The actress had been battling adrenal cancer for months. First seen in "Rosetta" (1999), she was appreciated by audiences on both sides of the Franco-Belgian border for her performances in "Le pacte des loups", "Au revoir là-haut", "Les hommes du feu" and "Close". Belgian actress Émilie Dequenne, who was suffering from a very rare form of cancer, has died on Sunday at the age of 43, her family and agent announced.
She died at the Gustave Roussy hospital in Villejuif, on the outskirts of Paris. Her first role at the age of 17 in the film by the Dardenne brothers launched her career and won her the Best Actress award at the Cannes Film Festival. In 2021, the actress also won the César for Best Supporting Actress for by Emmanuel Mouret.
She revealed in October 2023 that she had adrenocortical carcinoma, a cancer of the adrenal gland. According to scientists, the annual incidence of this disease is 1 to 2 per million inhabitants. "We were all marked by her deeply moving performances in powerful roles.
French cinema has lost, too soon, a talented actress who still had so much to offer", Culture Minister Rachida Dati wrote on X, expressing her condolences to Émilie Dequenne's family. France's firefighting community also , who"*perfectly donned the firefighter's uniform alongside Roschdy Zem in 2017's ". Many fans her on social networks.
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