Her real name, Ariadne, evokes the mythological thread that the Greek princess holds out to Theseus so that he finds his way back into the labyrinth of the Minotaur. The one she chose for herself, Louise, means "illustrious fighter". This dual identity predisposed Louise Bourgoin to the path that awaited her.
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It takes strength, sagacity and a good dose of integrity to free oneself from the superficial – and totally erroneous – image of Miss Weather and become one of the most complete and interesting actresses of French cinema. The "pretty girls", especially when they start on television, often struggle to escape the stereotyped jobs on the screens, but, delicately, durably, without ever losing her thread, the young forty-year-old has been able to trace her path. His secret? Diversity and humility, when she accepted, for example, supporting roles to broaden her palette.
Louise Bourgoin: "I am lucky to have a man who does not feel emasculated by staying at home"
Natural discretion
After La Fille de Monaco (2008), fifteen years ago – a score that was amused by her television profile – she blurred the tracks. A blockbuster here (Adèle Blanc-Sec), popular comedies there (Un heureux event, Sous le même toit...) and daring, singular auteur films (Un beau dimanche, Je suis un soldat, L'Enfant rêvé, La Montagne...). A balancing act perfectly mastered between fantasy and cerebrality, humor and intensity. In 2018, however, director Thomas Lilti took her to a new level by offering her the character of Chloé Antovska, heroine of the choral and medical series Hippocrates. With this role of authority and passion, escaping the feminine shackles, the general public and the milieu rediscover its potential and density. Proposals are pouring in.
In video, Hippocrates, season 1, the trailer
Today, his agenda is full, with five films (from the comedy The Medium to the social Anti-Squat) and two upcoming series (season 3 of Hippocrates and the thriller Monsieur Spade, on Canal +), and a desire for realization more and more pregnant. By his own admission, the untimely death of his father, at the age of 61, has increased his thirst for accomplishment tenfold, but this sense of urgency does not make him lose sight of the essential: his family founded out of sight, with the musician Tepr. Available and affable, the actress fiercely protects this cocoon and, despite the exposure inherent in her profession, does not give in to the sirens of overexposure.
I preferred the bends, hills and descents of acting life
Louise Bourgoin
She frequents fashion shows sparingly, avoids socialites as much as possible to devote herself to her family and drawing – her other passion and activity – and, on Instagram, only shares illustrations and promotional images. No doubt it is there, in this natural discretion, that one of the keys to her success is hidden: Louise Bourgoin remains a mystery to be unraveled, one on which it is still possible to project all the imagination.
Louise Bourgoin wears a Hermès braided bikini top, Levi's denim shorts, a bracelet and Pomellato earrings.
Photo Luc Braquet/H & K for Madame Figaro. Directed by Véronique Tristram.
Hairdressing Maxime Macé. Dior beauty by Aya Fujita. Luc Braquet/H&K for Madame Figaro
Vocation
"When I was younger, I wanted to teach visual arts. At the School of Fine Arts, the work of certain artists allowed me to question gender stereotypes and the difficulty of finding one's place as a woman in society. Despite my parents' cinephilia, it was also during my studies that I developed a taste for cinema, discovering the filmed performances of the creators I admired, No Sex Last Night (1996), by Sophie Calle, for example. Their freedom with the camera inspired me so much that after failing my CAPES, I decided to change completely. I did the opposite of what my parents hoped for me, which was a permanent job with job security. I preferred the bends, hills and descents of acting life. I find it reassuring not to know what will happen in six months: the unexpected galvanizes me. In addition, this job makes me discover universes that I would never have rubbed shoulders with: recently, I attended trials at the tribunal de grande instance to prepare Je le jure, by Samuel Theis, and learned tirades in Latin with François Bayrou's son to play a teacher in Bis repetita, a formidable comedy by Émilie Noblet, with Xavier Lacaille."
Louise Bourgouin wears denim shorts, Levi's, a bracelet and earrings, Pomellato., and a straw hat, Sans-Arcidet Paris. Photo Luc Braquet/H&K for Madame Figaro
Label
"For a long time, young women who were considered 'cute' were not offered the brilliant characters. It obviously evolved, but I was afraid of being confined to a limited territory when I started cinema. I will always remember a guy who, in a DIY store, told me: "But you are the call girl of Canal+". Not very reassuring. But I believe and hope to have overcome that, especially thanks to Un beau dimanche (2013), by Nicole Garcia, a film and a meeting that counted enormously, or Hippocrates, where I play a doctor, top of his class. It even seems to me to be guided by a lucky star: it has long been said that things settle down for actresses with age, but I work much more at 40 than at 30. This is probably a sign that mentalities are changing."
Louise Bourgouin wears a vintage scarf, rose gold earrings, Pomellato, and sunglasses, Lapima. Photo Luc Braquet/H&K for Madame Figaro
Representations
"With the series Hippocrates (2018), Thomas Lilti gave me the opportunity to play something more secret and held than what I had been able to do in Adèle Blanc-Sec (2010) or La Fille de Monaco (2008), for example. The character of Chloé is tough, solitary, fully dedicated to her job: she could have a parallel life, a couple, a child, but vibrates only for her faith in medicine. It is a singular choice, even feminist, since she refuses to conform to what society expects of women.
