Garcia, Nicole

(1946- )

   Actress, director, and screenwriter. Nicole Garcia was born in Oran, Algeria. She debuted as an actress in 1968 in Etienne Périer's Des Garçons et des filles and Jean Girault's Le Gendarme se marie. She later played supporting roles in Jacques Rivette's Duelle (1976), Laurent Heynemann's La Question (1977) and Le Mors aux dents (1979), and Jacques Deray's Un papillon sur l'épaule (1978). In 1980, she received a César for Best Supporting Actress in Philippe de Broca's Le Cavaleur (1979). In the 1980s, Garcia was nominated for Césars for Best Actress three times for her performances in Alain Resnais'sMon Oncle d'Amérique (1980), José Pinhiero's Les Mots pour le dire (1983), and Michel Deville's Péril en la demeure (1985). She starred in Claude Lelouch's Les uns les autres (1981), Heynemann's Stella (1983), Joël Santoni'sMort un dimanche de pluie (1986), Jacques Ruoffio's L'État de grâce (1986), and Francesca Comencini's La Lumière du lac (1988). Garcia directed a short, 15 août (1986), which was nominated for a Golden Palm for Best Short at Cannes. In addition to La Question, she played in a number of films that reflected upon France's relationship with Algeria: Pierre Schoendoerffer's L'Honneur d'un capitaine (1982) and Brigitte Rouan's Outremer (1990).

   Garcia's first feature film as director was Un week-end sur deux (1990). It received a César nomination for Best First Work. It was followed by Le fils préféré (1994) and Place Vendôme (1998). Garcia was nominated for Césars for Best Director for both films, and Catherine Deneuve won the Volpi Cup for Best Actress at Venice for her performance in the latter. In addition to directing, Garcia maintained her acting career. She shared an award for Best Actress with costar Sandrine Kiberlain at the Montreal World Film Festival for her work in Claude Miller's Betty Fisher et autres histoires (2001). She later played a leading role in Miller's La petite Lili (2003). She also starred in Sam Karmann's Kennedy et moi (1999), Rodolphe Marconi's Le Dernier jour (2004), and Luc Bondy's Ne fais pas ça (2004). Her film L'adversaire (2002) was nominated for a Golden Palm. It was followed by Selon Charlie (2006).

   Historical Dictionary of French Cinema by Dayna Oscherwitz & Mary Ellen Higgins