The caller ID says “unknown number”, but the voice on the other end is unmistakably Vanessa Paradis: the French actor, musician and model whose charming rasp has been made famous over five studio albums and more than 30 films in the past three decades.
The 52-year-old’s career defies labels and spans cinema, fashion, theatre and music, beginning with her chart-topping song “Joe le Taxi” when she was just 14. Now, Paradis has a new album in the works and recently starred in the thriller Out of Control.
marie claire’s photoshoot at the Grand Palais museum in Paris is a fitting location, given how often it has played host to Chanel runways. It’s the perfect space to take Paradis back in time to her most memorable moments in fashion, and her life.
In Out of Control, your character experiences flashbacks to her youth. Do you also return to certain periods and places in your life?
Constantly. As much as I am very anchored in the present, I love remembering the people who have passed away, thus bringing them back to life a little. Without that, I fear that we will forget them. It’s not at all sexy to say that, but I am someone who is very nostalgic.
Why isn’t it sexy?
Because we have this impression of these sad and melancholic people. Have you seen the cartoon film Inside Out 2? It’s a film about emotions, which are embodied by characters. Nostalgia is represented by a little old lady all bent over.
I said to myself, “Damn, is that how this feeling is perceived?” For me, nostalgia is used to celebrate the present moment, because it’s everything that happened before in our lives that makes us who we are.
Do you regularly watch cartoons?
Yes, I love them – especially Pixar ones, which are quite extraordinary. Their scripts are so intelligent and sensitive. Cartoons echo my childhood and the mother I am.
What image comes to mind when you think of yourself at 30?
I immediately think of Vanessa Paradis as a young mother. It was a time when I put my job aside a bit in order to be completely free to take care of my children [Lily-Rose, now 25, and Jack Depp, 22, who she shares with her ex-partner, actor Johnny Depp] and to be really present at home.
Are you looking forward to what is to come?
At the moment I am preparing a record and people often say to me, “You must miss the stage, the concerts, right?”
I don’t, because I love this phase of my life, [but] I still think about performing live when I listen to certain songs. I say to myself: “This will be great if the audience sings it with me.” But, no hurry, those experiences will come.
What have you been listening to while creating the album?
I’ve been listening to a lot of soul from the ’60s and ’70s, such as Curtis Mayfield and Marvin Gaye. In today’s music, I love the American band Khruangbin. Their songs are so well produced.
The location of our shoot is Paris’ Grand Palais museum, which has hosted a number of Chanel shows over the years. Of all the brand’s shows you’ve attended there, which one made the strongest impression on you?
When Karl Lagerfeld was the creative director of the house there were always these outrageous and humorous sets: a rocket, an iceberg, a supermarket. During the Covid pandemic, they produced a show with almost no audience, just a handful of Chanel muses who were sitting there at a distance. At the end, a Chanel bride arrived on horseback. It was so crazy that I pinched myself to see if I was dreaming.
You describe Lagerfeld’s sets as almost a cinematic appearance. How does the emotion of a fashion show compare to cinema?
Tears don’t come to me in fashion shows in the same way they do when watching a great film. A fashion show is living art in real time. For me, it’s closer to the theatre. Energies are shared. The adrenaline rises. Then, all of a sudden, the parade begins and the vision of an artist is revealed before your eyes.
When you were 16 you starred in Jean-Claude Brisseau’s film White Wedding, which I believe was an awful experience for you…
Indeed, I suffered there. The director, Brisseau, was very authoritarian, unpleasant and verbally brutal. Since it was my first film, I had no point of comparison, and I was still bitten by the desire to act. It was a very difficult first time, but one that perhaps allowed me to be the actress that I am.
Your daughter, Lily-Rose Depp, is also an actor. Do you discuss the toxicity in the film industry and have you given her any advice?
I answer her questions when she asks me and give her my opinion, of course. We have a lot of conversations about it. I’ve learnt a lot from her. She is a very strong young woman to whom I don’t need to give advice. She handles her job and her choices so well.
You have acted in films and plays alongside your husband, French writer, actor and director Samuel Benchetrit. How do you find that experience of blurring the boundaries of your personal and professional lives?
I don’t know if I would say that it’s the best thing. In work, I’m no longer his wife and he’s no longer my husband – he’s my director and I listen to him even more than in life.
Do you think the coexistence between love and work strengthens your relationship?
When Samuel and I left on tour for four months [in 2021] for his play, Maman, the idea of being together all the time scared us and seemed risky. Because of our jobs, we are both often on the road, used to being separated. But, ultimately, this long tour turned out to be extremely fun for us. It was a very nice way to spend time together. We love being together so much.
This article originally appeared in the February 2025 issue of marie claire Australia.
