Juliette Lamboley

As an introverted child, French actress Juliette Lamboley spent a lot of time watching movies with her film-buff parents—which turned out to be an asset, given her current profession. “When I was young, I took some theater courses as a sort of therapy because I was so shy,” recalls the 18-year-old Paris native, whose self-conscious timidity was quickly replaced by an unabashed passion for drama: By the age of 8, she had secured an agent and begun going on auditions; and by the time she was 11, she was already a hardened veteran, having scored a series of television roles. But while Lamboley proved a natural when it came to acting, she also proved an attentive student of the careers of other actors, like Natalie Portman and Leonardo DiCaprio, examining the kinds of films they did and the choices they made. “I admire the actors who took the time to wait for movies that they really, really wanted to do—actors who take risks and don’t think about the opinion of the audience,” she says. “And also the ones who don’t think about the money!” Last year marked a breakthrough in Lamboley’s own career with a theatrical turn asCecily Cardew in a French stage production of Oscar Wilde’s The Importance of Being Earnest. She also got a lot of notice for two film roles—one as a boy-crazy teen in 15 Ans et Demi (with Daniel Auteuil), and the other as the daughter of a celebrity superfan in the comedy Mes Stars et Moi (with Catherine Deneuve). Nevertheless, she is as intent on walking the walk as well as she talks the talk. “All of the characters I’ve done so far are a bit like me—so I’ve worked,” she says, “but I’d like to play someone really different.”

Above: Juliette Lamboley in Paris, November 2008. Cardigan: malo. Shorts: Ann Demeulemeester. Necklace and ring: Maison Martin Margiela. Cosmetics: Givenchy, including Phenomen’Eyes Mascara. Fragrance: Absolutely Irresistible Givenchy. Styling: Vanessa Reid/Streeters. Hair: Romina Manenti/Airport Paris. Makeup: Steven Canavan/Art List Paris.