Fanny Ardant, the youngest of five children born to a cavalry officer and his wife, grew up in the picturesque town of Monte Carlo, where she received a convent school education. Her voracious appetite for reading led her to discover the works of Marcel Proust at the tender age of 15, and she felt an inexplicable connection to his writings as if they were penned specifically for her.
Tragedy struck when Ardant was just 17, as her father's sudden passing left an indelible mark on her. In the aftermath of his death, she began to pursue her passion for acting on stage, only to follow her father's advice and enroll in the University of Aix-en-Provence to study Political Science. Upon graduating, she took a job at the French embassy in London, but her poor timekeeping and disheveled appearance led to her dismissal from the position, which was attributed to her enthusiastic participation in London's social scene.
Undeterred, Ardant continued to work odd jobs in London before making the impulsive decision to attend drama school. She returned to France for her studies and soon began to make a name for herself on stage and television. At the age of 31, she received a call from the renowned French filmmaker François Truffaut, who had spotted her in a television drama and wanted to cast her alongside Gérard Depardieu in his penultimate film, The Woman Next Door (1981). She went on to star in Truffaut's final film, Confidentially Yours (1983).
As Ardant and Truffaut collaborated on their projects, their professional relationship blossomed into a romantic partnership. In 1983, she gave birth to their daughter, Josephine. Tragically, Truffaut's life was cut short just a year later due to a brain tumor, leaving Ardant to navigate the challenges of single parenthood.
