Marina Sylvie Foïs

Marina Sylvie Foïs (born 21 January 1970 in Boulogne-Billancourt) is a French actress. She is of Russian, Jewish Egyptian, German, and Italian ancestry. Foïs was discovered in 1986 for her comedy work in The School for Wives at the age of 16, and decided to take classes by correspondence, obtaining her high school final exam two years later. She trained at the Cours Florent.

Foïs joined The Royal Imperial Green Rabbit Company, which later became Les Robins des Bois, composed of students from the Cours Florent taught by Isabelle Nanty. The troupe caught the attention of Dominique Farrugia in 1996 and went on to act and direct in the Comedie+ show La Grosse Emission for two years. During that period, Foïs co-wrote sketches with Pierre-Francois Martin-Laval, playing various characters such as the dim-witted Sophie Petoncule and the pedantic director Marie-Mure. The show continued the next year on Canal+ with a bigger audience, and in June 2001 Foïs and the troupe parted ways to focus on their individual film careers.

She has been honoured with the Moliere Award for Best Actress and is a member of the Collectif 50/50. On 25 November 2020 it was announced that Foïs would host the 46th Cesar Awards. She started dating director Eric Lartigau in 1999 and they had two sons, Lazare and Georges. Her brother Fabio died in an airplane crash while participating in an aerobatic demonstration.