Émilie Dequenne (; 29 August 1981 – 16 March 2025) was a Belgian actress. She first gained recognition for her role in the Dardenne brothers' film Rosetta (1999), which earned her the Cannes Film Festival Award for Best Actress. The film also won the Palme d'Or at the festival.
Over her career, she appeared in a variety of films, including the period action horror Brotherhood of the Wolf (2001), the drama The Girl on the Train (2009), the psychological drama Our Children (2012), and the drama Love Affair(s) (2020), the latter for which she won the César Award for Best Supporting Actress.
Career Dequenne was born in Beloeil in 1981 and her parents were Brigitte and Daniel. When she was twelve she began to attend the Académie de Musique et des Arts de la Parole in Saint-Ghislain.
Her breakthrough role in Rosetta established her as a notable talent in European cinema. She continued to work in both mainstream and independent films, such as Christophe Gans's Brotherhood of the Wolf, which achieved significant commercial success, and Joachim Lafosse's Our Children, for which she won the Un Certain Regard Award for Best Actress at the 2012 Cannes Film Festival. She also received the Magritte Award for Best Actress and a Satellite Award nomination for her performance in the film.
Other notable films in her career include The Light (2004), the horror film The Pack (2010), the romantic comedy Not My Type (2014), and the drama This Is Our Land (2017).
Personal life and death Dequenne had a daughter, Milla Savarese (b. 2002), with her partner, Belgian DJ Alexandre Savarese. The two were together from 1999 to 2005. In 2008, she met actor , whom she would marry in 2014.
She died at the Gustave-Roussy Hospital in Villejuif, France, on 16 March 2025, after being diagnosed with adrenocortical carcinoma. She was 43.
Filmography Year Title Role Director Notes1999 Rosetta Rosetta Dardenne brothers Cannes Film Festival Award for Best ActressChicago Film Critics Association Award for Most Promising ActressJoseph Plateau Award for Best Belgian ActressNominated - César Award for Most Promising ActressNominated - European Film Award for Best Actress2001 Brotherhood of the Wolf Marianne de Morangias Christophe Gans Cabourg Romantic Film Festival - Best New Actress Yes, But... Eglantine Laville Yves Lavandier Avanca Film Festival - Best Acting2002 Une femme de ménage Laura Claude Berri Nominated - César Award for Most Promising Actress Jean Moulin Lili Yves Boisset TV movie2003 The Very Merry Widows Laurence Milcaux Catherine Corsini Nominated - Joseph Plateau Award for Best Belgian Actress 2004 The Light Brigitte Philippe Lioret Nominated - César Award for Best Supporting Actress The Bridge of San Luis Rey Doña Clara Mary McGuckian L'américain Nelly Patrick Timsit Kaamelott Edern Alexandre Astier TV series (1 Episode)2005 The United States of Albert (Les États-Unis d'Albert) Grace Carson André Forcier Avant qu'il ne soit trop tard Aurélia Laurent Dussaux La ravisseuse Charlotte Antoine Santana 2006 Le Grand Meaulnes Valentine Jean-Daniel Verhaeghe Écoute le temps Charlotte Alantė Kavaitė Du rouge sur la croix Cécile Thuillier Dominique Othenin-Girard TV movie2007 To Each His Own Cinema The crying woman Dardenne brothers (2) La Vie d'artiste Cora Marc Fitoussi Confidences Laurent Dussaux (2) TV Mini-Series2008 Rien dans les poches Judith Miro Marion Vernoux TV movie Charlotte Corday Charlotte Corday Henri Helman TV movie Miroir, mon beau miroir Marion Serge Meynard TV movie2009 The Girl on the Train Jeanne Fabre André Téchiné Taormina International Film Festival - Best Acting Performance J'ai oublié de te dire Marie Laurent Vinas-Raymond