Audrey Tautou To Star In Chanel Biopic & Fragrance Ad

Audrey Tautou is set to star in the forthcoming biopic of the legendary French couturière Gabrielle "Coco" Chanel. The film, "Coco Avant Chanel," will be released in France on April 22 but so far the 2009 North American release has not yet been announced. The French-language trailer, made available here through YouTube, reveals that the movie focuses on the designer's childhood and early womanhood, the years preceding her rise to sartorial fame and the people and events that made her who she was—hence the title, translated as "Coco Before Chanel."

Audrey Tautou is the natural choice for the lead role, as Women's Wear Daily reported last year that she would star in a new mini feature commercial for the fashion house's signature fragrance Chanel No. 5. According to recent reports from Elle UK, the film will chart the story of Audrey and a mystery man who keep missing each other on a journey from Paris to Istanbul on the Orient Express. The 2 minute 25 second spot is directed by Jean-Pierre Jeunet, who worked with Tautou in the Oscar-nominated film Amélie.