Joséphine Japy

Joséphine Japy
Japy in 2019
Born	Joséphine Mahaut Marie Japy[1] (1994-07-12) 12 July 1994 (age 30)[1] Paris, France[1]
Alma mater	Sciences Po Lyon
Occupation	Actress
Years active	2005–present

Joséphine Mahaut Marie Japy (born 12 July 1994) is a French actress. She made her debut in the 2005 film Grey Souls [fr], and has appeared in films such as the comedy Neuilly Yo Mama! (2009) and its sequel Neuilly sa mère, sa mère! (2018), the Claude François biopic My Way (2012) in which she portrayed French singer France Gall, the coming-of-age drama Breathe (2014) – for which she was nominated for the César Award for Most Promising Actress, the romantic comedy Love at Second Sight (2019), the period drama Eugénie Grandet [fr] (2021), and the thriller Sur les chemins noirs [fr] (2023), as well as the Netflix biographical miniseries Class Act (2023).

Early life

Japy was born in the 17th arrondissement of Paris, France on 12 July 1994.^[1]

Japy has a degree in History^[2] and a master's degree in Sociology from Sciences Po Lyon, a grande école in France.^[3]

Career

At the age of 8, Japy decided she wanted to be actress and started taking acting classes. Spotted by a casting director, she asked her photographer uncle to take photos of her that she later slipped into an envelope with the message: "My name is Joséphine, I'm 8 years old, I want to be in the movies."^[4][5] Two days later, the phone rang, the production company was worried because she had not specified her last name,^[4] and she had been cast in the 2005 film Grey Souls [fr], directed by Yves Angelo, which marked her acting debut.^[4][6]

Japy credits her encounter with French director Jean-Pierre Jeunet as being decisive in her desire to become an actress. She was auditioning for the role of a child in Jeunet's film A Very Long Engagement (2005) when the director came up to her and standing at her height, said: "Joséphine, can I talk to you like an adult? Today, it won't be you, but one day, we'll meet again...". Japy said that Jeunet's words had a real resonance and made her "want to hang on, believe and keep going", and if Jeunet had not taken the time to say that to her that day, she might not be here [talking to the interviewer].^[7]

In 2009, she appeared in the comedy film Neuilly Yo Mama! (2009), and reprised her role 9 years later in the sequel Neuilly sa mère, sa mère! (2018).^[8]

In 2011, she starred in the thriller drama film The Monk, an adaptation of Matthew Lewis's 1796 gothic novel of the same name, directed by Dominik Moll.

In 2012, she portrayed French singer France Gall in the Claude François biopic My Way, directed by Florent-Emilio Siri.^[6]

In 2014, she played the lead role of Charlie in the coming-of-age drama Breathe, directed by Mélanie Laurent, which was presented in the Critics' Week at the Cannes Film Festival.^[9] Her performance in the film earned her a nomination for the César Award for Most Promising Actress and for the Lumières Award for Most Promising Actress.^[10][11]

In 2015, she starred in the dramatic comedy film Paris-Willouby, directed by Arthur Delaire and Quentin Reynaud. In 2016, she starred in the thriller Faultless, directed by Sébastien Marnier.

In 2019, Japy co-starred with François Civil in the romantic comedy film Love at Second Sight, directed by Hugo Gélin.^[3]

In 2021, she starred as Eugénie Grandet in the film adaptation of Honoré de Balzac's novel of the same name, directed by Marc Dugain.^[12]

In 2023, she starred in the thriller Sur les chemins noirs [fr], directed by Denis Imbert; and portrayed Bernard Tapie's wife, Dominique Damianos, in the Netflix biographical miniseries Class Act.^[13]

In September 2024, Japy started filming her directorial debut, The Wonderers. Based on the story of her younger sister,^[14] it follows a family navigating the severe disability of the youngest daughter.^[15]

Filmography

Year	Title	Role	Notes
2005	Grey Souls [fr]	Belle de jour
2009	Neuilly Yo Mama!	Marie
2011	The Monk	Antonia
2012	My Way	France Gall
2014	Breathe	Charlie
	Un village presque parfait [fr]	Directrice régionale de la Poste
2015	Paris-Willouby	Lucie Guilby
2016	Faultless	Audrey
2017	Un de moins	Camille	Short film
2018	Spitak	Madeleine	Short film
	Neuilly sa mère, sa mère!	Marie
2019	Love at Second Sight	Olivia
	L'Échappée [fr]	Tess
	Haute Cuisine	Marie	Short film
2021	Les Fantasmes [fr]	Claire
	Eugénie Grandet [fr]	Eugénie Grandet
2022	Octave	Anna	Short film
	Jack Mimoun et les Secrets de Val Verde [fr]	Aurélie Diaz
2023	Sur les chemins noirs [fr]	Anna
	Class Act	Dominique Damianos	TV mini-series
TBA	My Mother, God, And Sylvie Vartan		Post-production[16]

