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As a child, Corinne had always dreamt of becoming a clown: she had a passion for the world of circus.
She passed her Bac (high school diploma) at the age of 16 and left home at 17 to go to North America.
She hitch-hiked around the USA and Canada where she enjoyed many new encounters and experiences and where she also had
the opportunity to live for a while on an Indian reserve.
Back in France, she followed her first passion and enrolled in a studio managed by Mr Yves Quinio. She spent three years
learning how to be a clown, performing acrobatics, thinking about her relationship with the public, and improving her
knowledge of herself. With the company, she set up successful street theatre shows.
At the same time, she studied theatre studies, and stage art at the Faculty of Arts in Aix en Provence and received an IFCA diploma
for actresses. With her mother she built up a restaurant called "La Laitue" and, whilst working as a waitress, she took an English
degree. At that period, with the stage company, she performed -at the "Relais Culturel" in Aix en Provence- in a play by Berthold
Brecht from the Opera de quatre sous, then she performed in a play called Jenny des Lupanars in which she sang on stage for
the first time. She later performed in plays by Molière including Les femmes savantes and Le Médecin malgré lui.
When Yves Quinio gave up work and when the municipality decided to close the theatre, Corinne, a strong believer of destiny, settled
down in Paris and gave clown and acrobatics lessons for three years in the TAÏ theatre which was managed by Alain Illel. He also allowed her to use the theatre for two months so that she could present her own one-woman-show called Femme Clowne.
In 1981 Corinne auditionned for the lead role in the TV production Marianne une étoile pour Napoleon. During the 18 month shoot,
Corinne learnt fencing, horse riding, and performed her first stunts/acrobats (an early indication of the Femme d'Honneur to-be)
and the producer, Henri Spade, gave her her real first chance in TV film: the beginning of her career in the limelight… She continued
with Hôtel de Police, le Château adapted from the works of Kafka, Catherine and La Rumba from Roger Hanin who was to invite her
on stage as his Celimène a few years later. In 1988 she performed in her first full-length film in Charlotte Silvera Prisonnières
(winner of the Georges de Beauregard Award) with Annie Girardot, Marie-Christine Barrault, Bernadette Lafont, Milva, Agnès Soral, etc...
The offers were flooding in but these were unfortunately directed at her beautiful body. These offers corresponded neither to her desires nor
her values. Therefore, turning to her linguistics abilities (she speaks several languages perfectly), Corinne Touzet began considering offers
coming from foreign countries (Great Britain, USA, Italy, and Germany) which meant that she had to leave France , which would quickly forget her.
She interpreted wonderful characters endowed with real profoundness which satisfied both her ambitions as an actress and her
preoccupations as a woman. She compelled recognition because of her qualities in Anglo Saxon productions (BBC & NBC).
She appeared in films such as Liberty recounting the life of the sculptor Bartholdi who won eternal fame for the The Statue of Liberty
that he designed. In this film, Corinne was the Muse who inspired him. She also played in The first circle of Soljenitsyne directed by
Sheldon Larry with Robert Powel (Jesus of Nazareth) and F. Murray Abraham (Amadeus) : this film shoot revived her passion for Canada and
she travelled for her first time to Russia. She was nominated as "Best Actress" at the TV Awards. She also played in Red Fox by Ian
Toynton with John Hurt (Elephant Man), Jewels directed by Roger Young and last but not least Charlemagne.
After her exile from France, Bernard Uzan asked her to play in Lulu, roi de France alongside Richard Bohringer. This comedy
was a true success and thanks to it, Corinne started anew in France and returned with force to our screens particularly with
Le Bébé d'Elsa (Elsa's baby) produced by Michael Perrotta (the best ratings of that year for France 2). This was one of the most beautiful
characters that she has played. This was a dramatic role of a women who lost everything and who regained her self-confidence and strong
will to seize the day thanks to the birth of her grandson.
Corinne Touzet got in contact a few years later with Michael Perrotta as she wanted him to direct her first film as a producer called Et demain Paula
At that time TF1 contacted her asking her to be the lead role in Une Femme d'Honneur and after two years of negotiations and redrafting,
the project was realized. Marion Sarraut was chosen to direct the first part of that television series. This pilot project attracted
12 300 000 viewers. This unquestionable success represented the beginning of what is now considered as one of the most watched television
series in France. Viewers nominated Corinne as 'Best actress' in a TV film in 1997 during the "7 d'or" ceremony. After that, following
4 serials per year, this Un Femme d'Honneur still had the strong support of the public, they never failed her.
But Corinne, even if she put a lot into this character, didn't want to be considered just as a chief warrant officer.
She wanted to vary the kind of characters she played. She went to Ceylon (used to be know as Burma) under harsh climatic and political
conditions (the country is at war) to play in the TV film D'or et de Safran in which she is a reporter and photographer who wants to
show the rest of the world the reality of the country. We can also see her in two TV films written and directed by Thierry Redler,
a good friend of hers, who deals with adoption and juvenile delinquency in a deeply moving manner. Those two TV films were a great
success.( La traversée du Phare and Les Inséparables)
In 2000, Corinne Touzet created her own Production Society (Corilan’ Productions) helped by
a friend of her Nguyen Thi Lan. From drama to pure comedy, many projects came into being.
Therefore Corinne was no longer imprisoned within the role of a police woman, and was able
to create herself whatever story she wanted to produce. It is not a coincidence if Corinne
Touzet calls her movies: her “babies”.
