Belgian actress Emilie Dequenne has passed away at the age of 43 after a battle with adrenocortical carcinoma, a rare cancer of the adrenal gland. Her family and agent confirmed her death on Sunday in a hospital near Paris.
Dequenne first gained international recognition for her breakout role in Jean-Pierre and Luc Dardenne’s Rosetta (1999), a performance that earned her the Best Actress Award at the Cannes Film Festival, while the film itself won the Palme d’Or.
Over the years, she continued to make a mark in French-language cinema, starring in acclaimed films such as The Girl on the Train (2009) and Our Children (2012).
In 2024, Dequenne returned to Cannes to celebrate the 25th anniversary of her Rosetta win and to promote her final film, the English-language disaster thriller Survive. Shortly after, her illness forced her to step away from acting.
Dequenne publicly revealed her cancer diagnosis in October 2023. Her passing marks a significant loss to European cinema, where she was regarded as one of the most talented and versatile actresses of her generation.