Émilie Dequenne, Award-Winning Belgian Actress, Dies at 43 After Battle with Cancer
Belgian actress Émilie Dequenne, celebrated for her remarkable talent and award-winning performances, has passed away at the age of 43 after a courageous battle with cancer.
Dequenne first captured global attention at just 18 years old when she won the Best Actress award at the Cannes Film Festival for her debut role in the 1999 film Rosetta. Directed by the Dardenne brothers, the film tells the poignant story of a teenager fighting to escape a life of hardship. Her raw and powerful performance left an indelible mark on cinema.
Her career continued to flourish, earning her another Cannes accolade in 2012 for À Perdre la Raison (Our Children) and a César Award, one of France’s highest film honors, in 2021 for Les Choses Qu'on Dit, les Choses Qu'on Fait (The Things We Say, the Things We Do).
While primarily known for her work in French-language films, Dequenne also made a memorable appearance in the 2014 BBC TV drama The Missing, where she played police officer Laurence Relaud alongside James Nesbitt.
Her filmography includes acclaimed works such as La fille du RER (The Girl on the Train) (2009), Pas Son Genre (Not My Type) (2014), and Close (2022), which was nominated at the Cannes Film Festival.
In October 2023, Dequenne revealed her diagnosis of adrenocortical carcinoma (ACC), a rare cancer of the adrenal gland. Despite her illness, she remained an inspiration, sharing her journey on social media. In one of her final Instagram posts for World Cancer Day in February, she wrote, “What a tough fight! And we don’t choose…”
Tributes poured in from across the film industry, including from French Minister of Culture Rachida Dati, who lamented, “Francophone cinema has lost, too soon, a talented actress who still had so much to offer.”
Émilie Dequenne’s legacy as a gifted and versatile actress will continue to resonate in the world of cinema, leaving behind a body of work that touched audiences and critics alike.
