Irène Jacob

Actor

Born in Paris in 1966, Irène Jacob moved to Geneva, Switzerland, as an infant. She made her stage debut at the age of 11. Studying at the Geneva Conservatory of Music, she earned a degree in languages, which has served her well: she speaks French, English, German, and Italian and regularly performs in international productions that draw on this gift for languages. In 1991, Jacob won the award for Best Actress at the Cannes Film Festival for the film La double vie de Véronique, her breakout international performance. In 1995 she received a BAFTA nomination for TROIS COULEURS : ROUGE (1994), also directed by Krzysztof Kieslowski, and she was twice nominated for a César, in 1992, for LA DOUBLE VIE DE VÉRONIQUE and in 1995, for TROIS COULEURS : ROUGE. Over a long and varied career, Jacob has worked with filmmakers like Michelangelo Antonioni, Paul Auster, Theo Angelopoulos, Wim Wenders, Agnieszka Holland, Paul Schrader, Claude Lelouch, Rithy Panh, and Amos Gitai. With Gitai, she has collaborated on both stage and screen, most recently on SHIKUN (2024, which premiered in the Berlinale Special).

Filmography
(a selection)

Actor

2024
Shikun by Amos Gitai
2024
Pourquoi la guerre by Amos Gitai
2024
Hôtel Silence by Léa Pool
2019
La preuve scientifique de l'existence de Dieu by Frédéric Baillif
2015
Ella Maillart – Double Journey by Mariann Lewinsky, Antonio Bigini
2009
Les yeux de Simone by Jean-Louis Porchet
2009
Déchaînées by Raymond Vouillamoz
2007
Nessuna qualità agli eroi by Paolo Franchi
1994
Trois couleurs : Rouge by Krzysztof Kieslowski
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