Age, Biography, and Wiki
- Full Name: Gérard Xavier Depardieu
- Born: December 27, 1948 (age 76 as of 2025)
- Birthplace: Châteauroux, Indre, France
- Parents: Anne Jeanne (née Marillier) and René Maxime Lionel Depardieu (a metal worker and fireman)
- Wiki: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gérard_Depardieu
- Biography: Depardieu left school at 13, worked in a printworks, and briefly engaged in petty crime before discovering his passion for acting. He rose from humble beginnings to become one of the most recognizable figures in global cinema, with a career spanning over 200 films across five decades.
- Accolades: Depardieu’s performance earned him a César Award, Venice Film Festival Award, and an Academy Award nomination for Best Actor for “Cyrano de Bergerac” (1990).
| Occupation | Actors |
|---|---|
| Date of Birth | 27 December 1948 |
| Age | 76 Years |
| Birth Place | Châteauroux, France |
| Horoscope | Capricorn |
| Country | France |
Height, Weight & Measurements
- Height: Approximately 6 ft (183 cm)
- Weight: Fluctuated over the years, often reported between 200–250 lbs (91–113 kg) during his peak career
- Measurements: Depardieu is known for his large, imposing stature, which has become part of his on-screen persona.
On 18 May 1998, Depardieu had a motorcycle accident with a high blood alcohol content, of 2.5 g/L on the way to the shooting of Asterix and Obelix vs. Caesar, by Claude Zidi. He was prescribed forty days off work. In 2000, Depardieu underwent heart bypass surgery after two weeks of chest pains. As Depardieu weighed 150 kg at the end of 2008, film critic Pascal Mérigeau commented on Depardieu's large amounts of food consumption, "at lunch he ingests 1 kg of red meat, swallows handfuls of saltine crackers". In 2011, he was removed from a Cityjet flight to Dublin after refusing to sit down due to being refused access to the toilet and urinated in a bottle. Depardieu apologised for this and his fellow actor Edouard Baer attributed it to prostate issues.
| Height | 183 cm |
| Weight | 250 lbs |
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Dating & Relationship Status
- Marriages: Married Élisabeth Depardieu in 1971 (divorced in 1996)
- Children: Guillaume, Julie, Roxanne, and Jean Depardieu
- Current Status: Depardieu has been involved in various high-profile relationships, but as of 2025, he maintains a relatively private personal life.
He is one of the five children of Anne Jeanne Josèphe (née Marillier), a stay-at-home mother known as "La Lilette", and René Maxime Lionel Depardieu (better known in his neighborhood as "Dédé" because he could write only two letters), a metal worker and volunteer fireman. His father and mother were both born in 1923 and both died in 1988.
Depardieu grew up in poverty in a two-room apartment at 39 rue du Maréchal-Joffre, Châteauroux, in a working-class family, with five brothers and sisters. Depardieu helped his mother when she was in labour with his younger brothers and sisters. He spent more time on the streets than in school, leaving at the age of 13. Practically illiterate and half stammering, he learned to read only later. He worked at a printworks, and took part in boxing matches in his spare time. He also became involved in selling stolen goods, and was put on probation.
At the age of 16, Depardieu left Châteauroux for Paris. There, he began acting in the new comedy theatre Café de la Gare, along with Patrick Dewaere, Romain Bouteille, Sotha, Coluche, and Miou-Miou. He studied theater under Jean-Laurent Cochet. Regardless of his lack of culture, he heavily studied the classics and followed a therapy to correct his disastrous diction and improve his memory. Moreover, through his first wife, Élisabeth Guignot, he discovered the Parisian bourgeoisie. Thus, he met Agnès Varda and her husband Jacques Demy. His first film role to gain attention was playing Jean-Claude in Bertrand Blier's comedy Les Valseuses (Going Places, 1974). Other prominent early films include Barbet Schroeder's controversial Maîtresse (1975), a starring role in Bernardo Bertolucci's historical epic 1900 (1976), with Robert De Niro, and a role in François Truffaut's The Last Metro (1980), with Catherine Deneuve for which he won his first César Award for Best Actor. Depardieu and Deneuve have since made nine more films together.
In 1970, Depardieu married Élisabeth Guignot, with whom he had two children: actor Guillaume (1971–2008) and actress Julie (b. 1973). On 28 January 1992, while separated from Guignot, he had a daughter, Roxanne, with the model Karine Silla (sister of producer Virginie Besson-Silla). In 1996, he divorced Guignot and began a relationship with actress Carole Bouquet, his partner from 1997 to 2005. On 14 July 2006, he had a son, Jean, with French-Cambodian Hélène Bizot (daughter of François Bizot, not actress Hélène Bizot). Between 2005 and 2023, Depardieu was in a relationship with Clémentine Igou. Since 2024, he is in a relationship with Magda Vavrusova.
On 13 October 2008, Depardieu's son Guillaume died from pneumonia at the age of 37. Guillaume's health had been adversely affected by drug addiction and a 1995 motorcycle crash that eventually required the amputation of his right leg in 2003. Depardieu and Guillaume had a turbulent relationship but had reconciled prior to Guillaume's death. In September 2020, Depardieu converted to Eastern Orthodox Christianity in Alexander Nevsky Cathedral in Paris.
| Parents | |
| Husband | Élisabeth Depardieu (m. 1971-1996) |
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Net Worth and Salary
- Net Worth (2025): Estimated between $200 million and $250 million
- Earnings: Accumulated from acting in over 200 films, business ventures (notably wine estates and restaurants), and real estate investments
- Salary: Depardieu’s annual earnings fluctuate depending on film projects and business returns, but he remains among France’s wealthiest entertainers.