Her first production broadcast in 2001 was La vie au grand air, directed by
François Luciani, starring Christophe Malavoy and Micheline Presle. A spirited
comedy where we could discover a Corinne Touzet : Miss Catastrophe, bird-brained,
brave and strong willed. An oyster-farmer determined not to give up her family
business to a powerful financial firm. Corinne, in this movie, protected environment
and her family patrimony. It is also the story of a woman whose love is compromised by a secret...
Her second production Et Demain Paula ?, co-starring Tom Novembre, bravely tackled
–without becoming a bleak picture- the problem of homeless people (SDF) and their
obstacle course in a society which reject them, from their fall to their rebirth.
It was an outstanding performance, simple and unpretentious, a scenario and a direction
of a rare soundness. A movie quite simply very moving! A risky bet since people could have
refused to follow her in such a story but once again around 9.000.000 admirers watched the
movie. Corinne declared on a press conference “Paula is moving me. We have succeeded in
saying exactly what we wanted Paula to say. If the movie is transmitting a positive message,
then we will have won. I will always be proud of having produced such a movie.”
In 2003 came Valentine (The Pygmalion of the vineyards), directed by Eric
summer co-starring François-Eric Gendron and Arnaud Binard. Valentine is an
endearing character, natural and romantic as you could meet in Provence markets...
A character which seduced a wide public being alternately whimsical, touching and funny...
Valentine was a great success and was edited in DVD for Mother’s Day that year.
In 2004 was produced Un Parfum de Caraïbe (A scent of Caribbean) new collaboration
with the director Michaël Perrotta co-starring Joby Valente and Jean-Claude Adelin.
For Corinne Touzet, this movie was an opportunity to resume with her roots.
The day of its release 9.700.000 admirers enjoyed the story of Agnès Merline,
creating perfumes for a great company, which goes to Martinique, discovering
an unknown part of her past, and helping a grand mother she has never seen before...
This was an action-packed comedy. Although it is not an autobiographical
movie, Corinne dedicated it to her grand mother Mammy George.
This movie was edited in DVD in 2006.
At the beginning of 2005 Corinne produced her fifth movie called L’Enfant de Personne
directed once more by Michaël Perrotta. Corinne stars a woman who became amnesic after
a bus accident and who has to fight to recover memory and get back the custody of her son.
This movie in two episodes has been broadcast on September 2005 in France and realised an
audience of more than 6.000.000 people for the first one, and 7.000.000 for the second one.
The same year, Corinne produced her sixth movie called Maldonne (Juliette’s winning hand).
The main character of this movie is starred by Alice Bromberg a little girl of 9 years old who
is suffering from muscular dystrophy. She plays the role of Juliette. Juliette’s father
abandoned woman and child when he discovered Juliette’s muscular dystrophy. Juliette
feels responsible for the departure of her father therefore she tries everything to
find a new companion for her mother (interpreted by Corinne Touzet)
This comedy is lively and moving, full of fun and energy… at the very image of Corinne
and Alice. Maldonne is a message of hope and a new look at handicap.
The movie has been broadcast on TF1 on 1 February 2006 and was a tremendous
success: there were 10.700.000 admirers to enter Juliette’s life.
A couple of weeks after the broadcasting of Maldonne, Corinne flies to « la Réunion » to play in
the Summer saga of France 2 Les Secrets du Volcan, together with Maria Pacôme, Véronique Jannot,
Didier Cauchy and Mélanie Maudran.
In 2006 Corinne creates her new Production Company Yes Productions and starts filming Valentine & Cie,
the sequel of Valentine, which she produced in 2003.
For the association Un Regard, Un Enfant, Corinne makes a documentary in the south of Morocco.
It highlights the work realized by this association which opened a center for street children.
Un article and pictures were published in TV Mag in January 2007.
From October to December 2006, Corinne is the spokeswoman for the new campaign of l’AFIPA.
They want to forbid the marketing of cats and dogs fur in France. This campaign mobilized hundreds
of millions of people in France and Europe.
Valentine & Cie is broadcasted in Belgium in March 2007, in Switzerland in April and in France
in October. The film stood up to the American television series broadcasted on a competitive
channel and scored 7.538.440 viewers, which represents an audience share of 30.6%.
2007 stands out by the announcement of Corinne to stop her rôle in the series Une Femme d’Honneur.
In June 2007 she plays in the two last episodes. She comments her decision in several magazines and
newspapers among which the american magazine Variety. “When we finished the last episode in June, I
cried my eyes out. Everybody was sad and cried. After all, I lived with Isabelle Florent for 11 years… (…).
I could have continued Une Femme d’Honneur, I could have done what most actors do, stay home and wait for
the telephone to ring, say my lines and return home at the end of the day... but this is not my style.”
In September 2007, Corinne starts filming her eighth production
Mouloud au coeur. She says about this film
« Mouloud au coeur is a novel by Catherine Lévy. This true story has touched me deeply when I read it and I wanted
to make a film of it. This novel tells the story of Mouloud, a young boy suffering from a heart malformation.
He comes to France for heart surgery made possible thanks to the association Mécénat Chirurgie Cardiaque,
from Professor Francine Leca. She saved the life of more than a thousand children by operating on them for
free. It concerns mostly disadvantaged children from Africa or elsewhere. Catherine Lévy has
temporarily accommodated such children and felt the need to write down her experiences. I felt the need to personify her. »
As from January 2008 Corinne will be in the play Mobile Home written by Sylvain Rougerie, directed by Anne
Bourgeois with Jean-Pierre Bouvier, Sylvain Rougerie and Jean-Michel Portal. Return on stage thanks
to a tour in province, in Belgium and in Switzerland which will enable her to meet with her audience,
always warm and faithful.
Corinne is able to broaden her sphere of activity because of her energy level and hard work,
which enables her to produce magnificent stories.
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