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French Actresses in the Flesh

French movies don't often find large audiences outside France. It's partly a language question, of course. But it's also the style of French cinema.

Compared with Hollywood-style blockbusters, French movies are more about people than about action. Another big difference between French films and Anglo-Saxon movies is that the French don't shy away from erotic themes.

Nudity in French films (and even on TV and in mainstream magazines) is quite common. Very few French actresses will have a clause in their contract that exempts from performing undressed. That's why it's not difficult to find photos of famous French actresses in the nude.

This gallery is the proof. Below you'll find a large collection of French female celebrities that show themselves at their most beautiful. In the flesh, so to speak. Enjoy!

NSFW warning #1. All French actresses were born with nipples, which become visible when they take their tops off. Do not scroll down if your boss, spouse or religion forbids you to watch female breasts.

NSFW warning #2. I've carefully selected images that are not graphic or explicit. However, clicking the "More photos" links may display images that show more flesh than you care for.

The Gallery

Anne Parillaud (born 6 May 1960 in Paris) shot to fame when she starred in Luc Besson’s 1990 movie Nikita. These days she’s married to musician Jean Michel Jarre. She has a daughter with ex-husband Luc Besson and two sons with film producer Mark Allan. Now, aged 48, she’s still filming, at an average rate of two movies per year. Wiki| More photos

Isild Le Besco (born in 1982 in Paris, France) is the daughter of actress Catherine Belkhodja . She has starred in many French films, including Sade (2000), a French film starring Daniel Auteuil. She is the sister of Maïwenn Le Besco , Jowan Le Besco , Leonor Graser and Kolia Litscher. | Wiki | More photos

Before wanting to be actress, Alice Taglioni first learned to be a pianist at the Music Conservatory of Paris. To overcome her shyness, she took theater courses and quickly caught the virus of comedy. Her film career started in 2001. Wiki | More photos

Ludivine Sagnier. She made her film debut at age 10, and was named one of the Shooting Stars by European Film Promotion. In 2003, she performed in two films in competition at the 2003 Cannes Film Festival, La Petite Lili and Swimming Pool. Wiki | More photos

Judith Godrèche. She wasn't well-known outside France until Patrice Leconte's "Ridicule" was released in 1996, in which she played the part of Mathilde de Bellegarde. In 1997 she starred with Leonardo DiCaprio and Jeremy Irons in "The Man in the Iron Mask". Her fans consider her beauty an example of "innocent sensuality". Wiki | More photos

Maria Schneider. She became an instant star when she played opposite Marlon Brando in the 1972 movie Last Tango in Paris. After that, her career slowly went downhill. She only appeared in a handful of films in the past 15 years.Wiki | More photos

Lou Doillon. She is the daughter of film director Jacques Doillon and singer-actress Jane Birkin. Her half-sisters are actress Charlotte Gainsbourg and photographer Kate Barry. She has also modeled for Givenchy and the Pirelli Calendar. Wiki | More photos

Ophélie Winter. She is the daughter of a Dutch 70's pop singer and a French fashion model. She has only played in a few mediocre films, and her singing career never took really off. Wiki | More photos

Marion Cotillard. After winning a Best Actress Oscar for her role as Edit Piaf in La Vie en Rose, Cotillard is now set for an international career. Wiki | More photos

Sophie Marceau. She started her film career at age 14, and has since won multiple awards, including one for her directorial debut in 2001. She is known internationally for her role as Bond girl/villain Elektra King in The World Is Not Enough (1999). Wiki | More photos

Arielle Dombasle. Singer and actress. She is mostly known for being married to philosopher Bernard-Henri Lévy, who is mostly known for being married to Arielle Dombasle. Wiki | More photos

Brigitte Bardot. French actress, former fashion model, singer, known nationalist, animal rights activist, and considered the embodiment of the 1950s and 1960s sex kitten. Wiki | More photos

Catherine Deneuve. A model of French elegance, cultivated lust object for art house filmgoers everywhere, and one of the best-respected actresses in the French film industry. Now in her sixties, she is still considered by many as one of the most beautifil women in France. Wiki | More photos

Emmanuelle Beart. A French actress who has been nominated for six César Awards, and won one. She is also an ambassador for UNICEF, and has made news for her opposition to France's anti-immigration legislation. Wiki | More photos

