Yvan Attal

Yvan Attal was born in 1965 in Tel Aviv

Attal was born in Tel Aviv on 4 January 1965 to Jewish parents from Algeria. The family left Israel when he was a few months old, and he grew up in the outskirts of Paris.

He failed his matriculation exams in 1983 and left high school during his repeat year. He worked as a salesman, then in 1985 began studying acting at the Cours Florent under Francis Huster.

His screen debut in Éric Rochant's Un monde sans pitié in 1989 earned him a César Award for Most Promising Actor. He directed his first feature, Ma femme est une actrice, in 2001, and acted in films such as The Interpreter, Anthony Zimmer and Rush Hour 3. He also voiced Tom Cruise in French versions of several films.

From 2010 he served for several years as honorary president of the Israeli Film Festival in Paris. Later work includes directing and starring in Ils sont partout in 2016 and playing Romain Gary in Seberg in 2019.

Since 1991 his partner has been actress Charlotte Gainsbourg, and they have 3 children, including actor Ben Attal. In 2014 the family moved to New York City.