Obsession(s) Sarah Lisbourne Frédéric Tellier TV movie2010 The Pack Charlotte Massot Franck Richard New York City Horror Film Festival - Best Actress2011 Mystère au Moulin Rouge Diane Barraud Stéphane Kappes TV movie2012 Our Children Murielle Joachim Lafosse Cannes Film Festival - Un Certain Regard - Best ActressMagritte Award for Best ActressPalm Springs International Film Festival - Best ActressNominated - European Film Award for Best ActressNominated - Dublin Film Critics' Circle - Best ActressNominated - Globes de Cristal Award for Best ActressNominated - Satellite Award for Best Actress – Motion Picture La traversée Sarah Arendt Jérôme Cornuau 2013 Möbius Sandra Éric Rochant 2014 Not My Type Jennifer Lucas Belvaux Magritte Award for Best ActressCabourg Romantic Film Festival - Best ActressNominated - César Award for Best ActressNominated - Globes de Cristal Award for Best ActressNominated - Lumière Award for Best ActressNominated - Trophees Francophones du Cinema - Best Actress Divin Enfant Sarah Olivier Doran The Missing Laurence Relaud Tom Shankland TV series (8 Episodes)2015 Par accident Angélique Camille Fontaine Souviens-toi Emilie Auclair Philippe Venault TV movie2016 Trainee Day Cyrielle Marc Fitoussi (2) Accusé TV series (1 Episode)2017 See You Up There Madeleine Péricourt Albert Dupontel Les Hommes du feu Bénédicte Pierre Jolivet This Is Our Land Pauline Duhez Lucas Belvaux (2) Magritte Award for Best Actress 2020 Love Affair(s) Louise Emmanuel Mouret César Award for Best Supporting ActressNominated - Magritte Award for Best Supporting Actress 2022 Close Sophie Lukas Dhont 2023Année ZéroJuliette Kharoub TV series (4 episodes) Mr. Blake at Your Service! Odile Gilles Legardinier 2024 Colocs de choc la neurologue Survivre Julia Frédéric Jardin TKT Meredith Dequenne's last film appearance
Awards and nominations Year Association Category Work Result Citations 1999Cannes Film FestivalBest Actress Rosetta European Film Awards European Actress 2000 César AwardsMost Promising Actress Rosetta Chicago Film Critics Association AwardsMost Promising ActressJoseph Plateau AwardsBest Belgian Actress2001Cabourg Romantic Film FestivalBest new actressBrotherhood of the Wolf2002Avanca Film FestivalBest actingOui, mais...2003César AwardsMost Promising ActressUne femme de ménage2004Joseph Plateau AwardsBest Belgian ActressMariées mais pas trop2005César AwardsBest Supporting ActressThe Light2009Taormina Film FestBest Acting PerformanceThe Girl on the Train2010New York City Horror Film FestivalBest ActressLa Meute2012Cannes Film FestivalBest ActressOur Children European Film AwardsEuropean ActressSatellite AwardsBest Actress in a Motion Picture2013Palm Springs International Film FestivalBest ActressOur Children Magritte AwardsBest Actress Dublin Film Critics Circle AwardsBest ActressGlobes de Cristal AwardsBest ActressTrophees Francophones du CinemaBest Actress2014Cabourg Romantic Film FestivalBest ActressPas son genre2015César AwardsBest ActressPas son genreMagritte AwardsBest Actress Globes de Cristal AwardsBest ActressTrophees Francophones du CinemaBest ActressLumière AwardsBest Actress2018Magritte AwardsBest ActressThis Is Our Land 2021César AwardsBest Supporting ActressLove Affair(s)2022Magritte AwardsBest Supporting ActressLove Affair(s) 2023Magritte AwardsBest Supporting ActressClose Ostend Film FestivalBest Supporting Performance 2024CinEuphoria AwardsBest EnsembleClose Best Supporting Actress
Theater
Year Title Author Director 2003 Lysistrata Aristophanes Natacha Gerritsen 2006 Miss Julie August Strindberg Didier Long 2010 Mon Tibet Michel Lengliney Didier Long (2)
References
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