SHE achieved global stardom alongside Leonardo DiCaprio in trippy thriller The Beach.
And that same year the stunning French actress became the face of L’Oreal after signing a lucrative contract.
But rather than chasing bumper paycheques in Hollywood blockbusters, Virginie Ledoyen, 48, was content to pursue passion projects in her native France.
One of these was the award-winning 2002 hit 8 Women, which featured esteemed French actresses Catherine Deneuve, Isabelle Huppert, Fanny Ardant and Emmanuelle Béart.
Fast-forward 23 years and stylish mum-of-three Virginie looks just as radiant as she did at the turn of the millennium.
Virginie was already a rising star in France prior to working with DiCaprio in the late 90s.
She received prestigious César Award nominations for her work in A Single Girl, Les marmottes and L’eau froide.
Staying true to herself, Virginie became a mum aged 24, refusing to swap her baby dream for superstardom.
She reasoned to The Standard in 2012: “...maybe because my mother had me young, I always wanted to have a baby. It was just obvious to me. And I wanted that baby so much, it was not even an issue.”;
Virginie’s eldest daughter Lila was born in 2001 from her relationship with production designer Louis Soubrier.
She also has a son called Isaac, 14, and an 11-year-old daughter called Amalia from her relationship with Arie Elmaleh.
In between her child-bearing partnerships she was briefly married to director Iain Rogers, divorcing him after a year in 2007.
In many ways, the biggest thing she learned from her foray into international cinema was that she didn’t want the
While she was full of praise for him in an interview with The Guardian, calling him “a great actor. Intense, emotional, intelligent,”; she saw the struggle he endured offset.
She candidly said: “DiCaprio’s life is the perfect example of how not to be.
“I would not wish his life on anybody. I can understand how it might seem a bit flattering to be in every newspaper and to have everyone imagining how your life must be. But frankly it’s not.
“When you see this poor guy being followed everywhere he goes by hordes of people, it’s actually terribly sad. Nobody should live like that.”;
The film was an adaptation of Alex Garland’s novel and was directed by Danny Boyle.
In it, DiCaprio’s backpacker character, Richard, befriends fellow tourists, Françoise [Ledoyen] and Étienne [Guillaume Canet]. Together, near Thailand.
It emerges other likeminded people have set up a small community in the idyllic location and, while initially harmonious, the group dynamic soon takes a dark turn.
Money has never been a driving factor in Virginie’s decision making process.
Her association with L’Oreal brought in enough money to keep her content while she cherry-picked projects.
“I didn’t want to go to Hollywood in order to play the French girl who always wants to be nude,”; she said.
“I wanted to keep working in Europe. And I would never accept a film because of the money. I have enough money. I don’t need to be getting $20m a movie.”;
That’s not to say she doesn’t have a strong work ethic.
Credits have been continuous over the last two decades and most recently she appeared on British television in four part Channel 5 drama The Au Pair starring David Suchet.
