Anne Parillaud

Anne Parillaud (; born 6 May 1960) is a French actress who has been active since 1977. She is best known internationally for playing the title character in Luc Besson's film La Femme Nikita. Biography Parillaud was born in Paris. While in school she studied ballet and her ambition was to become a lawyer, but a role during summer vacation – when she was only 16 – in Michel Lang's L'hôtel de la plage (1978) launched her into the world of film. She had a three-year relationship with actor Alain Delon and co-starred with him in his only two films as director, Pour la peau d'un flic (1981) and Le Battant (1983). She met director Luc Besson and they started a relationship. They married in 1986, but the couple separated shortly after he directed her in La Femme Nikita (1990). La Femme Nikita was an especially intense experience for Parillaud: After the international success of La Femme Nikita, Parillaud left France to star in three films abroad: Map of the Human Heart, Innocent Blood, and Frankie Starlight. She has said regarding the experience of playing a vampire in John Landis's Innocent Blood: