Advanced search

Sofia Boutella is an Algerian actress, dancer and model. She was born in the Bab El Oued district of Algiers in Algeria, the daughter of composer and jazz musician Safy Boutella, and an architect mother. She started classical dance education when she was five years old. In 1992, at age 10, she left Algeria with her family and moved to France, where she started rhythmic gymnastics, joining the French national team at age 18. Sofia started with hip hop and street dance, and was part of a group called the Vagabond Crew. She also participated in a group called Chienne de Vie and Aphrodites. She has been rehearsing since age 17 with choreographer Blanca Li, and danced in several film and television appearances, as well as commercials and concert tours.

In 2007, her breakthrough arrived when she was picked for the Jamie King choreography for Nike as a role model of femininity and hip-hop. This was a major boost to her career and led to more work alongside stars like Madonna in her Confessions Tour, and Rihanna. Sofia successfully auditioned for Michael Jackson's This Is It Tour, but could not attend due to the extension of Madonna's tour, whose dates coincided with Jackson's residency. In February 2011, she was the main character in Michael's last music video Michael Jackson: Hollywood Tonight (2011).

Sofia played the lead character Eva in the drama film StreetDance 2 (2012), she starred as the assassin Gazelle in Kingsman: The Secret Service (2014), an alien warrior named Jaylah in Star Trek Beyond (2016), the main antagonist, Princess Ahmanet, in Universal's Dark Universe film The Mummy (2017), and an undercover French agent in Atomic Blonde (2017) alongside Charlize Theron, and many other great movies since then.

Edwige Fenech was born Edwige Sfenek on December 24, 1948, in Bone, Constantine, France, to a Maltese father and an Italian mother. She began her show-business career as a participant in beauty contests (she won the title of "Miss Mannequin de la Cote d'Azur" at age 16 and even won a Miss France beauty contest) and worked as a photo model prior to making her film debut in the comedy Toutes folles de lui (1967). She appeared in such saucy West German sex farces as Alle Kätzchen naschen gern (1969) and Sexy Susan Sins Again (1968).

With her lustrous and long black hair, lovely and sensuous face, full shapely figure and smoldering screen presence, Edwige soon became a very popular and much sought-after actress in a diverse array of European productions made in Italy, France, Spain and West Germany. She achieved her greatest enduring cult cinema popularity by starring in several superior Italian giallos for director Sergio Martino: The Strange Vice of Mrs. Wardh (1971), They're Coming to Get You! (1972) and Your Vice Is a Locked Room and Only I Have the Key (1972) (she was the onetime girlfriend of Martino's producer brother, Luciano Martino).

Edwige also acted for Martino in a handful of racy Italian sex comedies and the Italian mini-series Delitti privati (1993). Other noted Italian film directors Fenech has worked for are Mario Bava (Five Dolls for an August Moon (1970)), Giuliano Carnimeo (The Case of the Bloody Iris (1972)), Andrea Bianchi (Strip Nude for Your Killer (1975)), Umberto Lenzi (The Biggest Battle (1978)), Steno (Dr. Jekyll Likes Them Hot (1979)), Dino Risi (Sono fotogenico (1980)) and Ruggero Deodato (Phantom of Death (1987)).

She demonstrated her exceptional range and skill as an actress with enjoyably uninhibited performances in such amusingly bawdy Italian comedic romps as Quel gran pezzo della Ubalda tutta nuda e tutta calda (1972) and The School Teacher (1975). Edwige became a television personality in the 1980s and made frequent appearances on an Italian chat show along with fellow giallo goddess Barbara Bouchet. Moreover, Fenech launched her own fashion line and founded her own film production company, Immagine e Cinema S.r.l., with her son Edwin Fenech (she co-produced the 2004 film The Merchant of Venice (2004) as well as various Italian TV mini-series and made-for-TV features).

In the mid-1990s Edwige was engaged to famous Italian industrialist Luca Cordero di Montezemolo. She made a welcome return to acting with a small but funny part as an alluring art class professor in Eli Roth's Hostel: Part II (2007).

Lyna Khoudri was born on 3 October 1992 in Alger, Algeria. She is an actress, known for The French Dispatch (2021), Papicha (2019) and The Blessed (2017).

Kad Merad was born on 27 March 1964 in Sidi Bel Abbes, Algeria. He is an actor and writer, known for Welcome to the Sticks (2008), The Chorus (2004) and Baron noir (2016).