Isabelle Huppert. Her breakthrough was her appearance in the controversial Les Valseuses (1974). She made her American debut in Michael Cimino's 1980 film Heaven's Gate, which flopped at the U.S. box office, but was re-released in the full version to great acclaim. Wiki | More photos

Eva Green is the daughter of actress Marlène Jobert. Her film debut was The Dreamers (2003), which generated controversy over her numerous nude scenes. She achieved greater fame for her parts in Kingdom of Heaven (2005), and in the 2006 James Bond film Casino Royale, for which she won a BAFTA. Wiki | More photos

Julie Delpy. She made her first film when she was 14, and is best known internationally for her co-starring role with Ethan Hawke in the 1995 film, Before Sunrise. The 2004 sequel, Before Sunset earned Delpy her first Academy Award nomination for Writing Adapted Screenplay. Wiki | More photos

Audrey Tautou. Known to worldwide audiences for playing the title character in the award-winning 2001 French film Amélie and Sophie Neveu in The Da Vinci Code (2006). Wiki | More photos

Carole Bouquet. Best known internationally as Bond girl Melina Havelock in the 1981 movie For Your Eyes Only. She is also recognised for her work in Luis Buñuel's surrealist classic That Obscure Object of Desire, and in the internationally successful French film Too Beautiful For You. Wiki | More photos

Isabelle Adjani. A French film actress and singer of Algerian-German parentage, performing in her native French, English, and German. She has been nominated twice for the Academy Award for Best Actress and was awarded the César award four times. Wiki | More photos

Emmanuelle Seigner. Seigner started modelling at the age of fourteen. She married the Franco-Polish film director Roman Polanski in 1989, and they have two children. He directed her in Frantic, with Harrison Ford and later in Bitter Moon, as well as The Ninth Gate. Wiki | More photos

Laetitia Casta. She is more successful as a model than as an actress. Casta was the official face of L'Oréal, Dior, and Chanel, and has appeared on over 100 magazine covers and has been credited with bringing back the notion of the voluptuous models. She's also a mother of two. Wiki | More photos

Valeria Bruni Tedeschi. Sister of Carla Bruni, Valeria is a fairly successful and celebrated actress. Some of her recent films include Ten Minutes Older (2002), If I Were a Rich Man (2002) and Le Temps qui reste (2005), in which she played the main female role. She also starred in the 2006 movie A Good Year directed by Ridley Scott. She has been nominated for 19 film awards, and won 15 of them. Wiki | More photos.

Linda Hardy won the title of Miss France in 1992 and represented her country at Miss Universe and Miss World. In 1999 she launched an acting career in French cinema. Internationally, her best-known role to date has been the blue-haired, blue-teared, mutant-woman-turning-human, Jill, in the 2004 science fiction film, Immortel (Ad Vitam). Wiki | More photos

Marlène Jobert is a French actress and author, born in Algeria Besides acting, she has been the author and/or narrator of (mainly children's) audio books. She also has written a series of books which cautiously lead on to the appreciation of classical music, e.g. of Mozart, Chopin, and Tchaikovsky. Her daughter, Eva Green, by Swedish dentist Walter Green, is also an actress. Wiki | More photos

Isabelle Carré is a French actress born in 1971 in Paris. She plays both on the stage and in films, and won several major film awards. Wiki | More photos

Valérie Kaprisky is a French actress, born in 1962. She made her American debut in Breathless (1983) frolicking with Richard Gere with whom she subsequently had a reportedly-tempestuous affair. The film was critically panned and she returned to filming in her native France. Wiki | More photos

Nathalie Baye is a four-time César award-winner. She rose to fame playing the ’script girl’ in La Nuit américaine (Day for Night, 1974) by François Truffaut. Her 4 year relationship with Johnny Hallyday made them a leading celebrity couple and their daughter Laura is now actress Laura Smet. Baye has recently collaborated with Claude Chabrol and Steven Spielberg, and remains one of France’s busiest and most popular actresses of stage, screen and television.

Catherine Leprince was born in 1955. She broke through (and undressed frequently) in the 1984 movie Vive les Femmes. These days she is mostly active in TV films.

To be continued…

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