Noémie Merlant

Noémie Merlant
Noémie Merlant
	Merlant in 2024
Born	27 November 1988 (age 36); Paris, France
Occupation(s)	Actress, filmmaker
Years active	2008–present

Noémie Merlant (French: [nɔemi mɛʁlɑ̃]; born 27 November 1988) is a French actress and filmmaker. She has been nominated for her performances three times at the César Awards, including a nomination for her breakout role in Portrait of a Lady on Fire (2019) and a win for The Innocent (2022).

Career

Merlant was born on 27 November 1988 in Paris.^[1] Both of her parents are real estate agents.^[2] She was raised in Rezé near Nantes.^[3]

Merlant began her career as a professional model before attending the Cours Florent acting school in Paris.^[4]

She had her first breakthrough in the 2016 film Heaven Will Wait for which she was nominated for the César Award for Most Promising Actress.^[5]

In 2019, Merlant starred in Portrait of a Lady on Fire. She won the Lumières Award for Best Actress for her performance and was nominated for the César Award for Best Actress alongside her co-star Adèle Haenel.^[6]^[7]

In 2020, Merlant starred in Zoé Wittock's Jumbo, a film about a woman who falls in love with an amusement park ride.^[8] She also starred in Marie-Castille Mention-Schaar's A Good Man.^[9]

In 2022, Merlant portrayed Francesca Lentini, a musician and personal assistant to the celebrated composer/conductor Lydia Tár (Cate Blanchett), in the movie Tár, directed by Todd Field.^[10]

In 2023, it was announced that Merlant would play the titular character Emmanuelle in a reboot of the iconic franchise directed by Audrey Diwan.^[11]

In June 2023, Merlant was invited to become a member of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.^[12]

Directing

Merlant has directed two short films, the 2017 film Je suis #unebiche and the 2019 film Shakira. In 2021, she made her feature directorial debut with Mi Iubita Mon Amour, which premiered at the 2021 Cannes Film Festival.^[13] Her sophomore directorial effort, The Balconettes, premiered at the 2024 Cannes Film Festival.

Filmography

Feature films

Key
†	Denotes films that have not yet been released

Year	Title	Role	Notes
2008	Death in Love		Uncredited
2011	La Permission de minuit	Mathilde
2011	L'Orpheline avec en plus un bras en moins	Éléonore
2014	La Crème de la crème	The redhead
	Des lendemains qui chantent	Svetlana
	Once in a Lifetime	Mélanie
2015	One Wild Moment	Linda
2015	Newcomer	Anja
2016	Dieumerci!	Audrey
	The Brother	Claire
	Twisting Fate	Claire
	Heaven Will Wait	Sonia Bouzaria	Nominated—César Award for Most Promising Actress Nominated—Lumières Award for Best Female Revelation
2017	Plonger	The young artist
2018	Return of the Hero	Pauline Beaugrand
	All About Mothers	Coco
	Paper Flags	Charlie
2019	Curiosa	Marie de Régnier
	Portrait of a Lady on Fire	Marianne	Lumières Award for Best Actress Nominated - César Award for Best Actress
	République	Nora	Interactive film
2020	Jumbo	Jeanne Tantois
2020	A Good Man	Benjamin
2021	Mi Iubita Mon Amour	Jeanne	Also director, producer and writer
2021	Paris, 13th District	Nora Ligier
2022	One Year, One Night	Céline	Nominated – Gaudí Award for Best Actress
	The Innocent	Clemence	César Award for Best Supporting Actress
	Tár	Francesca Lentini
	Baby Ruby	Jo
2023	A Difficult Year	Valentine 'Cactus'	^[14]
	Soul Mates	Jeanne
	Lee	Nusch Éluard
2024	The Balconettes	Élise	Also director and writer
2024	Emmanuelle	Emmanuelle	^[15]
TBA	Duse †	Enrichetta Checci	Post-production^[16]

Short films

Year	Title	Role	Notes
2010	Parigi
2011	Juste avant l'aube	Laura
2012	Les Nerfs fument
2013	Pour le rôle	The secretary
	Lapsus	Angie
	Némésis	Ange
	Le Devoir	Agnes
	L'Amour a la clé
2017	Unexpected	Agnès
2017	Je suis #unebiche		Also director and writer
2019	Shakira	Shakira	Also director and writer

Television

Year	Title	Role	Notes
2011	Le Jour où tout a basculé	Annabelle	Episode: "Ma fille est amoureuse de son professeur"
2012	Julie Lescaut	Lou de Salle	Episode: "Cougar"
2012	Enquêtes réservées	Garance Lasarthe	Episode: "Un témoin de trop"
2013	Dos au mur		TV series
2014	Le Voyage de monsieur Perrichon	Henriette	TV film
2016	Elles... Les Filles du Plessis	Brigitte	TV film
2016	The Law of ...	Katya Valle	Episode: "Christophe's Law: La ligne blanche"
2021	H24		Episode: "17h - PLS"