Daniel Auteuil was born on 24 January 1950 in Algiers, Alger, France [now Algeria]. He is an actor and director, known for Caché (2005), Jean de Florette (1986) and The Well-Digger's Daughter (2011). He has been married to Aude Ambroggi since 22 July 2006. They have one child. He was previously married to Emmanuelle Béart and Anne Jousset.

Shirine Boutella was born on 22 August 1990 in Algiers, Algeria. She is an actress, known for Lupin (2021), Pamela Rose, la série (2023) and Papicha (2019).

Born in Oran, French Algeria in 1958, Alain Chabat moved with his family to Massy, a suburb of Paris, as the Algeria War came to an end in 1963. In 1987, he started a comedy sketch group for television called Les Nuls which developed a cult following. His acting career led to four Césars awards for films and a gig dubbing the character of Shrek for the French release versions of the franchise.

Solveig Dommartin was born on 16 May 1961 in Constantine, Algeria. She was an actress and director, known for Wings of Desire (1987), Until the End of the World (1991) and It Would Only Take a Bridge (1998). She died on 11 January 2007 in Paris, France.

Thelma Schoonmaker was born on 3 January 1940 in Algiers, Algeria. She is an editor and producer, known for The Departed (2006), Killers of the Flower Moon (2023) and The Irishman (2019). She was previously married to Michael Powell.

Françoise Fabian was born on 10 May 1933 in Algiers, Alger, France [now Algeria]. She is an actress and writer, known for My Night at Maud's (1969), Belle de Jour (1967) and Me, Myself and Mum (2013). She was previously married to Marcel Bozzuffi and Jacques Becker.

Jobert was born in 1940 in Algeria. She studied drama and fine art in Paris, made her acting debut on the stage in 1963 and secured her first film role in Louis Malle's The Thief of Paris (1967) in 1966. Her big break came with her casting as "Elisabeth" in Jean-Luc Godard's Masculine Feminine (1966), in which she performed alongside Brigitte Bardot and Jean-Pierre Léaud, and other high profile roles in star-studded casts followed. She gave a particularly powerful performance in Maurice Pialat's 1971 production, We Won't Grow Old Together (1972). Roles became rarer in the 1980s and Jobert increased her television and radio work by way of compensation.

Tony Gatlif was born on 10 September 1948 in Algiers, Alger, France [now Algeria]. He is a director and writer, known for Vengo (2000), Freedom (2009) and The Crazy Stranger (1997).

One of the most popular and respected actors to come from the French "New Wave" film movement, Jean-Claude Brialy was born to a military family, which included one brother, in French colonial Algeria on March 30, 1933. Residing in various places while his father, a colonel with the French Army, went through the paces of his career, Brialy attended military school in 1946 and also worked in the theatre as a youth. He studied dramatics at a conservatory in Strasbourg, France, the Saint-Etienne Episcopal College.

Following time spent in the theatre, he moved to Paris in 1954 to pursue his career, without the support of his family, and worked various odd jobs before entering military service in Germany. Mixing in with a revolutionary group of artists that included Claude Chabrol and Jean-Luc Godard, he appeared as an extra in Jean Renoir's Elena and Her Men (1956) [Paris Does Strange things] and befriended other such rising film radicals as Éric Rohmer and Jacques Rivette while appearing in their short films. He grew in stature with featured roles in Girl in His Pocket (1957) [Girl in His Pocket] and L'ami de la famille (1957) [A Friend of the Family], but it was his friend Chabrol who provided him the leap to stardom with Le Beau Serge (1958), which is (arguably) considered the forerunner in "New Wave" filming. Co-starring Gérard Blain in the title role, Brialy played a city boy sophisticate returning to his simplified home village just to find that everything had changed and that his once promising friend (Blain) had become a chronic drunkard. He and Blain furthered their stars next playing each other's kin in Chabrol's The Cousins (1959), with Blain the innocent and Bialy the darkly disillusioned cousin. Bialy's association with other French avant-garde directors, including Godard, 'Francois Truffaut' and Louis Malle, placed him in excellent "New Wave" company alongside Jean-Paul Belmondo, Jean-Pierre Léaud and the afore-mentioned Blain, as strong, influential leading men.

Known for his lightness, passion, charm and subtlety of performance, Bialy's versatility in films ranged from stark melodrama to comedy farce. While essaying the elegant boulevardier with great sophistication and sympathy, he could just as easily slip into a character's dark and deep cynicism and/or contempt. He starred opposite a fantasia of Europe's loveliest leading ladies including Rosanna Schiaffino, Danielle Darrieux, Nadja Tiller, Elsa Martinelli, Françoise Dorléac, Geneviève Page and Dawn Addams. He ended the 60s notably paired with the enigmatic Jeanne Moreau in Truffaut's stylish Hitchockian thriller The Bride Wore Black (1968) [The Bride Wore Black].

