Belgian actress Émilie Dequenne, known for her award-winning debut in Rosetta, has passed away at just 43.
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Dequenne died on the evening of Sunday, March 16, at a hospital near Paris, France, her longtime agent, Danielle Gain, confirmed to AFP. As reported by Deadline, her untimely death comes less than two years after she publicly revealed her battle with a rare form of adrenal gland cancer in October 2023.
“Quelle injustice!! You have been an example to us all, with your extraordinary strength, your courage,” wrote Charlotte Tourret, press representative for Dequenne, in a heartfelt Instagram post. The message was shared alongside a photo of the actress at the 76th Cannes Festival and a lighthearted video.
“You are an inspiring woman, a great soul, a great actress, I remember your smiling eyes and your light,” Tourret added. “I love you forever my Emily, Milla, Michel, Danielle, Isabelle… I’m thinking about you so much.”
Dequenne began her studies at Belgium’s Music & Spoken Word Academy in Baudour at a young age, honing her craft from the start. At just 17, she secured her breakthrough role in Rosetta by the Dardenne brothers, according to Deadline.
Émilie Dequenne’s Went in Remission Last April, Only to Return
Her remarkable portrayal of a teenager living in a trailer park with her alcoholic mother earned her the Best Actress award at the 1999 Cannes Film Festival. The film itself was also honored with the prestigious Palme d’Or.
“It’s terrible, life is disgusting sometimes,” director Luc Dardenne said of Dequenne’s passing, per Deadline. “That’s too young, she still had so much to do.”
The award-winning actress amassed an impressive 61 credits on IMDb, including notable French-language films like The Girl on the Train (2009) and Our Children (2012). Her final performance was in the English-language thriller Survive, which premiered last year.
After being diagnosed with cancer in 2023, Dequeene announced she was in remission by April 2024. However, in a heartbreaking turn of events, she revealed during an interview with the French news outlet TF1 in December that her cancer had returned.
Last month, she commemorated World Cancer Day with a heartfelt message urging others to “take care of yourself.” In one of her final Instagram posts (seen above), she shared a series of photos documenting her journey through treatment, accompanied by a sincere “thank you” to everyone who had supported her along the way.
According to Variety, Dequenne is survived by her husband, Michel Ferracci, and her daughter, Milla, whom she had with her former partner, Alexandre Savarese.