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Sylvie Testud

Acting 55 years old Lyon, Rhône, France ★ 0.7
Born: January 17, 1971

Biography

Sylvie Testud was born on January 17, 1971 in Lyon. Her parents separated when she was two years old. She spent her youth in the Lyon district of Croix-Rousse, raised by her mother, an accountant. In high school, she learned Chinese. Very early fascinated by the cinema, the young girl identifies in particular with the complexed teenager character embodied by Charlotte Gainsbourg in L'Effrontée. Having moved to Paris to study history, she soon embarked on acting by joining the free class at Cours Florent and then the Conservatory, where her teachers were Jacques Lassalle and Catherine Hiegel. She made her first screen appearance in 1994 in Couples et amants.

She decided to become an actress during her youth, after having admired actresses in films. She then took acting lessons in Lyon with the actor and director Christian Taponard. In 1989, she moved to Paris to study history, as well as drama lessons in free classes at Cours Florent, then at the National Conservatory of Dramatic Art for three years, with Jacques Lassalle and Catherine Hiegel for teachers.

In the early 1990s, she obtained her first small roles in the cinema, then in feature films such as The Story of the Boy Who Wanted to Be Kissed by Philippe Harel (1994), Le Plus Bel Age..., by Didier Haudepin (1995) or even Love, etc. by Marion Vernoux (1996).

In 1997, Sylvie Testud experienced her first great success at the cinema in Germany with the film Beyond Silence by Caroline Link, for which she learned German, the clarinet and sign language. She is rewarded as best actress by the German Film Prize (the equivalent of the César for best actress). In 1998, she played her first major role in French cinema and enjoyed great success in France with the role of Béa in Karnaval, the first feature film by Thomas Vincent, for which she was nominated for the César for best female hope and received the Michael Simon Prize. She then began an important acting career with a preference for auteur cinema.

In 2000, her performance in La Captive by Chantal Akerman (adaptation of the novel La Prisonnière by Marcel Proust) earned her a nomination as best actress at the European Film Prize. In 2001, she obtained, for her second nomination, the César for best female hope for the remarkable interpretation of Christine Papin, one of the Papin sisters, in Les Blessures assassines by Jean-Pierre Denis, based on a news item from 1933.

External Links

🎬 IMDb

Known For

I’m Going Home
I’m Going Home Ariel 2001
The Visitors: Bastille Day
The Visitors: Bastille Day Charlotte de Robespierre 2016
A Song For Mama
A Song For Mama Sylvie 2013
Papa Was Not a Rolling Stone
Papa Was Not a Rolling Stone Nadiège 2014
L'Amour, la Mort, les Fringues
L'Amour, la Mort, les Fringues 2011

Filmography

Acting Credits (135)