In the 1970s Brialy extended his talents to include writing and directing, which included his debut film, the award-winning Églantine (1972). Most of the works he helmed were delightfully nostalgic and family-oriented in fashion. He also entered a newer phase of supporting character roles that also went on to court awards. After beginning the decade in one of his best film leads with Claire's Knee (1970) [Claire's Knee] for director/friend Rohmer, he earned a supporting César nomination for The Judge and the Assassin (1976) and then won the trophy a decade later for his secondary work in Les innocents (1987). During this time he also organized or supported several film and theatre festivals. He was the director of both the Théâtre Hébertot (1977) and the Théâtre des Bouffes-Parisiens (1986). A long time artistic director of the Festival of Anjou (1985-2001), he was also the creator and artistic director of the Festival of Ramatuelle from 1985. His work also included radio and extensive TV.

Off stage Brialy was a witty raconteur and bon vivant. He was also one of the select few French stars to be openly gay. It was most fitting that two of his more notable roles came late in life -- as the gay uncle in Chabrol's Inspector Lavardin (1986), and as the poet Max Jacob in Monsieur Max (2007), a homosexual Jew who converted to Catholicism before perishing in a Gestapo prison camp.

An occasional yet prolific writer on film, Brialy penned his autobiography Le ruisseau des singes (auto) in 2000 and his memoir, J'ai oublié de vous dire, in 2004. He owned a restaurant, L'Orangerie, in the Saint Louis Island of Paris and died on May 30, 2007, after a extended bout with cancer. Among his many honors: The Commander of the Legion of Honor and the National Order of Merit.

Didier Bourdon was born on 23 January 1959 in Alger, Algeria. He is an actor and writer, known for Les trois frères (1995), A Good Year (2006) and Madame Irma (2006).

Patrick Bruel was born on May 14, 1959 in Tlemcen, Oran, France as Patrick Benguigui. He is one of the most famous French singer and actor, known for Le prénom (2012), and Un secret (2007). He was married to writer Amanda Sthers from September 2004 to 2008 . They have two children Oscar and Leon.

Zahia Dehar, born in Ghriss (Algeria) on February 25, 1992, is a former French-Algerian escort-girl, now a model, lingerie designer and actress. In April 2010, Zahia Dehar made the news when broke in France "Zahia case". Footballers from France are suspected of having sex with Zahia Dehar, then a minor. Interviewed by the press, she presents herself as an escort-girl and not a prostitute. The instruction ends shortly thereafter. A few months later, the girl reappears under the eye of the paparazzi, transfigured in a Missoni dress. Zahia Dehar has become a french fashion icon. She poses for the prestigious magazines Vanity Fair and V, and plays in clips of the American underground scene. In 2012, Zahia Dehar presented her own line of lingerie, for which she surrounded herself with the greatest professionals (the Caraco workshops, the corset maker François Tamarin). She represents the European free woman. She plays in 2019, the lead role in "An Easy Girl" feature film by director Rebecca Zlotowski.

Nicole Garcia was born on 22 April 1946 in Oran, France [now Algeria]. She is an actress and writer, known for From the Land of the Moon (2016), My American Uncle (1980) and Alias Betty (2001).

Béatrice Romand was born on 16 April 1952 in Birkadem, Alger, Algeria. She is an actress and director, known for Claire's Knee (1970), A Good Marriage (1982) and The Green Ray (1986).

Jean-Pierre Bacri was born on 24 May 1951 in Castiglione, Alger, France [now Bou Ismail, Algeria]. He was an actor and writer, known for Look at Me (2004), The Taste of Others (2000) and Family Resemblances (1996). He was married to Agnès Jaoui. He died on 18 January 2021 in Paris, France.

Ogy (rhymes with Hoagie like the sandwich) was born in a small village in Algeria to an Algerian mother and an American father. Rumor has it that she was named after Yogi Bear because her mother was watching TV and decided that if Yogi was the male, then Ogy must be the female. The family left Algeria when she was young and came to America where she acted in her first school play, Dr. DooLittle and was hooked. Her parents got divorced when she was 6, and her mother moved them from Connecticut to South Carolina where she continued to act in theater and graduated with honors from from Dorman High in Spartanburg, SC. After high school, Ogy received multiple scholarships and financial aid so that she could attend college, including the National Endowment for the Arts and went on to study Architecture (a 5 year program) at the Rhode Island School of Design. While at RISD, she was accepted into the European Honors Program for her senior year, where she studied abroad in Rome, Italy for a year. She interned with an Architecture firm there as well as performed at the Teatro Colosseo. Upon completing her fifth year of Architecture, she received her Bachelor of Art and Bachelor of Architecture. Ogy practiced Architecture for a brief period in San Francisco, but once again was called to act in Los Angeles when her director from Italy encouraged her to move to LA and pursue her dreams of acting. Her first movie, "She's no Angel" starring Tracy Gold, Taft Hartley'd her allowing her to instantly become a member of SAG-Aftra. She has gone on to work on such notable projects as How I Met Your Mother, House MD, Lucifer, 13 Reasons Why, and in the last few years, Hacks, CSI Vegas, Matlock, Shrinking and multiple Paramount films including "The Image of You" and "Stranger in my Home".

