Émilie Dequenne, the acclaimed Belgian actress who earned the Best Actress award at the Cannes Film Festival for her debut role, has passed away at the age of 43.
According to international media, Dequenne died on Sunday, March 16, in a hospital near Paris, as confirmed by her long-time agent, Danielle Gain, to the French news agency Agence France-Presse (AFP).
In October 2023, she revealed that she was battling a “rare cancer,” later identified as adrenocortical carcinoma, a form of cancer affecting the adrenal glands.
The illness led her to take a break from acting after her last project, the 2024 English-language disaster film Survive. Born in 1981, Dequenne rose to international fame at just 17 when she was cast in Rosetta, the fourth feature by Belgian directors Luc and Jean-Pierre Dardenne.
Her portrayal of the titular character, a young woman striving to improve her life while living in a caravan park with her alcoholic mother, earned her the Best Actress award at the 1999 Cannes Film Festival.
Competing for the prestigious award against prominent actresses such as Catherine Deneuve, Penélope Cruz, Sissy Spacek, Gong Li, Elaine Cassidy, and Toni Collette, Dequenne’s unexpected win marked the emergence of a remarkable new talent in European cinema.
Over a career spanning more than two decades, Dequenne built a diverse portfolio with bold roles in films by renowned directors, including André Téchiné (The Girl on the Train), André Forcier (The United States of Albert), and Joachim Lafosse (Our Children).
She won the Best Actress award again at Cannes in the Un Certain Regard section for her role in Our Children, which explores the psychological state of a woman before the tragic murder of her five children.
