Clémence Poésy Biography

Date of Birth

30 December 1982, Meudon, Hauts-de-Seine, France

Birth Name

Clémence Guichard

Height

5' 6¼" (1.68 m)

Mini Biography

Clémence Poésy was born Clémence Guichard in Paris in 1982. She took her mother's maiden name, Poésy, as her stage name. She attended an alternative school for most of her education, but spent her last year at L'École alsacienne.

She trained at the "Conservatoire National Supérieur d'Art Dramatique", with her first roles being for French TV series between 1997 and 1999, Un homme en colère (1997) and Les monos (1999). Her first feature film was a German production, Olga's Summer (2002) and her second the French production, Bienvenue chez les Rozes (2003).

Her first English speaking feature was as Mary, Queen of Scots, in the Gunpowder, Treason & Plot (2004) TV movie, for which she won the 2005 FIPA for best actress.

Since then she has starred in many films, the most notable being In Bruges (2008), which is probably the start of her worldwide recognition, Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire (2005), Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 1 (2010) and Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2 (2011), the US TV series Gossip Girl (2007) and the English TV mini-series, Birdsong (2012). All of these have shown her to be very capable of roles in multiple languages, periods and roles.

She is known for her natural beauty, devoid of make-up and cosmetics, and she herself says that she does not like using them.

Trivia

She got into acting because her father is a theatre director and actor.

She fell off of a horse at age seven, and did not ride one again until she was 20.

She also sings. She can be heard singing on Miles Kane's track, "Happenstance".

Clémence is also a fashion model.

Has a younger sister called Maëlle Poesy-Guichard.

Her name Clémence means "merciful" in Latin.

Has a son, Liam (b. 2016).

Quotes

[on playing 'Mary, Queen of Scots' in Gunpowder, Treason & Plot (2004)] I realized that, ever since I was a child, I wanted to be an actress just to dress up in big fabrics and corsets and have adventures riding horses with lots of blood and action! And I got all that and more as Mary.

To embody a character, you have to lose all judgment about them. Acting makes you look at life and try to understand it in a beautiful way.