Danièle Ciarlet, AKA Zouzou, has become one of the most revered - even though quite obscure for most - icons of the 60s Parisian scene. Discovered at age 16 by then young design artist Jean-Paul Goude, she briefly modeled for Yves Saint Laurent, and, as a tireless night-clubber, was better known, in the early 60s, under the nickname "Zouzou la twisteuse". Shortly after that, she got romantically involved with Rolling Stones member Brian Jones, whom she followed around the world. She was also a good friend of John Lennon and George Harrison and was photographed by Richard Avedon and Helmut Newton, met Bob Dylan, Andy Warhol and most of all, Jack Nicholson who remained, along with Marianne Faithfull, very... faithful friends. She also recorded two EPs as a singer at the end of the 60s, and a duet with Dani, another French 60s icon. After a few roles in underground and experimental French films (under the direction of Philippe Garrel or Yves Lagrange), she got a cinematographic breakthrough in 1972 with Eric Rohmer's L'amour l'après-midi, and developed an international career as an actress, a career which unfortunately, and progressively, slowed down because of her addiction to heroin. She spent seven years on the Cariibean Island of Saint Barthélémy to shape up, but her return to Paris, in the mid-80s, was followed by two jail incarcerations due to mild drug dealings. In the mid-90s, drug free at last, she got a fresh start solding the newspapers "La rue" and "Le réverbère" (the equivalent of British "The Big Issue") in the Parisian metro. In November 2003, the autobiography "Zouzou jusqu'à l'aube" ("Zouzou until Dawn") was released, in which she recounted with utmost honesty the extreme ups and downs of her incredible life. A compilation of all her songs was also released, and a documentary, "Zouzou l'héroïne", told in images the fate of probably one of the most beautiful woman of the world, revered as the "female Marlon Brando" when she burst into the Parisian scene.

Albert Camus was born on November 7, 1913, in Mondovi, Algeria. His parents were Spanish-French-Algerian (pied noir) colonists. His father, Lucien, died in the Battle of Marne (1914) during WWI. His mother, named Catherine Helene Sintes was of Spanish origin, she was a deaf mute due to a stroke, but she was able to read lips and worked as a cleaning lady, providing for her son, who loved her to tears.

Camus studied at Algiers Lycee from 1923-32, then at the University of Algiers, from where he graduated in 1936 with a degree in philosophy. While a student he joined the French Communist Party in 1934, but in 1936 he joined the 'Le Parti du Peuple Algerien' and was denounced by communists as 'Trotskyite'. He was seriously influenced by the writings of 'Andre Malraux', 'Andre Gide' and Plotinus' theory of the "One", which became Camus' graduation thesis (1936).

He was rejected from the French army because of tuberculosis, which he contracted in the 1930's. His first marriage to Simone Hie, a morphine addict, ended due to infidelity from both of them. In 1940 Camus married a pianist and mathematician Francine Faure, whom he loved and patiently tolerated her affair with the actress María Casares. Camus and Francine Faure had twins born in 1945.

During the Second World War Camus was a writer for 'Paris-Soir' magazine. He was in Paris during the Wermacht occupation, and witnessed the execution of the French communist and anti-fascist activist Gabriel Peri by firearm, which turned Camus' mind against Nazi Germany. He moved to Bordeaux, where he finished his early works, 'The Stranger' and 'The Myth of Sisyphus', which opens with his famous statement about the philosophical question of suicide, and deals with the absurdity of existence in the meaningless struggle.

Camus joined the French Resistance cell 'Combat' and edited the eponymous paper under the pseudonym 'Beauchard'. He reported on the fighting when Allies liberated Paris in 1944. Camus continued his work for 'Combat' until 1947, and through this work he became acquainted with Jean-Paul Sartre. For a couple of years Camus was a member of Sartre's circle at the Cafe de Flore on the Boulevard St. Germain, but Camus' criticism of communist doctrine soon alienated Sartre. He highly regarded Franz Kafka and William Faulkner, whose 'Requiem for a Nun' he adopted into a play.

