Mylène Jampanoï

Mylène Jampanoï
Jampanoï at the 2012 Deauville American Film Festival
Born
Lena Jam-Panoï

(1980-07-12) 12 July 1980 (age 44)
Aix-en-Provence, France
Occupations
  • Actress
  • model
  • painter
Years active2002–present
Spouse
​
​
(m. 2006; div. 2009)​
Children1

Mylène Jampanoï (French pronunciation: [milɛn ʒɑ̃panɔj]; born Lena Jam-Panoï;[1] 12 July 1980)[2][3][4] is a French actress, model, and visual artist. Her first leading role was in the drama film The Chinese Botanist's Daughters (2006). She subsequently garnered international attention for her role in Pascal Laugier's controversial horror film Martyrs (2008).

She later had a supporting role in Clint Eastwood's Hereafter (2010), and starred as Bambou in the Serge Gainsbourg biopic, Gainsbourg: A Heroic Life (also 2010). Other film credits include the American animated film Kung Fu Panda (2008), the Canadian drama Laurence Anyways (2012), and the Netflix-produced Madame Claude (2021).

In addition to her acting and modeling career, Jampanoï is a painter whose works have been exhibited at Paris's Galerie Sobering.

Early life

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Mylène Jampanoï was born Lena Jam-Panoï[1] on 12 July 1980 in Aix-en-Provence, Bouches-du-Rhône, France,[2] to a Chinese father and a French-Breton mother.[5] Her father, who immigrated to France from China through Vietnam, abandoned the family when she was three years old, and later established a prosperous textile business in Canada.[2]

Jampanoï was raised by her mother, who worked as a cashier at the food retailer Rallye.[2] As a teenager, Jampanoï fled her family home due to her mother's severe depression, and lived with her boyfriend in a Paris squat.[5] She eventually returned to her family home in Aix-en-Provence to complete her education, earning a scientific baccalauréat at age 17.[5] While still a teenager, she was taken under the wing of a 35-year-old male attorney in Aix-en-Provence, who became her mentor.[2] After she earned her baccalauréat, he urged her to pursue a career in law, but she instead relocated again to Paris to pursue acting and modeling.[2]

Career

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After appearing in the French television series Sous le soleil, Jampanoï had a minor part in the action thriller Crimson Rivers II: Angels of the Apocalypse (2004), followed by a supporting role in 36th Precinct (also 2004), a crime thriller starring Daniel Auteuil and Gérard Depardieu.[6] She was then cast in the independent drama film Valley of Flowers (2006).[7] Next, Jampanoï starred in the drama The Chinese Botanist's Daughters (2006), a role which necessitated her to phonetically learn Chinese.[1] In 2007, she became the face of Dior Snow cosmetics in Asia for LVMH and travelled to Japan and South Korea to represent the brand. She subsequently appeared on the cover of Asian Elle magazine.[1]

Jampanoï gained international attention for her role in Pascal Laugier's controversial horror film Martyrs (2008), which was filmed in Montreal.[8] Jampanoï took the role against the advice of her agent, and later stated that making the film was emotionally difficult due to its extreme content: "Every night when I went back to my room, I just cried, because I was so physically and psychologically tired. All my scenes [were] violent."[8] Also in 2008, she had a minor voice role in the American animated comedy film Kung Fu Panda as Maître Vipère.[9] Next, she appeared in the French mockumentary film The Ball of Actresses (2009), directed by Maïwenn, and in 2010, had a supporting role in Clint Eastwood's drama Hereafter, playing a news reporter.[10] The same year, she starred in the Serge Gainsbourg biopic Gainsbourg: A Heroic Life, portraying actress Bambou.[11]

In 2017, Jampanoï guest-starred on the Apple TV-UK series Kill Skills, and reprised her role in the film sequel of the series, Kill Skills 2 (2018).[12] She subsequently had a central role in Made in China (2019), a comedy film about a French-Chinese family preparing for a wedding, directed by Julien Abraham.[13] She then had a supporting role in the Netflix-released Madame Claude (2021), a biopic about French brothel owner Madame Claude.[14]

In addition to acting, Jampanoï is also a visual artist, whose paintings were exhibited in the spring of 2022 at the Paris Galerie Sobering, as part of the Athènes n'est pas en Grèce (lit. English: Athens is not in Greece) show.[15][16]

Personal life

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Jampanoï married Indian supermodel and actor Milind Soman[17] in Goa in 2006. They met during the shooting of their film Valley of Flowers. The two divorced in 2009.[18]

