The Bond girl battling it out in the High Court: Eva Green, who studied at a €33,000-a-year private university in Paris, says she is the ‘ugly duckling’ of Hollywood – and played her ex’s lover TWICE onscreen
- Eva Green, 42, from Paris, is suing for a $1million fee for an abandoned film
- The French actress has revealed she’s been told she is ‘too old’ for some roles
- Read more: Bond girl Eva Green made ‘crazy’ hiring suggestions, court hears
As Hollywood actress Eva Green’s lawyers argue she has been unfairly portrayed as a ‘diva’ while she sues a production company in the High Court, the actress’s career has been under the microscope.
The French-born but London-based former Bond Girl, 42, has had a quiet few years after her career reached dizzying heights when she starred in Casino Royale, which put her on the path to success.
Her multiple collaborations with Tim Burton on different projects helped project her career even further as she was dubbed his ‘muse’ – but the success came with speculation she and the 64-year-old were dating which she was forced to shut down on Instagram.
As she takes on White Lantern Films and SMC Speciality finance in court for a $1 million dollar fee for abandoned project A Patriot, while she stands accused by the other party of breaching her contract, the woman branded a ‘diva’ has referred to herself as an ‘ugly duckling’ in the entertainment industry.
Eva Green (pictured at the premiere of Dumbo in 2019) is suing a production company for a $1 million fee she believes she is owed after a project she was working for was abandoned. The star’s lawyers have argued White Lantern Films and SMC Speciality finance have branded the 42-year-old actress, from Paris, France, a ‘diva’ in fighting her corner, but Green has previously referred to herself as an ‘ugly duckling’ in the industry
Eva Green was born in 1980 in Paris, France, and has a twin sister, Joy, who is two minutes younger than her.
The twins were born to a French actress, Marlene Jobert, and a dental surgeon, Walter Green.
The actress’s Instagram account shows her as a dog lover. She also uses her account to share official statements from her representatives and show support for causes such as the liberation of Ukraine
She is Jewish through her Algerian-born mother, who is descended from the Sephardic Jewish community. Although she does not practice Judaism, Green has previously described herself as ‘a secular Jew who never attended Synagogue as a girl’.
She and her sister were raised in France while also spending time in London and Ireland, leading Green to describe herself as a ‘citizen of the world’. She studied at the private, independent American University Paris, which currently has annual tuition fees of €33,920.
She made her big break in 2006 as Bond Girl Vesper Lynd in Casino Royale, which was Daniel Craig’s first foray in to the 007 role, and achieved international recognition as the femme fatale-style character who won the heart of the lothario and set him on a wicked path to revenge after she was killed by villains.
Reflecting on the role that changed everything and bagged her a BAFTA for Breakout Star in an interview with W Magazine, she said: ‘I had to die. I die in a lot of movies. I don’t know why—it’s one of the unusual things about my career. I guess it’s a big rehearsal for the inevitable.’
She added she had initially considered turning down the part of Vesper, which had been offered to her at the last minute.
She revealed: ‘At first, when they approached me, I thought it would be me wearing a bikini and being beautiful, so I said I wouldn’t audition.
‘Then they sent me the script, and I saw that Bond was falling in love with my character—that she was sensitive and full of secrets. I could understand that.’
The star, who went to an independent, private university in Paris, is the daughter of an actress and a dental surgeon
Green’s big break came in Casino Royale in 2006 where she starred alongside Daniel Craig’s James Bond (pictured in the film)
Riding on the wave of her 007 success, she landed subsequent roles in children’s fantasy films Golden Compass and Burton creations Mrs Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children and Dark Shadows.
After the pair collaborated on multiple projects, rumours swirled that Green was dating Burton after being dubbed his ‘muse’.
The director told Esquire in 2016: ‘There was something private and mysterious about her, and that’s not common in this day and age. People think she’s “dark”, but she’s more interesting than that.’
However, in 2018 Green put a stop to the rumours of a romance with Burton in a statement posted on her Instagram page.
It read: ‘Tim Burton and I are not together, unlike what the rumours say. I am very lucky to have worked with him. If I inspire him, he never told me.
‘This is not his style: he is shy, modest, extremely sensitive.’
Eva is tight-lipped about her love life in general, but has previously revealed she dated one of her castmates on The Luminaries, in which she currently stars.
The Sunday Mirror reported that between 2005 and 2009 Green dated Marton Csokas, but the pair split due to spending lots of time apart filming.
However, they were reunited in the cast of the BBC drama in 2020 as the characters Lydia Wells and Francis Carver.
A source on set told the newspaper: ‘Their chemistry was electric. You can tell they have had a very close relationship.’
The actors also played husband and wife in Sin City: A Dame to Kill For in 2014 – but after reuniting as co-stars on the TV drama, they declined to comment on whether they had rekindled their romance.
Now fighting in court for a fee for a film she believes she is owed, Green, who has been off the big screen for three years, has recently revealed she feels like an ‘ugly duckling’ in the film industry.
Asked why people view her as ‘mysterious’ during an interview with Spanish newspaper El País, she said: ‘I don’t know, maybe it’s my dog hair, maybe it’s because I don’t talk much.’
She also used the opportunity to take on ageism in Hollywood, claiming she has been told she is ‘too old for some roles’.
Speaking about her career in general, Green said: ‘I am so shy, and, at the same time, I kind of expose myself literally to thousands of people. I don’t really understand why I do that. I need to go through therapy!’
Although Green is admittedly a private person, her Instagram account gives a glimpse into her personal life and the causes she champions.
Last year she began posting about support for Ukraine after the nation was invaded by Russia.
Reposting a video made by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky last March, she wrote: ‘Russia’s firing even near Ukrainian nuclear power plants puts ALL of Europe at a catastrophic risk far greater than Chernobyl – We must stop Putin!’
She has also used her account to show solidarity for protestors in Iran who are fighting back against the regime’s treatment of women and girls following the death of 22-year-old Mahsa Amini at the hands of the regime’s ‘morality police’.
The bio on her Instagram page features a link to an Amnesty International page in support of a young protestor who faces the death penalty in Iran.
Last July, on her birthday, Eva shared a sweet childhood snap of herself and her twin sister Joy dressed up as children, and thanked fans and loved ones for the birthday wishes.
Green posted a sweet snap of herself (right) and her twin sister Joy (left) on their 42nd birthday last July to thank people for their good wishes
As she battles it out in the High Court with White Lantern Films and SMC Speciality finance, suing them for her fee for A Patriot, she is being countersued as they claim she breached her contract.
After Green’s WhatsApp messages were read out in court which referred to two of the film’s producers as ‘pure vomit’ and ‘a f****** moron’, her defence argued she had been painted as a ‘diva’.
Edmund Cullen KC told the court: ‘This case is designed to paint my client as a diva to win headlines and damage her reputation.’
Ms Green, who was also executive producer on the project, claims she is owed the money under a so-called ‘pay or play’ provision which guarantees the individual payment regardless of whether or not the work is completed.
Mr Justice Michael Green is expected to give his decision at a later date.
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