Belgian actress Émilie Dequenne has died at the age of 43. Her family and agent confirmed her passing on Sunday at the Gustave Roussy hospital in Villejuif, just outside Paris. She had been battling adrenocortical carcinoma, a rare cancer of the adrenal gland, which she revealed in October 2023.
Dequenne first gained recognition at 17 for her role in Rosetta, a film by the Dardenne brothers. Her performance earned her the Best Actress award at the Cannes Film Festival, launching a career that spanned over two decades. The film itself won the Palme d’Or, cementing its place in cinematic history.
She continued to receive recognition for roles in The Girl on the Train (2009) and Our Children (2012). In 2021, she won a César Award for Best Supporting Actress for her role in Les Choses qu’on dit, les Choses qu’on fait, directed by Emmanuel Mouret. Audiences in Belgium and France recognized her talent, with performances in Le Pacte des Loups, Au revoir là-haut, and Les Hommes du Feu.
In 2024, she returned to the Cannes Film Festival for the 25th anniversary of her Rosetta win. She also promoted her last film, Survive, an English-language disaster movie released the same year. Shortly afterward, her illness forced her to step away from acting.
Tributes followed her passing. France’s Culture Minister Rachida Dati wrote on X that French cinema had lost “a talented actress who still had so much to offer.” The country’s firefighting community also honored her, recalling her role in Men of Fire (2017), in which she portrayed a firefighter alongside Roschdy Zem. Fans shared memories of her performances on social media, emphasizing the emotional depth she brought to her roles.