Quand j'srai grande, j'srai paranoïaque	Josiane Balasko	Josiane Balasko
1973	Jeanne l'ébouriffée	Catherine Dasté	Catherine Dasté
1975	Silence là-dedans
1976	Le Pot de terre contre le pot de vin	Le Splendid	Le Splendid
	Ginette Lacaze	Coluche	Coluche
1977	Amour, coquillages et crustacés	Le Splendid	Le Splendid
1979	Le Père Noël est une ordure	Le Splendid	Philippe Galland
1982	Bunny's bar	Josiane Balasko	Josiane Balasko
1985	Nuit d'ivresse	Josiane Balasko	Josiane Balasko
1989	L'Ex-femme de ma vie	Josiane Balasko	Josiane Balasko
1992	Solo	Willy Russell	Josiane Balasko
1996-97	Un grand cri d'amour	Josiane Balasko	Josiane Balasko
2002	Nuit d'ivresse	Josiane Balasko	Josiane Balasko
2006	Dernier Rappel	Josiane Balasko	Josiane Balasko
2009	Tout le monde aime Juliette	Josiane Balasko	Josiane Balasko
2011-12	La nuit sera chaude	Josiane Balasko	Josiane Balasko
2014-15	Un grand moment de solitude	Josiane Balasko	Josiane Balasko
2016	The Woman Destroyed	Simone de Beauvoir	Hélène Fillières

Writer

• 2004 : Cliente, it became a movie in 2008 directed and starring Balasko, with Nathalie Baye, Éric Caravaca, Isabelle Carré, Catherine Hiegel, Marilou Berry, George Aguilar, Richard Berry and Maria Schenider.
• 2006 : Parano express
• 2011 : La nuit sera chaude, it became a play in 2011-2012

External links

• Josiane Balasko at the Internet Movie Database
• Josiane Balasko at AllMovie