Awards and nominations

Year	Award / Festival	Category	Work	Result	Ref.
2015	César Awards	Most Promising Actress	Breathe	Nominated	[10]
	Lumières Award	Most Promising Actress		Nominated	[11]
	Cabourg Film Festival	Female Revelation		Won	[17]
	FEST International Film Festival	Best Actress (shared with Lou de Laâge)		Won	[18]
	Prix Romy Schneider	—		Nominated	[19]
2024	French Association of Series Critics Awards	Best Supporting Actor	Class Act	Pending	[20]

References

1. "Joséphine Japy". Les Gens du Cinéma (in French). Retrieved 30 September 2024.
2. "Joséphine Japy, comme un poisson dans l'eau entre Sciences Po et plateaux". La Voix du Nord (in French). 12 November 2014.
3. Schneider, Emilie (8 April 2019). "Mon Inconnue: qui est Joséphine Japy, l'âme sœur de François Civil?". AlloCiné (in French).
4. Cirodde, Emmanuel (15 October 2021). "Joséphine Japy : "Eugénie Grandet n'a que peu de possibilités de s'exprimer"". Point de Vue (in French).
5. Meeus, Carl (7 November 2023). "Joséphine Japy: la double vie de l'héroïne de la série Tapie". Le Figaro (in French). Archived from the original on 8 November 2023. Retrieved 1 October 2024.
6. "Joséphine Japy, France Gall de Cloclo: "J'ai grandi grâce à ce rôle"" (in French). L'Express. 16 March 2014.
7. "Joséphine Japy, Multi-Talented Actress". Acumen Magazine.
8. "Joséphine Japy : "Mélanie Laurent place la barre assez haut dans son cinéma"". Première (in French). 11 November 2014.
9. "53º Semaine de la Critique Cannes 2014" (in French). Archived from the original on 23 June 2016. Retrieved 14 November 2014.
10. Keslassy, Elsa (2 March 2015). "Film Movement Acquires U.S. Rights to Melanie Laurent's 'Breathe' (EXCLUSIVE)". Variety.
11. Goodfellow, Melanie (12 January 2015). "Lumière Awards nominations unveiled". Screen International.
12. "Cinéma : Joséphine Japy devient "Eugénie Grandet" dans le film de Marc Dugain". France Info (in French). 21 September 2021.
13. Nair, Shreejit (3 March 2024). "The True Story Behind Netflix's 'Class Act'". Collider.
14. El Himani, Rime (15 May 2024). "Joséphine Japy (Tapie sur Netflix) très émue en se confiant sur le handicap de sa petite soeur". Télé-Loisirs (in French).
15. Goodfellow, Melanie (4 September 2024). "Pulsar Content Boards Joséphine Japy's 'The Wonderers' With Mélanie Laurent, Pierre-Yves Cardinal & Angelina Woreth". Deadline.
16. Goodfellow, Melanie (19 September 2024). "'Lupin' Producer Gaumont Teams With Prime Video On Platform's First French Theatrical Feature 'My Mother, God, And Sylvie Vartan'". Deadline.
17. "Palmarès Cabourg 2015 : L'Eveil d'Edoardo, La Tête haute et A trois on y va primés". AlloCiné (in French). 15 June 2015.
18. "'Ničije dete' i 'Vuk' najbolji filmovi na 43. FEST-u" ["Nobody's Child" and "Wolf" are the best films at the 43rd FEST]. Al Jazeera Balkans (in Serbian). 8 March 2015.
19. Beyer, Julia (20 January 2015). "Les nommés des Prix Romy-Schneider et Patrick-Dewaere sont..." Le Figaro (in French).
20. "10e Prix de l'Association des critiques de séries : les nominations". Association française des Critiques de Séries (in French). 17 September 2024.

External links

• Joséphine Japy at IMDb 
• Joséphine Japy at AlloCiné (in French)
• Joséphine Japy at Unifrance (in French)