Bérénice Bejo (born July 7, 1976) is an Argentine-French actress, known for playing Christiana in the 2001 film, A Knight's Tale, and Peppy Miller in the 2011 film The Artist. Her work in The Artist received a nomination for the 2011 Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress.
Bejo was born in Buenos Aires, Argentina, and is the daughter of the Argentine filmmaker Miguel Bejo and his wife Silvia, a lawyer. When she was three, her family moved to France, escaping from the Argentine Dirty War. She made her American film debut as Christiana in 2001's A Knight's Tale. She later starred as Olivia in the 2002 film, 24 Hours in the Life of a Woman. In 2006, she starred in OSS 117: Cairo, Nest of Spies, where she met director Michel Hazanavicius whom she later married. They have two children: Lucien and Gloria.
In 2001, Bejo played the role of Christiana in A Knight's Tale opposite Heath Ledger, embodying the confidante of Shannyn Sossamon on the screen.
In 2002, she toured in France with Marie-France Pisier and Guillaume Depardieu.
In 2003, Bejo starred as Olivia in 24 Hours in the Life of a Woman by Laurent Bouhnik.
Under the direction of Steve Suissa, she seduces Stephane Freiss and Titoff in The Grand Role (2004), and a comedy about the world of actors, and Cavalcade (2005), a drama dealing with the theme of disability.
In 2006, she made a comeback by acting alongside Jean Dujardin in OSS 117: Cairo, Nest of Spies by Michel Hazanavicius. This is the first collaboration of the trio.
In 2007, she made an appearance in the short film La Pomme d'Adam.
In 2008, she appeared in two romantic comedies: Modern Love Bouquet and Stéphane Kazandjian. The same year she gave birth to her first child by Hazanavicius.
In 2009, she participated in the documentary by Serge Bromberg (fr), Henri-Georges Clouzot's Inferno. The documentary reconstructs Clouzot's film, alternating between scenes from the 1964 film and dialogue readings between Jacques Gamblin (for Serge Reggiani) and Béjo (for Romy Schneider).
In the 2011 film, The Artist, which is directed by Hazanavicius and stars Dujardin, Bejo plays Peppy Miller, a 1920s film actress. This performance has garnered her critical acclaim, the César Award for Best Actress, and several award nominations: the Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Supporting Role, the Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actress – Motion Picture award, BAFTA Award for Best Actress in a Leading Role and the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress as well as winning the César Award for Best Actress.
In 2012, she was announced as the host of the opening and closing ceremonies at the 2012 Cannes Film Festival. She dubbed the role of Mérida in the French dub of the Disney/Pixar film Brave. In June 2012, she received the Prix Romy Schneider.
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