About
Emmanuelle Riva, born Paulette Germaine Riva, was a French actress of stage, film, and television. After training as a seamstress, she won a scholarship to the Dramatic Arts Centre of Rue Blanche in Paris in 1953. She gained international fame with her role in Alain Resnais' Hiroshima mon amour (1959), a landmark of the French New Wave. She won the Volpi Cup at Venice for Thérèse Desqueyroux (1962). She appeared in Krzysztof Kieślowski's Three Colors: Blue (1993). In 2012, her role in Michael Haneke's Amour earned her the BAFTA, the César, and an Oscar nomination, making her the oldest nominee in the Best Actress category. She was also a poet and photographer.
* 1927-02-24 — † 2017-01-27
Major works
- Hiroshima mon amour (1959)film
- Thérèse Desqueyroux (1962)film
- Trois couleurs : Bleu (1993)film
- Amour (2012)film
- Le Feu des miroirs (1975)poetry
Key milestones
- 1959Lead role in Alain Resnais' Hiroshima mon amour.
- 1962Volpi Cup for Best Actress at the Venice Film Festival for Thérèse Desqueyroux.
- 2012Academy Award nomination for Best Actress for Amour, becoming the oldest nominee in that category.
Themes
memory and traumaold age and dignitylove and lossfemale identitysolitude
Sources: bfi.org.uk · bbc.co.uk