Irène Jacob

Irene Jacob is a French-Swiss actress born in Suresnes, France on July 15, 1966. She is best known for her work with the Polish film director Krzysztof Kieslowski. At 11 years old she made her stage debut in 1977. Jacob studied at the Drama Studio in London, England and in 1984 moved to Paris where she studied acting at Rue Blanche. In 1987 she made her debut in film in the French film Au revoir les enfants. She continued landing roles in the films La Veillee, Le Secret de Sarah Tombelaine, Enak, Claude, The Secret Garden, Three Colors: Red, Victory, Othello, Incognito, American Cuisine, The Big Brass Ring, My Life So Far, Londinium, Automne, Fallen Heroes, The French Kidder, Rio Sec Comedy, The Dust of Time and more. Early in her career she received a number of offers to appear in Hollywood films, but chose to focus on smaller French Films. In the late 1990s she appeared in several American and European films. The film Othello was her first film where all of her lines were in English. Throughout her career she has been nominated for several awards and has won a Cannes Film Festival Award, a Sant Jordi Award, and a Camerimage Krzysztof Kieslowski Special Award.