Émilie Dequenne dead: the Cannes-winning Belgian actress was 43

Émilie Dequenne, the renowned Belgian actress who won the Best Actress prize at the Cannes Film Festival for her film debut, has died. She was 43.

Dequenne died Sunday, March 16, in a hospital outside of Paris, her longtime agent Danielle Gain told the French news agency Agence France-Presse (AFP). The actress announced in October 2023 that she was battling a “rare cancer” that was later revealed to be adrenocortical carcinoma, or cancer of the adrenal gland. The disease forced Dequenne into a hiatus from acting after her last project, the English-language disaster film Survive, was released in 2024.

Entertainment Weekly has reached out to reps for Dequenne.

Born in 1981, Dequenne shot to international stardom at only 17 when she was cast in Rosetta, the fourth feature film from the Belgian directing team Luc and Jean-Pierre Dardenne. The young actress’ powerful performance as the titular character, who struggles to better her circumstances while living in a caravan park with her alcoholic mother, won her the Best Actress prize at the 1999 Cannes Film Festival.

Among Dequenne’s competitors for the award were Catherine Deneuve, Penelope Cruz, Sissy Spacek, Gong Li, Elaine Cassidy, and Toni Colette. Her shocking win announced a major new talent in the European film scene, and was followed by acclaimed performances in films like Christophe Gans’ period horror film Brotherhood of the Wolf and Catherine Corsini’s The Very Merry Widows.

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Over her two and a half decades in filmmaking, Dequenne built a résumé of diverse and daring roles in films by some of the most esteemed working directors, from André Téchiné (The Girl on the Train) to André Forcier (The United States of Albert) and Joachim Lafosse (Our Children). She won Best Actress at Cannes again in the Un Certain Regard section for her role in Our Children, which depicts the mental state of a woman leading up to the murder of her five children.

The actress attracted strong positive notices for her recent role in Lukas Dhont’s Close as the mother of a young boy who commits suicide. Dequenne posed with the Close team in a post on Instagram from the 2023 Academy Awards, where the film was nominated for Best International Feature Film. “We’re going home without the statuette but with our hearts full!!!” she wrote.

Commenting on the disjunction between her sunny personality and often dark roles she chooses to play, Dequenne told The Guardian in 2013 that while “I have my own neuroses like everyone else… It’s true that basically I have a very playful personality.”

Dequenne was public about her battle with cancer, frequently documenting hospital visits and progress updates on her Instagram. In one of her last posts, from Feb. 4, Dequenne commemorated World Cancer Day with a smiling selfie, writing, “What a fight! And we don’t choose… All my love to all those who are struggling like me against their will. Take care of yourselves.”