Emilie Dequenne, the accomplished Belgian actress best known for her titular role in the movie “Rosetta,” has passed away at the age of 43. Dequenne’s longtime agent, Danielle Gain, informed the news agency AFP that the actress died at a hospital on the outskirts of Paris on the evening of Sunday, March 16. Her tragic death comes less than two years after she revealed her rare adrenal gland cancer diagnosis in October 2023.
“Quelle injustice! You have been an example to us all, with your extraordinary strength and courage,” Dequenne’s press representative Charlotte Tourret wrote on social media, alongside a photo of the actress at the 76th Cannes Festival and a playful video. “You are an inspiring woman, a great soul, a great actress. I love you forever, my Emily.
Milla, Michel, Danielle, Isabelle… I’m thinking about you so much,” Tourret added. Having studied from an early age at Belgium’s Music & Spoken Word Academy in Baudour, Dequenne secured her breakout role in “Rosetta” by the Dardenne brothers at just 17.
emilie dequenne’s inspiring courage remembered
Luc Dardenne told a French radio station on Monday that Dequenne had arrived at the casting session “heavily made up” and was “magnificent” in the scenes. Her impressive performance as a teenager living in a trailer park with her alcoholic mother won her the Best Actress award at the Cannes Film Festival in 1999.
The movie also won the prestigious Palme D’Or. “It’s terrible; life is disgusting sometimes,” Luc Dardenne said of Dequenne’s death. “That’s too young; she still had so much to do.”
Dequenne achieved 61 acting credits during her career, including notable French language films such as “The Girl on the Train,” released in 2009, and “Our Children,” which debuted in 2012.
Following her cancer diagnosis in 2023, Dequenne shared that she was in remission in April 2024 but revealed a relapse while speaking to a French news outlet in December that year. Her final project was the English language thriller, “The Boat,” released last year. Last month, she marked World Cancer Day by urging people to “take care of yourself.” Her final social media post included several photos taken throughout her treatment for the disease, alongside a “thank you” to those who had supported her.
Dequenne is survived by her husband Michel Ferracci and daughter Milla, whom she shares with her previous partner Alexandre Savarese. The world of cinema has lost an extraordinary talent whose legacy will continue to inspire.
Photo by; Sandy Millar on Unsplash
