Sophie Nélisse

Sophie Nélisse
Sophie Nélisse on Dulce Osuna.jpg
Nélisse in 2019
Born
Marie-Sophie Nélisse

(2000-03-27) March 27, 2000 (age 22)
OccupationActress
Years active2010–present
FamilyIsabelle Nélisse (sister)

Marie-Sophie Nélisse (born March 27, 2000) is a Canadian actress. She is known for her Genie Award–winning performance in Monsieur Lazhar, as Liesel Meminger in the film adaptation of the best-selling novel The Book Thief, written by Markus Zusak, and as Caroline in The Kid Detective. She also stars as young Shauna in Showtime's series Yellowjackets.

Early life

Nélisse discusses The Book Thief in 2013

Nélisse was born in Windsor, Ontario, on March 27, 2000. She is of French-Canadian descent. Her mother, Pauline Belhumeur, left her job as a schoolteacher in 2013 to act as a talent manager for both Sophie and her younger sister, actress Isabelle Nélisse. Nélisse is fluent in both French and English. Her family moved to Montreal, Quebec, when she was four.

Career

She spent her early years training in gymnastics, aiming for the 2016 Olympics, and signed to a talent agency to make money to pay for the training, but after getting the part in The Book Thief (and subsequent accolades) she shifted her focus to acting. Additionally, Nélisse formed and still maintains a close friendship with her co-star from The Book Thief, Nico Liersch.

Nélisse at the premiere of The Rest of Us at the 2019 Toronto Film Festival

Besides her Genie Award for Monsieur Lazhar, she won a Jutra Award for her performance and a Young Artist Award nomination as Best Leading Young Actress in an International Feature Film. She held a recurring role the Québec sitcom Les Parent [fr] and she also starred in the title role of the 2015 film The Great Gilly Hopkins. In May 2016, Nélisse was present on the red carpet at Cannes Film Festival for the first time to present Canadian thriller movie Mean Dreams.

In 2016, Nélisse was one of four actors selected by the Toronto International Film Festival, alongside Grace Glowicki, Jared Abrahamson, and Mylène Mackay for its "Rising Stars" programme, described as an "intensive professional development programme [that] immerses participants in a series of public events and industry meetings during the Festival." In June 2018, it was announced that she would be the face of Caroline Néron's Fall 2018 jewelry line.

After graduating high school in June 2017, Nélisse confirmed she wouldn't be enrolling in post-secondary education for the time being due to commitments shooting Close in London and Morocco. In a L'actualité series about "Being 18 years old in 2018", Nélisse spoke about entering adulthood in the era of the Weinstein effect, and deplored that when she announced she was looking for "more mature roles", she was quickly offered multiple roles where her characters would be raped and that scenarios she receives almost always include sexual elements. One of these instances was when she turned down the sexually-charged lead role in Fugueuse, in which Ludivine Reding was eventually cast as Fanny, the titular teenage runaway who ends up a sex trafficking victim.

Personal life

Her sister Isabelle Nélisse is also an actress, best known for her roles in Mama and HBO's controversial film The Tale; the sisters also acted together in Mirador [fr], Wait Till Helen Comes and Worst Case, We Get Married.

Filmography

Film

Year Title Role Notes
2011 Monsieur Lazhar Alice L'Écuyer Canadian Screen Award for Best Supporting Actress
Jutra Award for Best Supporting Actress
Nominated—Young Artist Awards for Best Young Actress in an International Feature Film
2012 Ésimésac Marie Gélinas Sequel to Babine, also directed by Luc Picard and written by Fred Pellerin, the Saint-Élie-de-Caxton storyteller
2013 The Book Thief Liesel Meminger Satellite Awards for Best Breakthrough Performance
Hollywood Film Award Spotlight Award
Phoenix Film Critics Society for Best Performance by a Youth in a Leading or Supporting Role—Female
Young Artist Award for Best Leading Young Actress in a Feature Film
Nominated—Broadcast Film Critics Association Award for Best Young Actor/Actress
2014 Pawn Sacrifice Young Joan Lily Rabe played the adult Joan Fischer
2015 Endorphine Simone de Koninck Shown in the Vanguard section of the 2015 Toronto International Film Festival
The Great Gilly Hopkins Gilly Hopkins
2016 Mean Dreams Casey Caraway Chosen for Cannes Film Festival's Directors' Fortnight
1:54 Jen First feature-length fiction film from Oscar-nominated director, producer and screenwriter Yan England
Wait Till Helen Comes Molly Also stars her sister Isabelle Nélisse in the role of Molly's step-sister Heather
2017 The History of Love Alma Singer
Exode Short film that premiered at Cannes Film Festival, in the Not Short on Talent section, a Telefilm Canada initiative.
Worst Case, We Get Married Aïcha Lea Pool movie adaptation of original novel by Sophie Bienvenu [fr], also starring Karine Vanasse.
Winner of the VIFF "Vancouver Women in Film and Television Artistic Merit Award"
2019 Close Zoe Written and directed by Vicky Jewson and starring Noomi Rapace as the bodyguard of Nélisse's character, a rich young Bangkok heiress.
47 Meters Down: Uncaged Mia
The Rest of Us Aster Independent Aisling Chin-Yee dramatic comedy film also starring Heather Graham.
2020 The Kid Detective Caroline Written and directed by Evan Morgan (The Dirties) and co-starring Adam Brody.
Flashwood Rose French-language film. First feature length movie by Jean-Carl Boucher

Television

Year Title Role Notes
2010 Mirador [fr] Jeune fille de Ralf 1 episode
Toute la Vérité [fr] Fille de Violaine 1 episode
2011-2016 Les Parent [fr] Zoé Recurring
2012 Vertige Rosalie Roussel Main cast
2015-2016 Les Dieux de la Danse Herself
(Dance competition)
Season 1: Withdrew after passing first elimination round
Season 2: Eliminated after third round (semifinals)
2017 Accès Illimité [fr] Herself (Docu-reality) 1 episode
Demain des hommes [fr] Roxanne Recurring
2019-2020 L'Échappée [fr] Romy Lalonde Recurring (Season 4-present)
2020 Amours d'occasion [fr] Young Florence 1 episode
2021–present Yellowjackets Teenage Shauna Shipman Main role

Awards and nominations

Year Organisation Award Work Result
2012 Genie Awards Best Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role Monsieur Lazhar Won
Jutra Awards Best Supporting Actress (Meilleure Actrice de Soutien) Monsieur Lazhar Won
2013 Satellite Awards Breakthrough Performance The Book Thief Won
Hollywood Film Festival Spotlight Award The Book Thief Won
Phoenix Film Critics Society Awards Best Performance by a Youth in a Lead or Supporting Role—Female The Book Thief Won
Young Artist Awards Best Performance in an International Feature Film – Young Actress Monsieur Lazhar Nominated
2014 Young Artist Awards Best Leading Young Actress in a Feature Film(tie) The Book Thief Won
Saturn Awards Best Performance by a Younger Actor The Book Thief Nominated
Online Film & Television Association Best Youth Performance The Book Thief Nominated
Critics Choice Awards Best Young Actor/Actress The Book Thief Nominated

This page was last updated at 2022-11-15 22:44 UTC. Update now. View original page.

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