I like my character to be badass, that she doubts little, because I have little or no doubt in me: I sometimes have trouble making decisions
Louise Bourgoin
She has, moreover, qualities that are often attributed to male characters: besides her irony and cynicism that remind me of Dr. House (2004), she does not try to make herself lovable. There is in the majority of female roles an intrinsic seduction and a sweetness that absolutely do not exist in her. She sometimes even acts "cowboy-like", ignoring the rules. I like that she is badass, that she doubts little, because I have little or no of that in me: I sometimes have trouble making decisions. On the other hand, I recognize myself in his obsessive side. I'm myself hard-line and pugnacious: it's useful on a set, but on a daily basis, it can be exhausting for those around me."
Louise Bourgoin: "I am lucky to have a man who does not feel emasculated by staying at home"
Complicity
"When you are an actor, there is no "classic" hierarchical evolution: you can start with a very strong role and then never find the equivalent. Also, for me, recognition is being solicited again by a director: he tells you, thus, that he loved you, that he wants to make you grow ... This is what I found in particular with Thomas Lilti. After Hippocrates, he directed me in Un métier serious, a choral film, with François Cluzet, Vincent Lacoste, Adèle Exarchopoulos, qui réson en moi (released on September 13). My father, whom I lost in 2011, was a philosophy teacher, and my mother, a teacher of modern literature. She was very sensitive and when she displeased students or they played with her, she lived it very badly. When you're young, you sometimes tend to dehumanize the teaching staff, to see them as an authority, but looking behind the scenes has generated in me respect and empathy for them. There is, moreover, a filiation between them and us, in oral transmission. When I started at the Météo du "Grand Journal", my father told me: 'We do the same job, but not in front of the same number of people.'"
Louise Bourgouin wears a bathing bikini, Eres, and a straw hat, Sans-Arcidet Paris.
Dior beauty with : Dior Forever 2N, Dior Forever Skin Correct 1N, Diorshow 5 Couleurs 073 Pied-De-Poule, Mascara Diorshow Iconic Overcurl 090 Black, Diorshow On Stage Crayon 099 Black and Rouge Dior Forever 200 Nude Touch. Photo Luc Braquet/H&K for Madame Figaro
Equilibrium
"Lauren Bacall said this sentence that sums up my view of the profession: 'To be an actor, you have to have good health and a bad memory.' It takes, indeed, a solid physical and mental to withstand the fourteen or fifteen hour days, or the rejections, during the castings, which we must try not to take personally. You also have to stay straight in your boots, focused, available, whatever the pangs of your own life ... It is necessary to compartmentalize as much as possible, including when you return home: the idea is not to bring the character home or to relieve tensions with your loved ones. I want to be fully available to my children, 7 years old and 3 years old, who have not yet fully understood my job, especially because they have never seen me in a film. When my eldest was 3 years old, we came across a giant poster of Hippocrates in the subway. He started crying, saying, "I didn't want you to be dressed up as a doctor but as a rabbit." All this is very abstract for my children, whom I do not bring on sets, and I am perfectly serene when I am away, because I am lucky to have a companion who is very daddy hen. "
If I had to draw my self-portrait as an actress, it would not be smooth, harmonious, or round. The opposite of a Brancusi
Louise Bourgoin
Illustration
"I always have a pencil in my hand, to the point that my 7-year-old son thinks I'm a cartoonist. I am currently working on fifty illustrations for an anthology of erotic poetry, which will be released at the end of the year by Seghers Editions. And in December, I dared to exhibit for the first time at a gallery owner, when showing my drawings seemed shameless. And this, whatever their nature, very variable. I can draw set moods, comic book type, like erotic nudes, intertwined bodies. My father, who passed on this passion to me, liked clear, simple lines, like Picabia or Cocteau: without wanting to compare myself, I kept it in my line."
Louise Bourgouin wears a cotton poplin blouse dress, Prada, a bath bikini, Eres, a straw hat, Sans-Arcidet Paris, and rose gold earrings, Pomellato.
Hairdressing Maxime Macé. Dior beauty by Aya Fujita. Photo Luc Braquet/H&K for Madame Figaro
Self-portrait
"The one I am can be guessed in my filmography. When I shoot a social film like Anti-Squat (released on September 6), I believe in what Nicolas Silhol condemns, namely the exploitation of precariousness and the dehumanization of our society. Our choices are not trivial and speak better about us and our convictions than all speeches. If I had to draw my self-portrait as an actress, it would not be smooth, harmonious, or round. The opposite of a Brancusi. Something rather unstructured, cubistic, with protruding edges, associated with some more subtle features. I have always alternated between big, easy-to-access family comedies, more experimental and naturalistic arthouse films and first films. At first, I was a little afraid of not being consistent, but today, I assume it. It's even a chance, because it is sometimes complicated to get out of a register to which you are systematically associated. "
Louise Bourgoin: "When the first clap fell, I was three months pregnant, like my character"
Modesty
"I don't like socialites or social media. And I was so exposed in my early days that I went the other way. For more than three hundred and fifty broadcasts of the "Grand Journal", I was every night live in front of two million viewers. I've had enough. Moreover, when I was with Julien Doré, at the time of the "Nouvelle Star" for him and the weather for me, our couple was blessed bread for the celebrity press. At 25, being dispossessed of your history is traumatic. Since then, I have been very secretive about my personal life. I needed to build my family apart, to be in the real, the concrete: on a set, arriving without my life having been commented on at all costs allows me to be freer. There is also a natural distinction between the profession and the intimate. My relatives call me Ariane, my real name, and this part belongs only to them. To this job, I only give Louise."
