Julie Dreyfus
Encyclopedia
Julie Dreyfus is a French
actress.
Dreyfus, who speaks fluent Japanese, French, and English, is well known in Japan, where she made her TV debut on a French-language lesson program on NHK
's educational channel in the late 1980s, and has appeared on the TV show Ryōri no Tetsujin (Iron Chef
) as a guest and judge.
She is best known to Western audiences for her apparences in two of her good friend Quentin Tarantino
's films: she played Sofie Fatale in Kill Bill Vol. 1 and Francesca Mondino in Inglorious Basterds.
and producer Francis Dreyfus
. She is of Romanian descent on her father's maternal lineage, and Alsatian Jewish on the paternal side. Her grandfather was a descendant of the famous Captain Alfred Dreyfus
. She spent her summers in the U.K. She started learning Japanese in 1985 at the Institute for Oriental Languages and Civilization at the University of Paris
, after studying interior design and becoming interested in Japanese architecture. She moved to Japan to study at the Osaka University of Foreign Studies
for a six-month intensive Japanese course, thinking she would eventually land a job in interior design. After finishing the course, she moved to Tokyo working part time in a design studio while continuing her private Japanese lessons. In 1988, she worked as a French language instructor on the NHK morning television educational program. Centering on a mystery drama, chief producer Motoyoshi Sei hired Dreyfus to increase ratings by changing the program into an episode-format. Eventually, she was cast by Japanese network executives as the 20-something beauty in several TV and film roles, leading her to become a gaijin tarento (foreign talent). She was also a judge on the cult-hit cooking show Ryōri no Tetsujin (Iron Chef).
's 2003 film, Kill Bill
, Volume 1. She was a member of the 2007 Gérardmer Film Festival, which honored her Kill Bill co-star David Carradine
.
Dreyfus appeared in Vinyan
in 2008 and in Tarantino's war epic Inglourious Basterds in 2009, as Francesca Mondino, a fictional French interpreter and mistress for Nazi propagandist Joseph Goebbels
. She also appeared as a translator in the Leos Carax
short film entitled Merde in the feature film Tokyo!
French people
The French are a nation that share a common French culture and speak the French language as a mother tongue. Historically, the French population are descended from peoples of Celtic, Latin and Germanic origin, and are today a mixture of several ethnic groups...
actress.
Dreyfus, who speaks fluent Japanese, French, and English, is well known in Japan, where she made her TV debut on a French-language lesson program on NHK
NHK
NHK is Japan's national public broadcasting organization. NHK, which has always identified itself to its audiences by the English pronunciation of its initials, is a publicly owned corporation funded by viewers' payments of a television license fee....
's educational channel in the late 1980s, and has appeared on the TV show Ryōri no Tetsujin (Iron Chef
Iron Chef
is a Japanese television cooking show produced by Fuji Television. The series, which premiered on October 10, 1992, is a stylized cook-off featuring guest chefs challenging one of the show's resident "Iron Chefs" in a timed cooking battle built around a specific theme ingredient. The series ended...
) as a guest and judge.
She is best known to Western audiences for her apparences in two of her good friend Quentin Tarantino
Quentin Tarantino
Quentin Jerome Tarantino is an American film director, screenwriter, producer, cinematographer and actor. In the early 1990s, he began his career as an independent filmmaker with films employing nonlinear storylines and the aestheticization of violence...
's films: she played Sofie Fatale in Kill Bill Vol. 1 and Francesca Mondino in Inglorious Basterds.
Early life
Julie was born and raised in Paris, the only child of French actress Pascale AudretPascale Audret
Pascale Audret was a French actress who was most active during the 1950s through to the 1960s.-Career:...
and producer Francis Dreyfus
Francis Dreyfus
Francis Dreyfus was a French record producer, who focused on jazz and electronic music, publishing Jean-Michel Jarre's first commercially successful work, Oxygène....
. She is of Romanian descent on her father's maternal lineage, and Alsatian Jewish on the paternal side. Her grandfather was a descendant of the famous Captain Alfred Dreyfus
Alfred Dreyfus
Alfred Dreyfus was a French artillery officer of Jewish background whose trial and conviction in 1894 on charges of treason became one of the most tense political dramas in modern French and European history...
. She spent her summers in the U.K. She started learning Japanese in 1985 at the Institute for Oriental Languages and Civilization at the University of Paris
University of Paris
The University of Paris was a university located in Paris, France and one of the earliest to be established in Europe. It was founded in the mid 12th century, and officially recognized as a university probably between 1160 and 1250...
