Only one Adèle Exarchopoulos, thousand lives From the success of Blue is the warmest color to the irresistible cameo in Too Much

Hard to believe, but Adèle Exarchopoulos is thirty-one years old. Only thirty-one. “Only” because the French actress born in 1993 is already one of the most striking faces and talents on the cinematic scene, both in the Francophone world and internationally. And this hasn’t just happened recently, but several years ago already, at least since 2013, when she starred alongside Léa Seydoux in Blue Is the Warmest Colour, written (with Ghalia Lacroix) and directed by Abdellatif Kechiche. Since her film debut in 2007 under the direction of Jane Birkin and after nearly twenty years of an intense career, Exarchopoulos has constantly switched genres, played all kinds of characters and has always managed to remain first and foremost, and iconically, herself.

With a calming presence, an intensity that draws from the pain of drama, the mystery of thrillers or even the irony of comedy, Exarchopoulos has made sure never to remain static — and not just in terms of productivity: in 2023 alone, she appeared in five films, not counting the French dubbing of Pixar’s animated movie Inside Out 2. She has explored every possible nuance a story can offer, never set limits when facing new challenges, and has thus become a reliable force for both French and international filmmakers. Also a muse, or at least a favorite actress, when you think of her collaboration with such a unique author as Quentin Dupieux, with whom she dove into the absurd in three films since 2020, the latest being The Piano Accident, released in 2025.

But Exarchopoulos isn’t just about arthouse cinema in the strict sense. There’s one title that, in 2024, brought her to the forefront alongside her fellow castmates, amidst the passions and criminal turmoil of a box office hit like L’Amour Ouf. Premiered at the Cannes Film Festival, poorly received by critics but adored by the public with a total of 4.9 million viewers in France, the film sees the actress, alongside François Civil, once again venture into a new genre. Not a typical crime film, which she had already explored in other ways, but a blend with musical cinema, where the soundtrack is as central as the characters — a suspended moment where, instead of speaking, they are carried away by dance.

Starting with acting to overcome her shyness, and encouraged by her parents to pursue what would eventually become her calling, what’s amusing about Adèle Exarchopoulos is the cameo she gave herself — and that Lena Dunham gave her — in the Netflix series Too Much. Playing Polly, Felix’s flamboyant and provocative friend, the actress plays first and foremost with her “Frenchness,” to confirm, exaggerate or mock with humor her belonging to the land of free love and cheese. She arrives mid-season, enjoys Dunham’s brilliant writing and adds her sparkling savoir-faire. She flips the sex-symbol image that was attached to her early on, right from Blue Is the Warmest Colour. She also appeared nude in later projects after the Palme d’Or-winning film, such as Racer and the Jailbird (2017), before stating years later that she was done with nudity — more because she became the mother of little Ismaël than for professional reasons.

But with Too Much, it’s precisely her sensuality that she plays with, using it to poke fun at this Polly — so beautiful, so fascinating (and so French!) — using humor to twist what has long sexualized her. And she confirms what we already knew: she is a magnetic, versatile and nuanced actress. Capable even of excelling in a very American production like Lena Dunham’s series set in the heart of England. In fact, speaking of comedy, she also took part in the French version of LOL – Last One Laughing in 2023, though she didn’t win and was the third to be eliminated. A talent, constant surprises. We now eagerly await what she has in store for us in the coming years — or at the Venice Film Festival, with the science-fiction film Chien 51.