Émilie Dequenne

Émilie Dequenne ( 29 August 1981 – 16 March 2025) was a Belgian actress.

She first gained recognition for her role in the Dardenne brothers' film Rosetta (1999), which earned her the Cannes Film Festival Award for Best Actress. The film also won the Palme d'Or at the festival.

Over her career, she appeared in a variety of films, including the historical thriller Brotherhood of the Wolf (2001), the drama The Girl on the Train (2009), the psychological drama Our Children (2012), and the drama Love Affair(s) (2020), for the latter she won the César Award for Best Supporting Actress.

Career

Dequenne's breakthrough role in Rosetta established her as a notable talent in European cinema. She continued to work in both mainstream and independent films, such as Christophe Gans's Brotherhood of the Wolf, which achieved significant commercial success, and Joachim Lafosse's Our Children, for which she won the Un Certain Regard Award for Best Actress at the 2012 Cannes Film Festival. She also received the Magritte Award for Best Actress and a Satellite Award nomination for her performance in the film.

Other notable films in her career include The Light (2004), the horror film The Pack (2010), the romantic comedy Not My Type (2014), and the drama This Is Our Land (2017).

Death

Dequenne died on 16 March 2025 at the age of 43 at Gustave-Roussy Hospital in Villejuif, France, after being diagnosed with adrenocortical carcinoma.