Leïla Bekhti turns 36 this year. A mother and Cesar-winning actress, our Oriental beauty has been on the move for over 15 years. We reveal 12 anecdotes you may not have known about our beautiful brunette..
She’s beautiful, she plays well, she’s got a good head – you couldn’t ask for anything better. Leïla Bekhti knows how to charm her audience just as well as she knows how to take risks on screen, in order to give the best of herself.
Born in 1984 in Issy-les-Moulineaux, Leïla Bekhti’s career began in 2006 in the film Sheitan, alongside Monica Bellucci‘s former husband Vincent Cassel. In less than fifteen years, she has become one of the most beloved French actresses of her generation.
Awarded a César in 2011 for her role in the film Tout ce qui brille by her accomplice, director Géraldine Nakache, Tahar Rahim’s wife will star in the new Netflix series, The Eddy, created by Damien Chazelle(La La Land), from May 8, 2020.Here are 12 anecdotes you may not have known about the French actress..
1 – She almost missed her acting career
Film wasn’t her thing at first. She studied art therapy as well as drama at university, and never thought she’d make it big or small on the big screen, even though the idea appealed to her. Leïla Bekhti declares: “When I was little, I dreamed of being an educator or a cashier, or rather a ‘helper’ or a ‘cashier’, as I used to say back then. On the day of the casting for Sheitan, I went without believing it, on the advice of a friend, so that I could tell my children later: your mother almost made a film one day. And it worked.
2 – Leïla Bekhti has Algeria in her heart
Even if our beautiful oriental brunette refuses to play stereotypical roles, she’s no less proud of her Algerian origins. “It’s true that I don’t have any complicated or difficult relationship with my country of origin. I’m fluent in Arabic, I go to Algeria twice a year, and I don’t have any feelings of being torn apart – on the contrary. I just don’t want my origin to be linked to the subject of the film when it doesn’t have to be”, says the woman who, when she chooses a role, wants to avoid clichés. She adds: “I refuse to play a girl kidnapped by her brother or whose father is an Islamist because he prays. But I don’t aspire to be called Marie or Claire in my films. If the role of Claire is a cliché, I won’t do it either.”
3 – What she says about her relationship with Tahar Rahim
In 2010, the two lovebirds said yes, after 2 years of romance. The couple met on the set of Jacques Audiard’s film Un prophète and have been together ever since. Very discreet, the lovers keep their private lives as private as possible. “We don’t like to comment on our intimacy. But I’m taking a step back from it,” commented the actress last year in an interview with Madame Figaro. “Knock on wood, we’ve been together for years, but we found each other at the right time. We’re very different, but we agree on the fundamentals”, she admitted.
4 – An unfailing friendship with Géraldine Nakache
Director Géraldine Nakache and actress Leïla Bekhti are long-time friends with an unshakeable friendship. But their friendship isn’t all smooth sailing, as our sexy brunette admits that sometimes her friend’s behavior irritates her to no end, and they get into intense arguments. “We’ve already had it out with each other. We fight over stupid stuff. When I go to eat at Géraldine’s, she vacuums before we’ve even finished eating. She’s a maniac, it’s a disease and I can’t stand her. So sometimes, I take crumbs and throw them on the floor”, confided the actress, who was interviewed last year on the set of Quotidien.
5 – A discreet couple who keep a low profile in the media
You’ll rarely see our North African milf with her partner. Both refuse to expose their lives in the media, and insist on their privacy. On this subject, she declares: “There have never been any rules. […] We’re in the image business, so we’re not afraid of the cameras. We’re generally invited to the same events, we’ve just naturally avoided showing ourselves together. […] Showing ourselves, posing together, showing off as a couple in photos, it’s not in keeping with who we are”.
6 – She’s an ambassador for L’Oréal
You may remember seeing Leïla Bekhti in commercials in 2011. These were most likely L’Oréal ads, for which she became the muse. An important promotion for the then young actress, who had just won an award for the film Tout ce qui brille. “Ever since I was young, I’ve lived and breathed L’Oréal products and advertising! Joining this dream team and saying in my own way ‘Because I’m worth it’ is an incredible adventure!”, thus communicated in 2011 the actress chosen by the brand for, dixit: “her beauty, both fascinating and touching. Her charisma and strong personality”.
7 – The actress knows how lucky she is
She knows that her profession is one in which few are chosen, and that everything hangs by a thread. Despite her success, she has kept her feet on the ground: “I’ve always been very aware of how lucky I am to be living my passion. I know that my profession is very unpredictable and can end tomorrow. A meeting or a film can change your life. You can also, from one day to the next, no longer be there and not know why. It’s both magical and very violent,” she confided to Elle magazine in 2014, assuring us that the day she becomes bored with her profession, she’ll stop.
8 – At the hotel, Leïla Bekhti has a particular way of behaving
If you bump into Leïla Bekhti at the hotel, you might be surprised by her behavior. Down-to-earth, discreet and far from behaving like a diva, she even says she’s embarrassed by the staff. Indeed, when the cleaning ladies come to do her room, she… helps them, unable to watch others work for her.
9 – A serene pregnancy
For her first pregnancy, our gorgeous milf gained 26 kilos. Yet she didn’t feel guilty or anxious about the weight gain. “I said to myself: ‘This is the craziest thing in my life, I’m going to live it to the full… a round brioche bun in my right hand, lasagne in my left. All I could think about was eating, I could do the Bekhti guide to Italian restaurants in Paris!” she confided a few months after the birth of her baby.
10 – She’s a present, attentive and demanding mother
Leïla Bekhti is a real mother hen. Currently expecting her second child, she saw her life transformed by the arrival in 2017 of little Souleymane, whom she nurtures to the point of sometimes perhaps overdoing it a little. ” I used to be that girl who got drunk on moms talking for an hour about their little ones and showing 650 snapshots on their smartphones. Well, I’ve become that mom. Only worse,” she told Madame Figaro in 2019, not hesitating to tighten the screws when she thinks it’s necessary. ” My son will be deprived of an iPad until he’s 18. He’ll learn to be bored. It’s okay, it develops the imagination.
11 – Leïla Bekhti has a beauty secret
To stay on screen for a long time, you have to know how to stay young and beautiful. And to do this, the actress has a secret that doesn’t cost her much, even though she used to be the face of L’Oréal. Far from breaking the bank on creams, she maintains her natural beauty thanks to a secret shared by her grandmother: “My grandmother always advised me to sleep well to have beautiful skin, feel good and face life. She told me: ‘One day, if you have a bit of money, buy yourself a good bed. It’s a good investment. She wasn’t wrong.
12 – She can sing
In addition to her undeniable acting talent, Leïla Bekhti also knows how to sing. As proof of this, she caused a stir last year when she shared a very funny video in which she can be heard covering the Larusso hit “Tu m’oublieras” in playback: “That’s when they give me a microphone, a hairdryer and put Larusso on…. Too bad for you!” she mischievously posted in the comments to this unlikely cover version. And it’s not the only song…
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