In 1983, Depardieu created DD Productions to co-produce his films. Apart from his acting career, Depardieu is also a viticulturist, having invested in vineyards at the end of the 1980s. He owns wine estates in the Médoc, Hérault, Burgundy, Eastern Europe, Maghreb, and South America. In addition, Depardieu is the owner of the Château de Tigné (Tigne Castle) in Anjou. He also collects works of art and motorcycles. In 2003, Depardieu bought the restaurant La Fontaine Gaillon in the 2nd arrondissement of Paris. Its wine cellar, which consisted of bottles of Château Haut-Brion, Château Latour, Meursault and Saint-Émilion, was rewarded by the Gault Millau guide. La Fontaine Gaillon was described as "a Parisian institution". In Paris, Depardieu owns luxury restaurants, a Japanese delicatessen, a wine bar, and a seafood shop. By 2012, he employed over a hundred people in France through fifteen companies. In 2013, Depardieu's wealth was estimated at US$200 million. Depardieu owns a luxury hotel built in 1805 in the 6th arrondissement of Paris valued at 50 million euros ($53.5 million). Depardieu sold La Fontaine Gaillon in 2019.
Career, Business, and Investments
- Acting Career: Depardieu’s breakthrough came with “Going Places” (1974). He gained international acclaim for roles in “The Last Metro” (1980) and “Cyrano de Bergerac” (1990), and transitioned to Hollywood with films like “Green Card” (1990) and “1492: Conquest of Paradise” (1992).
- Business Ventures: Owns Château de Tigné (Tigne Castle), a renowned vineyard and wine estate in France, which he has expanded significantly since purchasing in 1989. He also owns several restaurants and other properties.
- Other Investments: Has been involved in various artistic and commercial projects, including film production and theater.
In August 2018, Depardieu was accused of sexual assault and rape by a 22-year-old actress and dancer. The actress reported being assaulted twice by Depardieu in his home during rehearsal sessions. The unnamed actress made her statement to police in Lambesc, southern France, after which the case was passed to prosecutors in the capital. Depardieu denied the allegations. In 2019, the charges were dropped after a nine-month police investigation. The case was reopened in October 2020 after his accuser refiled the complaint. In February 2021, it was announced that French authorities had charged Depardieu with rape in December 2020, stemming from the incident in August 2018. The actor rejected the allegation through his lawyer. In March 2022, the Paris Court of Appeal rejected Depardieu's attempt to have the charges dropped and announced the actor will remain under formal investigation. Following this investigation, the case will either be brought to trial or dismissed.
Depardieu has been nominated for the César for Best Actor in a Leading Role 17 times during his career and won it twice, in 1981 and 1991. He was also nominated for an Oscar in 1990 for his role in Cyrano de Bergerac.
Social Network
- Platform Presence: Gérard Depardieu does not maintain a significant presence on major social media platforms. His public persona is shaped primarily through his film work, media interviews, and public appearances.
- Online Fan Pages: Numerous fan pages and tribute accounts exist on platforms such as Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter, managed by fans and enthusiasts.
Depardieu's international profile rose as a result of his performance as a doomed, hunchbacked farmer in the film Jean de Florette (1986) and received notice for his starring role in Cyrano de Bergerac (1990), for which he won his second César Award for Best Actor, the Cannes Film Festival for Best Actor, and received a nomination for an Academy Award. Depardieu co-starred in Peter Weir's English language romantic comedy Green Card (1991), for which he won a Golden Globe Award. He has since had other roles in other English language films, including Ridley Scott's 1492: Conquest of Paradise (1992), Kenneth Branagh's Hamlet (1996), 102 Dalmatians (2000, Between Strangers (2002), and Ang Lee's Life of Pi (2012). He played Obélix in the four live-action Astérix films in which he is said to have discovered Mélanie Laurent when she was fourteen. In 2009, he took part in a rare performance of Sardou's La Haine at the Festival de Radio France et Montpellier Languedoc Roussillon, with Fanny Ardant; subsequently broadcast on France Musique. In 2013, he starred in an independent film titled A Farewell to Fools. Depardieu featured as a main character in Antwerp (Edinburgh Festival 2014), a play in The Europeans Trilogy (Bruges, Antwerp, Tervuren) by Paris-based UK playwright Nick Awde. In 2014, he starred in the controversial Welcome to New York in the thinly-disguised impersonation of disgraced former IMF chief Dominique Strauss-Kahn.
In 1991, Time magazine published a translation of a 1978 interview in which Depardieu apparently confirmed a rumour that he first participated in a rape when he was nine years old and that he had participated in more rapes since then. He reportedly stated there were "too many [rapes] to count... There was nothing wrong with it. The girls wanted to be raped. I mean, there's no such thing as rape. It's only a matter of a girl putting herself in a situation where she wants to be." The story re-emerged in 1991. On 15 March 1991, Depardieu's American publicist Lois Smith, stated: "He's sorry, but it happened". The National Organization for Women requested an apology from Depardieu. Later that month, Depardieu's French publicist Claude Devy discounted the statements made by Smith, and Depardieu threatened legal action against any media outlet that published the comments. Depardieu's team said that Time had mistranslated the word "assister" as "participate", when a more accurate translation would be "attend" or "be witness to". Time refused to retract the story and claimed that Depardieu had told them he had "participated" in the rapes. At that time, Depardieu received support from the French media, who said he was being unfairly treated and blamed American "puritanism". As a result, his career in France did not suffer and the controversy was forgotten over time by the French general public.
Education
- Formal Education: Depardieu left school at age 13 and was largely self-taught in acting and performance.
- Professional Training: Began his stage career at 19 and developed his craft through experience in theater and film.