Cocorico 2
Cocorico 2 Nicole Martin 2026
LOL 2.0: Anne’s Golden Hour
LOL 2.0: Anne’s Golden Hour Sylvie 2026
Where Souls Go
Where Souls Go Stéphanie 2025
Proust and Signs: On Chantal Akerman's "La Captive"
Proust and Signs: On Chantal Akerman's "La Captive" archive image 2025
Sur la dalle
Sur la dalle Froissy 2024
Elles deux
Elles deux Sandrine 2024
Jíkuri. Journey to the Land of the Tarahumara
Jíkuri. Journey to the Land of the Tarahumara Mathilde 2024
Knok
Knok Blanche 2024
Cocorico
Cocorico Nicole Martin 2024
Marinette
Marinette Régine Pierre, Saint-Memmie coach 2023
Des mains en or
Des mains en or Rose 2023
A Case for Kin
A Case for Kin Capitaine Caroline Flament 2023
The Grand Restaurant IV
The Grand Restaurant IV 2022
The Unexpected Getaway
The Unexpected Getaway Self 2022
Club Première
Club Première Self - Guest 2022
Maman, ne me laisse pas m'endormir
Maman, ne me laisse pas m'endormir Sophie 2022
Simone: Woman of the Century
Simone: Woman of the Century Marceline Rozenberg (1968 - 1979) 2022
Tout le monde savait
Tout le monde savait Valérie Bacot 2022
Champagne !
Champagne ! Joanna 2022
What Pauline Is Not Telling You
What Pauline Is Not Telling You major de gendarmerie Marie Hermann 2022
Flashback
Flashback Olympe de Gouges 2021
L'Heureux Stratagème
L'Heureux Stratagème La Comtesse 2021
Un monde, un regard
Un monde, un regard 2021
Runaway
Runaway Isabelle 2021
The Grand Restaurant III
The Grand Restaurant III The nymphomaniac's friend 2021
I Love You Coiffure
I Love You Coiffure Geneviève (segment "L'Addition") 2020
Fear by the Lake
Fear by the Lake Alice Wagner 2020
Meet the Malawas
Meet the Malawas Nathalie Dulac 2019
Kemps
Kemps Self 2019
Disclaimer
Disclaimer Maïté 2019
Eden
Eden Hélène 2019
Quand sort la recluse
Quand sort la recluse le lieutenant Froissy 2019
Wide Load
Wide Load Jennifer 2019
Defiant Souls
Defiant Souls Enriqueta Faber / Enrique Faber 2019
Deutsch-Les-Landes
Deutsch-Les-Landes Odile 2018
Suspiria
Suspiria Miss Griffith 2018
Deux gouttes d'eau
Deux gouttes d'eau Valérie Laforge 2018
Fan Club
Fan Club Anna 2018
A New Girl in Paris!
A New Girl in Paris! Amandine 2018
Kings for a Day
Kings for a Day Val 2018
Final Portrait
Final Portrait Annette Giacometti 2017
Wedding Unplanned
Wedding Unplanned Clarisse 2017
Maximilian and Marie De Bourgogne
Maximilian and Marie De Bourgogne Charlotte de Savoye 2017
Mörderische Stille
Mörderische Stille Elena 2017
Tamara
Tamara Amandine 2016
The Exchange Student
The Exchange Student Eloïse 2016
The Visitors: Bastille Day
The Visitors: Bastille Day Charlotte de Robespierre 2016
Arrête ton cinéma !
Arrête ton cinéma ! Sybille 2016
Capitaine Marleau
Capitaine Marleau Salomé Revel 2015
Too Close to the Sun
Too Close to the Sun Sophie Picard 2015
Gad Elmaleh - Le Big Show
Gad Elmaleh - Le Big Show Self 2015
Thanks to my Friends
Thanks to my Friends Stéphane Brunge 2015
Spiderwebhouse
Spiderwebhouse Sabine 2015
Two Women
Two Women Elisaveta Bogdanovna 2014
Ceux qui dansent sur la tête
Ceux qui dansent sur la tête Catherine 2014
Papa Was Not a Rolling Stone
Papa Was Not a Rolling Stone Nadiège 2014
French Women
French Women Sam 2014
24 Days
24 Days Brigitte Farell 2014
96 heures
96 heures Marion Reynaud 2014
À votre bon cœur, mesdames
À votre bon cœur, mesdames Lolita 2013
My Name Is Hmmm...
My Name Is Hmmm... La mère de Céline 2013
Les Déferlantes
Les Déferlantes Louise 2013
For a Woman
For a Woman Anne 2013
A Song For Mama
A Song For Mama Sylvie 2013
Roxana's Hands