Camus' lectures about French existentialism brought him on a 3-month tour of the United States and Canada in 1946, where he spoke at several universities. He lectured for 3 months in Brazil, Argentina and Chile in 1949, where he became sick and almost suicidal. The return of his tuberculosis forced Camus into seclusion from 1949-1951. It was during those 2 years that he crystallized his analysis of rebels and revolutions and published 'The Rebel'. The book clearly formulates his rejection of communism as well as any violent activity under various Utopian masks of 'social justice'.

Albert Camus' desire for clarity and meaning in the world that offers nothing, but chaos, resulted in his work on the idea of absurdism. It was incorporated in many of his works from 'The Myth of Sisyphus' (1942), 'The Plaque' (1947), 'The Rebel' (1951), and other works. Camus' ideas resulted from his philosophic analysis of the diverse list of sources from 'Epicurus' to Fyodor Dostoevsky, Friedrich Nietzsche, and 'Andre Breton', as well as his own experiences in the war and his studies.

His greatest work 'The Fall' (1956) presents the monologues of a self-proclaimed 'judge penitent' Clamence, whose character alludes to Zarathustra from Friedrich Nietzsche and Grand Inquisitor from the 'Karamasov Brothers' of Fyodor Dostoevsky. Camus challenges the reader with the dilemma of accepting the absurdity of our existence and/or learning how to deal with it as well as with the unpredictable consequences from doing something about it.

Camus was the proponent of the idea of human rights. He resigned from UNESCO in 1952 in protest of the UN acceptance of Spain under 'Edgar Franco 'El General''. He protested against the Soviet crush upon the East Berlin workers in 1953, and against the Soviet repressions in Hungary in 1956. He was a steady supporter of pacifism and was in opposition to capital punishment. In 1957 Camus was awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature.

He was killed in a car accident on January 4, 1960, in the small town of Villeblevin, France, in the car driven by his publisher and close friend Michel Gallimard, who also died in the accident.

Louis Mercier was born on 7 March 1901 in Algiers, Alger, France [now Algeria]. He was an actor, known for Bulldog Drummond's Bride (1939), Jewels of Brandenburg (1947) and Tiger Rose (1929). He was married to Ann Helen Doran. He died on 25 March 1993 in Pasadena, California, USA.

Ben Youcef is an avid traveler, sports enthusiast (semi-pro tennis player) and international history buff with expertise in cultures, religions, architecture and landmarks. Born in Algiers, Algeria, raised in Saudi Arabia, & educated in London, he is an Actor and Activist, discovered by Steven Spielberg in Munich. As a theater trained actor, Youcef has worked in stage, television, and film and was a top model in NYC for Gucci, Armani, Donna Karan, Hugo Boss, H&M and more. Upon moving to LA, he worked as guest leads on Law & Order, CSI: NY, NCIS: LA and Chicago P.D. Co-starring in From The Rough, opposite Taraji P. Henson and the late Michael Clark Duncan, Youcef won Best Actor at the prestigious London International Film Festival. The son of a diplomat, he speaks several languages. Fluent in Arabic, Youcef is the go-to consultant and voice-over expert for all five Arabic dialects in major film and television productions and the lead voice in Call of Duty, Medal of Honor and X-Men: Apocalypse. Steven Spielberg encouraged Youcef to volunteer as part of a non-profit Abrahamic Inter-Faith group of Jews/Christians/Muslims in Los Angeles. Youcef's "Call to Prayer" became a worldwide viral sensation with over 20 million views on YouTube & NPR. Oscar-Winning composer, Philip Glass, requested Youcef to join him at the Hollywood Bowl to perform the Call to Prayer in "Powaqqatsi" in front of 18,000 guests, with the Los Angeles Times Review calling his performance "uniquely moving and important." A global media darling, the The International Press praised Youcef for his ability to "captivate people with his extraordinary charisma and talent." His popularity stems from his generous spirit and punchy personality, always make him a fan favorite. In February 2023 Youcef wrapped Lonely Planet for Netflix acting opposite Liam Hemsworth and the Oscar-Winner Laura Dern. Additionally, he finished famed Director and Academy Award nominee, Chris Weitz's new project They Listen.

Moussa Maaskri was born on 15 November 1962 in Chelghoum Laïd, Algeria. He is an actor and writer, known for Mondialito (2000), 22 Bullets (2010) and Stillwater (2021).