Audrey Tautou is a French film actress best known for her role in the award-winning romantic comedy film Amelie and as Sophie Neveu in The Da Vinci Code. A daughter of a dental surgeon and a school teacher, Audrey Tatou was born on August 9, 1978 in the Puy-de-Dôme département of Auvergne. She showed interest in acting at an early age and started taking lessons at the prestigious Cours Florent. Audrey Tautou is one of the few actors to have passed the drama school’s high standards. Others include Muriel Robin, Daniel Auteuil and Guillaume Canet.
In 1998, Audrey Tautou participated in the star search competition Jeunes Premiers (The Young Debut) and bagged the Best Young Actress award in the 9th Béziers Festival of Young Actors. She was then chosen by Tonie Marshall to be one of the casts of the Cesar Award-winning film Venus Beauty Institute released in 1999, playing Marie, the youngest beautician in the institution who still have learn the ropes from her co-workers. The following year, she won the Prix Suzanne Bianchetti as France’s most promising young actress.
In 2001, Tautou played Amelie in the French romantic comedy film, Le Fabuleux Destin d'Amélie Poulain, which earned her international fame. The film won best film at the European Film Awards, four César Awards, including Best Film and Best Director, and two BAFTA Awards, including Best Original Screenplay.
In 2005, Tautou appeared on her first full Hollywood production in the film adaptation of Dan Brown’s international best-seller The Da Vinci Code, as Sophie Neveu. She also co-starred with Gad Elmaleh in Pierre Salvadori’s Hors de prix released in 2006. In 2007, Tautou appeared in Claude Berri's French-language Ensemble, c'est tout with Guillaume Canet.
Tautou considers Meryl Streep, Paul Newman, Juliette Lewis, Jodie Foster and Julianne Moore as her acting idols.