In the summer of 2014, she gave birth to a son, Andrèas Vassily, with her longtime partner, Greek producer Dimitri Stephanides.[5]

Jampanoï is a Roman Catholic, and was baptised in the church in 2015, though she has expressed criticism of the church's clerical celibacy policies.[2] She also stated her support of the legalization of same-sex marriage in France.[2]

Filmography

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Film

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Year Title Role Notes Ref.
2004 Crimson Rivers II: Angels of the Apocalypse Pénélope
2004 36th Precinct Jade French: 36 Quai des Orfèvres [10]
2005 Cavalcade Soraya
2005 Le Détective : Contre-enquête Angèle Television film; as Lena Jam-Panoï
2006 The Chinese Botanist's Daughters Min Li French: Les Filles du botaniste [10]
2006 Valley of Flowers Ushna French: La Vallée des fleurs [10]
2006 Pleure en silence Kristina
2008 Choisir d'aimer Julie
2008 Martyrs Lucie [10]
2008 Kung Fu Panda Maître Vipère Voice role [9]
2009 The Ball of the Actresses Herself French: Le Bal des actrices
2010 Gainsbourg: A Heroic Life Bambou French: Serge Gainsbourg, vie héroïque [11]
2010 The Skin of Sorrow Fedora Television film
2010 Hereafter Jasmine [10]
2012 Laurence Anyways Fanny
2012 The Maneater Jezabel
2014 La Mante religieuse Jézabel
2018 Kill Skills 2 Julia Television film [12]
2019 Made in China Lisa [13]
2021 Madame Claude Yoshiro [14]
2021 Undercover Mylène Antoine

Television

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Year Title Role Notes Ref.
2002 Sous le soleil Laeticia Valanski Television series
2011 Rani Jolanne de Valcourt Television miniseries
2014 H-Man La Main Verte 1 episode
2017 Addict Déborah 6 episodes
2017 Kill Skills Julia 1 episode
2022 Addict Déborah 6 episodes

References

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  1. ^ a b c d "Mylène Jampanoï Biography". TV Guide. Archived from the original on 24 December 2022.
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h Le Vaillant, Luc (2 June 2014). "Mylène Jampanoï, bonne petite diablesse". Libération (in French). Archived from the original on 10 January 2022.
  3. ^ "Mylène Jampanoï". Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved 22 December 2022.
  4. ^ "Mylène Jampanoï Biography". AllMovie. Retrieved 22 December 2022.
  5. ^ a b c d "Mylène Jampanoï: son talent explose dans "Rani"". Paris Match (in French). 26 November 2011. Archived from the original on 18 August 2016.
  6. ^ "36 Quai des Orfèvres". Turner Classic Movies. Archived from the original on 11 August 2022.
  7. ^ "Pan Nalin's 'Valley of Flowers'starring Milind Soman, Mylène Jampanoï, Naseeruddin Shah, Eri, Jamp". Screen Anarchy. 21 April 2006. Archived from the original on 24 December 2022.
  8. ^ a b Crocker, Jonathan (19 March 2009). "Martyrs: Dying For Your Art". Total Film. Archived from the original on 24 December 2022 – via JonathanCrocker.com.
  9. ^ a b "Mylène Jampanoï Credits". TV Guide. Retrieved 23 December 2022.
  10. ^ a b c d e f "Mylène Jampanoï Filmography". British Film Institute. Archived from the original on 1 March 2019. Retrieved 23 December 2022.
  11. ^ a b Scott, A. O. (31 August 2011). "'Je T'Aime,' He Sang, to His Women and Himself'". The New York Times. Archived from the original on 22 August 2014.
  12. ^ a b "Kill Skills 2". Notre Cinema. Archived from the original on 24 December 2022.
  13. ^ a b Mintzer, Jordan (8 July 2019). "'Made in China': Film Review". The Hollywood Reporter. Archived from the original on 24 December 2022.
  14. ^ a b "Madame Claude". British Board of Film Classification. Archived from the original on 24 December 2022.
  15. ^ Theo, Melissa (12 July 2022). "Mylène Jampanoï fête ses 42 ans : que devient la célèbre actrice". Voici (in French). Archived from the original on 14 July 2022.
  16. ^ "Athènes n'est pas en Grèce". Artsy. Archived from the original on 24 December 2022.
  17. ^ "Milind Soman marries French co-star Mylene Jampanoi : Happenings News : ApunKaChoice.Com". Archived from the original on 8 February 2012. Retrieved 21 March 2014.
  18. ^ "Milind and Mylene part ways". The Times of India. 4 July 2008. Retrieved 23 October 2017.
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