Émilie Dequenne, a Belgian actress who twice won awards at the Cannes Film Festival, died in Paris on March 16 of adrenal cancer.

The Belgian star died in a hospital outside Paris on Sunday evening, his agent confirmed, according to The Guardian . Émilie Dequenne had been battling a rare form of adrenal cancer for several years. She first revealed her diagnosis in October 2023 and frequently shared her battle with cancer on Instagram.

Actress Émilie Dequenne. Photo: Corbis

Staying positive throughout her difficult journey, Émilie shared a smiling selfie on February 4 on World Cancer Day with the caption: “It’s a fight! We have no choice. Sending my love to those who are struggling like me. Take care of yourself!”.

Émilie Dequenne was born on August 29, 1981 in Belgium, and began studying acting at the age of 12 and joined the theater troupe La Relève. She made her film debut at the age of 17 in the film Rosetta , which was an unexpected success.

Her role as a young woman living in a trailer with her alcoholic mother, struggling to escape poverty, helped Émilie win the Best Actress award at the 1999 Cannes Film Festival. That year, the 18-year-old girl excelled over talented competitors such as Penelope Cruz, Gong Li, Catherine Deneuve, Sissy Spacek, Elaine Cassidy and Toni Colette. The film Rosetta , directed by brothers Luc and Jean-Pierre Dardenne, also won the Palme d’Or.

Emilie Dequenne is the daughter of ‘Rosetta’.

After her early success, Émilie Dequenne became a star in many Belgian and French films. She participated in famous works such as the historical thriller The Brotherhood of the Wolf , the drama The Girl on the Train and the historical film The Bridge of San Luis Rey with Gabriel Byrne, Robert de Niro and Cathy Bates… In 2012, Émilie made a splash with the family drama Our Children , receiving the Best Actress award in the Un Certain Regard category at the Cannes Film Festival along with many other prestigious awards. In 2022, her film Close was nominated for the Oscar for Best Foreign Language Film.

Throughout her career, Émilie Dequenne has been known for her psychologically profound roles, especially as strong yet vulnerable women. She is considered a talented actress with a genuine, emotional acting style. The actress has made her mark in both arthouse and commercial films. Her last big screen appearance was last fall in a Belgian film, playing the mother of a victim of bullying in high school.

Émilie Dequenne has a daughter, Milla, born in 2002 with her ex-boyfriend, DJ Alexandre Savarese. She married actor Michel Ferracci in 2014.