, after studying interior design and becoming interested in Japanese architecture. She moved to Japan to study at the Osaka University of Foreign Studies
Osaka University of Foreign Studies
, abbreviated to OUFS or , , or is a public coeducational research university in Minoh, Osaka, Japan. It is dedicated to area studies and the study of foreign languages and their related cultures.-History:...
for a six-month intensive Japanese course, thinking she would eventually land a job in interior design. After finishing the course, she moved to Tokyo working part time in a design studio while continuing her private Japanese lessons. In 1988, she worked as a French language instructor on the NHK morning television educational program. Centering on a mystery drama, chief producer Motoyoshi Sei hired Dreyfus to increase ratings by changing the program into an episode-format. Eventually, she was cast by Japanese network executives as the 20-something beauty in several TV and film roles, leading her to become a gaijin tarento (foreign talent). She was also a judge on the cult-hit cooking show Ryōri no Tetsujin (Iron Chef).
Film career
Dreyfus portrayed the character Sophie Fatale in Quentin TarantinoQuentin Tarantino
Quentin Jerome Tarantino is an American film director, screenwriter, producer, cinematographer and actor. In the early 1990s, he began his career as an independent filmmaker with films employing nonlinear storylines and the aestheticization of violence...
's 2003 film, Kill Bill
Kill Bill
Kill Bill Volume 1 is a 2003 action thriller film written and directed by Quentin Tarantino. It is the first of two volumes that were theatrically released several months apart, the second volume being Kill Bill Volume 2....
, Volume 1. She was a member of the 2007 Gérardmer Film Festival, which honored her Kill Bill co-star David Carradine
David Carradine
David Carradine was an American actor and martial artist, best known for his role as a warrior monk, Kwai Chang Caine, in the 1970s television series, Kung Fu, which later had a 1990s sequel series, Kung Fu: The Legend Continues...
.
Dreyfus appeared in Vinyan
Vinyan
Vinyan is a 2008 drama film with horror themes directed and co-written by Fabrice du Welz. The film was du Welz' second as a director. The film premiered at the Venice Film Festival on 30 August 2008....
in 2008 and in Tarantino's war epic Inglourious Basterds in 2009, as Francesca Mondino, a fictional French interpreter and mistress for Nazi propagandist Joseph Goebbels
Joseph Goebbels
Paul Joseph Goebbels was a German politician and Reich Minister of Propaganda in Nazi Germany from 1933 to 1945. As one of Adolf Hitler's closest associates and most devout followers, he was known for his zealous oratory and anti-Semitism...
. She also appeared as a translator in the Leos Carax
Leos Carax
Leos Carax is a French-born film director, critic, and writer. Carax is noted for his poetic style and his tortured depictions of love. His first major work was Boy Meets Girl , and his notable works include Lovers on the Bridge and the controversial Pola X...
short film entitled Merde in the feature film Tokyo!
Filmography
| Year | Film/television | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1986 | Sekai fushigi hakken | Herself | unknown episodes |
| 1992 | Tōki Rakujitsu Tōki Rakujitsu is Japanese film released in 1992 that was directed by Seijirō Kōyama. It stars Hiroshi Mikami and is based on an biographical novel written by Kaneto Shindō about the Japanese scientist Hideyo Noguchi.... |
Mary | |
| 1994 | Rampo | Mademoiselle | |
| 1995 | Ryôri no tetsujin | Herself/Taster/Panel Guest | 2 episodes |
| A Feast at Midnight | Mother | ||
| 1998 | Legal Aliens | Isabel | |
| The Crow: Stairway to Heaven The Crow: Stairway to Heaven The Crow: Stairway to Heaven was a 1998 Canadian television series created by Bryce Zabel based on The Crow comic by James O'Barr starring Mark Dacascos in the lead role as Eric Draven, reprising the role originally played by Brandon Lee in the 1994 film The Crow... (TV series) |
India Reyes | 3 episodes | |
| 1999 | The Godson | Laura | |
| 2000 | Bathory | Lady Katarina | |
| 2002 | Jean Moulin (TV movie) | Lydie Bastien | |
| 2003 | Kill Bill: Vol.1 Kill Bill Kill Bill Volume 1 is a 2003 action thriller film written and directed by Quentin Tarantino. It is the first of two volumes that were theatrically released several months apart, the second volume being Kill Bill Volume 2.... |
Sofie Fatale | also casting associate |
| 2008 | Tokyo! | The interpreter | |
| Vinyan Vinyan Vinyan is a 2008 drama film with horror themes directed and co-written by Fabrice du Welz. The film was du Welz' second as a director. The film premiered at the Venice Film Festival on 30 August 2008.... |
Kim | ||
| 2009 | Inglourious Basterds | Francesca Mondino | Central Ohio Film Critics Association Award for Best Ensemble Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture |