Award-winning Belgian actress Émilie Dequenne has passed away at the age of 43 following a battle with cancer.
Dequenne rose to fame at just 18 when she won the Best Actress award at the Cannes Film Festival for her debut role in Rosetta (1999), a powerful drama about a teenager struggling to escape a life of hardship.
Her talent and versatility saw her earn further accolades throughout her career, including another Cannes award for À Perdre la Raison (Our Children) in 2012 and a prestigious César Award in 2021 for Les Choses Qu’on Dit, les Choses Qu’on Fait (The Things We Say, the Things We Do).
Primarily known for her work in French-language cinema, Dequenne also reached international audiences with her role as police officer Laurence Relaud in the 2014 BBC drama The Missing.
Her filmography includes La fille du RER (The Girl on the Train) (2009), Pas Son Genre (Not My Type) (2014), and Close (2022), which was a Cannes nominee.
Luc Dardenne, who directed Rosetta alongside his brother Jean-Pierre, recalled her captivating presence on set, stating, “From the very first day in front of the camera, she brought the entire team together. She was magnificent, and the film owes so much to her.”
Tributes poured in following her passing, with French Minister of Culture Rachida Dati mourning the loss of an actress with “so much more to offer.”
In October 2023, Dequenne revealed she had been diagnosed with adrenocortical carcinoma (ACC), a rare cancer of the adrenal gland.
Despite the severity of her illness, she remained vocal about her fight, sharing an emotional message on World Cancer Day in February: “What a tough fight! And we don’t choose…”
Her passing marks the loss of a remarkable talent whose impact on cinema will be remembered for years to come.
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