Fanny Ardant, born in Saumur in 1949, became the last great muse of Francois Truffaut, opposite Gerard Depardieu in The Woman Next Door (1981) and again in Confidentially Yours (1983). She won the Cesar for Best Actress as the political widow of Alain Resnais's Same Old Song (1997), then joined Francois Ozon's stylised ensemble 8 Women (2002). She has directed films of her own, defended unfashionable causes with a diva's confidence, and gone on speaking her lines with the same low, careful voice for four decades. Among French actresses of her generation, she carries an unusual authority. Read more