Juliette Binoche supported by her daughter Hannah, whose father is Benoît Magimel, as she says goodbye to a loved one far from France
Juliette Binoche is going through a difficult personal period after losing someone close to her, while being far from France and currently in Los Angeles. In a recent interview with Gala, the French actress said she is deeply shaken by the bereavement and described it as the most painful grief she has ever experienced. She said that, during this time, she has been able to lean on the support of her daughter Hannah, who is 27 years old. Binoche added that while she is devastated by the loss, she feels grateful to have known the person she is mourning. She also reflected on the experience of separation and how absence can intensify feelings of love and deepen one’s awareness of life’s mysteries.
Binoche, one of the few French actresses to achieve major international success, has continued to divide her career between French cinema and productions abroad in recent years. In 2023, she appeared in The Taste of Things, a film that was selected to represent France in the 2024 Academy Awards race for Best International Feature Film. During that project, she worked alongside her former partner Benoît Magimel, who is also the father of her daughter. Binoche and Magimel met in 1999 while filming The Children of the Century and separated in 2003, but they later reunited professionally on screen.
The actress has also recently taken an important step in her own creative career by directing her first documentary, En nous. The film explores the behind-the-scenes story of In-I, the stage performance she created and toured with dancer Akram Khan in 2008. Binoche said the idea had been in her mind for nearly 20 years. She explained that the original performance toured for a year and a half and was performed 120 times around the world. She recalled that when the production reached New York, actor Robert Redford attended and was deeply moved by what he saw. According to Binoche, Redford later insisted strongly that the project should be turned into a film, a suggestion she eventually accepted as the right one.
Binoche has also drawn attention recently in the context of the 2026 Cannes Film Festival. She was among the first 600 signatories of an open letter from film professionals criticizing the influence of Vincent Bolloré in the cinema industry through Canal+ and UGC. Her involvement added her name to a growing public debate within French film circles over control, influence, and the future of the industry.
