Vanessa Paradis
Interview by Michele Manelis
Marie Claire (Australia) June 2000

In her native France she’s been a star for half of her 28 years. Now, with partner Johnny Depp, she’s enjoying her best role yet – motherhood.

She began singing at age seven, had a hit single, Joe Le Taxi, at 14 and starred in her first feature film, Noce Blanche, at 18, which earned her a Cesar award (the French Oscar). As a diversion from her two-pronged career, Vanessa Paradis went on to become the face of Chanel in the striking Coco perfume advertisements. Now, at 28, Paradis and actor Johnny Depp are raising their one-year-old daughter, Lily-Rose, and preparing for the birth of their second child, due later this year. With a critically acclaimed movie, The Girl On The Bridge (Le Fille Sur Le Pont), recently released and a new album on its way, Paradis, like most working mothers, is learning the art of juggling.

You’d be hard pressed to find a more “unmoviestar-like” actress than Paradis, as she relaxes at West Hollywood’s famed Chateau Marmont Hotel. Wearing no make-up, she laughs easily and has retained a likable, child-like quality – the reason, no doubt, she’s often chosen to play Lolita-esque roles.

Wearing an ensemble that looks like she’s raided the wardrobe of her former record producer and lover Lenny Kravitz, Paradis is casually dressed in a paisley skirt and ‘70s-style T-shirt.

Her face lights up at the mention of Lily-Rose. “Everything makes sense now,” she gushes. “Even though we’re missing a lot of sleep, she gives everything in our lives meaning. And of course, we’re spoiling her already, but it’s really important to us that she be well mannered. We don’t want to raise a spoiled brat.” Paradis gets louder in front of curious onlookers. “She’s cute when she’s awake, she’s cute when she sleeps. She’s cute all the time! When we look at her, it’s pure love.”

Paradis met Depp, 36, at the bar of a Paris hotel, while he was dining with director Roman Polanski during the shooting of their upcoming thriller, The Ninth Gate (coincidentally, Paradis had unsuccessfully auditioned for a part in the film). “My English is better then his French,” she laughs. Evidently the couple had no trouble communicating and Paradis was pregnant less than three months after they met. They’ve been inseparable ever since. “I believe that the man or woman in your life is the person you want to give everything to. That person makes you be a better person. And when you have a beautiful person like I have in front of you, you don’t want to be selfish and mean. You want to be better for him. I have to say that he brings out the best in me.”

Depp’s off-screen antics are well documented, from trashing hotel rooms and attacking photographers to dating a string of beautiful women – including a four-year relationship with Kate Moss. Not surprisingly, Paradis is now a source of constant interest to the media. “It’s hard, because everywhere we go we have someone following us, and often we might want to kiss but don’t because there are always eyes watching us. But really, I can’t complain. I have a rich life.”

Depp has been engaged to Winona Ryder, Sherilyn Fenn and Jennifer Grey but has now happily settled down with Paradis, although the couple have no plans to marry. They share an apartment in Paris’s fashionable Montmartre district, and Depp has retained his house in LA (formerly owned by Bela Lugosi, the original Dracula). “We don’t want to raise our children in America,” she says. “There’s too much violence.”

Despite her waif-like appearance, Paradis reveals a hankering for junk food. “I like healthy food and junk food. I love everything. I love Cuban food, Mexican food and hamburgers,” she says. “It’s a luxury that I don’t have to watch my weight.” Sipping mineral water, she adds, “My other vice is clothes. I’m very superficial and materialistic when it comes to clothes. I can’t help myself,” she giggles. “But it’s not like I have to wear designer stuff. I look for comfort.”

Paradis has been acting for more than 10 years and has made a name for herself in European cinema. In her most recent role in The Girl On The Bridge, a quirky, romantic comedy, Paradis plays a suicidal young woman ready to jump from a Paris bridge who is rescued by a knife-throwing circus performer on the lookout for a human target for his show. “When I read the script I had to hold my breath for an hour, it was so beautiful,” she says dramatically. “This character is so interesting and so complicated. I loved playing her. I loved that she’s not the typical heroine.”

Paradis says she has no plans to work in Hollywood movies. “I’m not really an ambitious person. I’m not a ‘career girl’. I’ve done five movies altogether, and I’ve turned down many opportunities, none of which I regret,” she shrugs. “As far as working with Johnny, we’re not looking to do any films together. When we’re at home, we leave our work at the door. And quite frankly, it’s not something that really interests me.”

In summing up her life, Paradis says, “I’m such a lucky person, it’s scary. My life is so full. And even though I’ve had so much success, before I had Lily-Rose I was always sad. But now I have this beautiful family,” she smiles. “Even now, I can’t wait to leave here so I can see her and smell her again.” She drifts off into her own world. “What she’s taught us is that we don’t need fancy things in life. As long as we have the three of us, we’ll always be happy.”

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