Gérard Depardieu Gérard Xavier Marcel Depardieu, CQ (born 27 December 1948; pronunciation (help·info)) is an Academy Award nominated French actor. He was born in Châteauroux, Centre, France, the son of a sheet metal worker. His acting career started in the 1970s and by the early 1980s, he was one of the leading French actors gaining much attention for his role opposite Fanny Ardant in François Truffaut's film La Femme d'à côté (The Woman Next Door), and winning his first César Award for Best Actor for his role in Le Dernier métro.
He also starred in Le Retour de Martin Guerre in 1982.
In the 1990s he achieved some fame in North America too. His most significant English-language productions are Green Card with Andie MacDowell and 1492: Conquest of Paradise. He first married Élisabeth Depardieu, with whom he has two children: Guillaume and Julie. He has also a daughter, Roxanne, with Karine Silla.
He later had an affair with fellow actress Carole Bouquet, from 1997 to 2004.
Depardieu is the highest-paid actor in France, and one of the most powerful within the French film industry. In addition to the nearly 150 motion-pictures he has appeared in, he has also directed and/or produced several major films through his company, "DD Productions."
On 15 September 2005, he released a cookbook entitled Gérard Depardieu: My Cookbook. On 31 October 2005 he announced his intention to retire from acting upon completion of his current film.
