Béatrice Romand was born
in Algeria, and moved to France with her parents when
she was eight. She studied classical dance, art, and
photography in Paris, where her photographs were exhibited.
At the age of sixteen, she performed "Mauregard"
for television under the direction of Claude de Givray.
She first attained real fame
at the age of eighteen with her performance as Laura
in Eric Rohmer’s "Claire’s Knee"
(1970)—a role that quickly made her, in the
words of one critic, the "symbol, argumentative
and sexy," of the intellectual youth of those
years. She was awarded the prize of Most Promising
Actress by the Arts Club of New York for her performance.
She has starred in many films (French, Italian, and
English) and telefilms since that time. She has been
directed by Joseph Losey, Claude Berri, Claude Faraldo,
Carlo Lizzani, and Roy Boulting, and has co-starred
with Michel Piccoli, Peter Sellars, Erland Josephson,
Michael Caine, André Dussollier, and Glenda
Jackson.
Béatrice Romand won the prize
for Best Interpretation by an actress at the Venice
Film Festival for her role as Sabine in Eric Rohmer’s
"The Good Marriage" (1982). Her most recent
performance in a Rohmer film was as Magali in "Tale
of Autumn" (1998). There is an interview of Béatrice
Romand and Marie Rivière, her co-star in "Autumn
Tale," in Les Cahiers du cinema No. 527, "En
compagnie des femmes: rencontre avec Béatrice
Romand et Marie Rivière."
Béatrice Romand has directed
a number of prize-winning short films and documentaries:
"Who Knows How to Kiss Inside?" (1988, Special
Prize, Jury Festival of Dunkerque), "The Expected
Fiancée" (1995; CNC, Festival of Venice,
Val de Loire; preview and soirée at the Cinemathèque
Française and Les Cahiers du Cinema), She has
produced or co-produced two films: "Florimont"
and "Histories in Franche-Comté."
She is currently working on a longer film, "My
Mother" (Pyramide Productions, Ministry of Culture,
Limousin, France), which is in production.
She has acted in the theater, including
a production by Peter Zadek at the Odeon Theater in
Paris of Shakespeare’s "Measure for Measure,"
in which she co-starred with Isabelle Huppert. She
has returned to the boards with her "La Sachette,"
a reading-interpretation of the mother of Esmeralda
from Victor Hugo’s "Notre Dame de Paris".
"La Sachette" has been acclaimed by audiences
and critics internationally (France, Scandinavia,
Spain, Turkey). In 2002, she will take her reading-interpretation
of "La Sachette" on tour to Syria, Jordan,
Lebanon, Israel, and West Africa.
Béatrice Romand lives in Paris, France.