Roxana's Hands Roxana Orlac 2013
Max
Max Nina 2013
The Unexpected Getaway
The Unexpected Getaway Self 2012
28 minutes
28 minutes Self 2012
Rebellion
Rebellion Chantal Legorjus 2011
The Night Clerk
The Night Clerk Sylvie Poncet 2011
L'Amour, la Mort, les Fringues
L'Amour, la Mort, les Fringues 2011
The Rebel, Louise Michel
The Rebel, Louise Michel Louise Michel 2010
Mumu
Mumu Mumu 2010
The Round Up
The Round Up Bella Zygler 2010
Sentiments provisoires
Sentiments provisoires Hélène 2010
Sisters
Sisters Sybille adulte 2009
Lucky Luke
Lucky Luke Calamity Jane 2009
Lourdes
Lourdes Christine 2009
C à vous
C à vous Self 2009
C à vous
C à vous Self - Guest 2009
Can't Say No
Can't Say No Adèle 2009
Vengeance
Vengeance Irene Costello 2009
A Happy Man
A Happy Man Catherine 2009
Panique dans l'oreillette
Panique dans l'oreillette Self 2008
The Idiot
The Idiot Darya Alexeyevna 2008
Sagan
Sagan Françoise Quoirez dite Sagan 2008
The Vanishing Point
The Vanishing Point Lucie Audibert 2007
Arthur Honegger - Jeanne D'Arc Au Bucher
Arthur Honegger - Jeanne D'Arc Au Bucher Jeanne d'Arc 2007
La France
La France Camille 2007
Eat, for This Is My Body
Eat, for This Is My Body Madame 2007
La Vie en Rose
La Vie en Rose Simone 'Mômone' Berteaut 2007
Legacy
Legacy Patricia 2006
On n'est pas couché
On n'est pas couché Self - Guest 2006
La vie est à nous !
La vie est à nous ! Louise Delhomme 2005
Words in Blue
Words in Blue Clara 2005
Rendez-vous in an Unknown Land
Rendez-vous in an Unknown Land Self 2004
Victoire
Victoire Victoire 2004
Cause toujours !
Cause toujours ! Léa 2004
Tout pour l'oseille
Tout pour l'oseille Prune 2004
Tomorrow We Move
Tomorrow We Move Charlotte 2004
Making of Tomorrow We Move
Making of Tomorrow We Move Self / Charlotte 2004
Labyrinth
Labyrinth Claude 2003
Dead Man's Memories
Dead Man's Memories Das Mädchen 2003
Only Girls
Only Girls Tina 2003
Fear and Trembling
Fear and Trembling Amélie 2003
A Loving Father
A Loving Father Virginia 2002
Life Kills Me
Life Kills Me Myriam 2002
A Day in the Life of French Cinema
A Day in the Life of French Cinema Self 2002
Stolen Tangos
Stolen Tangos Alice / Paula 2002
Women or Children First
Women or Children First Virginie 2002
A Moment of Happiness
A Moment of Happiness L'institutrice 2002
Everyman's Feast
Everyman's Feast Sophie 2002
Les acteurs anonymes
Les acteurs anonymes Self (uncredited) 2001
I’m Going Home
I’m Going Home Ariel 2001
The Château
The Château Isabelle 2001
Julies Geist
Julies Geist Julia 2001
The Dark Room
The Dark Room Azalaïs 2000
Murderous Maids
Murderous Maids Christine Papin 2000
The Captive
The Captive Ariane 2000
Scénarios sur la drogue
Scénarios sur la drogue Segment "Lucie" 2000
Bad Connection
Bad Connection Laurence 2000
In Heaven
In Heaven Valeska 1999
Annaluise & Anton
Annaluise & Anton Laurence 1999
Karnaval
Karnaval Béa 1999
Marée haute
Marée haute 1999
The Misadventures of Margaret
The Misadventures of Margaret Young Nun 1998
Sentimental Education
Sentimental Education Julia 1998
Fire in Paradise
Fire in Paradise Esther 1997
Beyond Silence
Beyond Silence Lara 1996
Those Were the Days
Those Were the Days Sylvie 1995
Éternelles
Éternelles Nathalie 1994
The Story of a Boy Who Wanted to Be Kissed
The Story of a Boy Who Wanted to Be Kissed Girl at party offering food 1994
Marie's Song
Marie's Song Marie 1994
German Film Award
German Film Award Self 1951
Tout un poème
Tout un poème

Directing Credits (3)

Writing Credits (5)

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