Charlotte Rampling

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Birthday:

5 February 1946, Sturmer, Essex, England, UK

Birth Name:

Charlotte Tessa Rampling

Height:

169 cm

Tessa Charlotte Rampling was born 5 February 1946 in Sturmer, England, to Isabel Anne (Gurteen), a painter, and Godfrey Lionel Rampling, an Olympic gold medalist, army officer, and colonel, who became a NATO commander. She was educated at Jeanne d'Arc Académie pour Jeunes Filles in Versailles, France and at the exclusive St. Hilda's school in Bushey, England. She was a model before entering films in Richard Lester's The Knack ...and How to Get It (1965), followed by roles in Georgy Girl (1966) and Luchino Visconti's La caduta degli dei (Götterdämmerung) (1969). Rampling is best known for her role in Liliana Cavani's Il portiere di notte (1974), where she played a concentration camp survivor who is reunited with the Nazi guard (Dirk Bogarde) who tortured her throughout her captivity. In 1974, she co-starred with Sean Connery in John Boorman's science fiction adventure Zardoz (1974), with Robert Mitchum in Farewell, My Lovely (1975), with Woody Allen in his Stardust Memories (1980), and with Paul Newman in Sidney Lumet's The Verdict (1982). An actress always willing to take on bold and meaningful roles, Rampling had perhaps the most off-beat one in Nagisa Ôshima's 1986 comedy Max mon amour (1986) as Margaret, a woman in love with a chimpanzee. She has also voiced video games, such as The Ring. Show less «

[on her tendency to play villainous roles] I'd rather be thought of like that than to play Mary Poppins.

Difficult acting with a chimp? No, no. The emotions were the same. In a way it was like playing opposite Paul Newman. The chimpanzee reacted...Show more »

Difficult acting with a chimp? No, no. The emotions were the same. In a way it was like playing opposite Paul Newman. The chimpanzee reacted differently, that's all. Show less «

Oh, directors want me to be really stern sometimes. They like that quality in a woman. They find it compelling.

I didn't allow myself to have fun for a very long time, for all sorts of reasons. What's happened now is that I've lived through that, and I...Show more »

I didn't allow myself to have fun for a very long time, for all sorts of reasons. What's happened now is that I've lived through that, and I've come to a point where I can say that. I can feel happy too! Show less «

I'm just amazed. I'm glad to be alive, because I know what it's like not to want to be here, and glad that young directors want to put me in...Show more »

I'm just amazed. I'm glad to be alive, because I know what it's like not to want to be here, and glad that young directors want to put me in fantastic films. So say no more. Show less «

I had fun before, but if you can have fun the way I have when I'm nearly 60, that's quite interesting. If you don't worry about getting wrin...Show more »

I had fun before, but if you can have fun the way I have when I'm nearly 60, that's quite interesting. If you don't worry about getting wrinkled and all that, and you just allow yourself to feel good, then maybe it's because your time has come. Show less «

I think you have to earn beauty. You can use it or abuse it however you want when you're young. It's a God-given gift. You have a visiting c...Show more »

I think you have to earn beauty. You can use it or abuse it however you want when you're young. It's a God-given gift. You have a visiting card - you can go into any room and someone will come and talk to you. But I've always thought from very early on that you have to be careful with that - not being vain or narcissistic. Have fun, but don't be obsessed with it. Show less «

There's an awful lot of pressure around the idea of a woman growing older and therefore losing that potential of being desirable, and that p...Show more »

There's an awful lot of pressure around the idea of a woman growing older and therefore losing that potential of being desirable, and that puts women into a situation where they feel almost embarrassed about the fact they don't have the kind of bodies that young women have, or they don't have the kind of sexual attraction that seems to go with a younger stage of their life. What does that mean, the fact that you're older? It means that you're not going to have the same kind of relationships you had when you were younger. I think we have to reinvent from a woman's point of view another way of being. Show less «

I generally don't make films to entertain people. I choose the parts that challenge me to break through my own barriers. A need to devour, p...Show more »

I generally don't make films to entertain people. I choose the parts that challenge me to break through my own barriers. A need to devour, punish, humiliate, or surrender seems to be a primal part of human nature, and it's certainly a big part of sex. To discover what normal means, you have to surf a tide of weirdness. Show less «

There are now different subjects coming up for us older women that certainly didn't before. Of course, sexuality and sensuality have always ...Show more »

There are now different subjects coming up for us older women that certainly didn't before. Of course, sexuality and sensuality have always been forms that film is obsessed with, but it used to be a form for younger women because, well, they were much prettier, but now directors and audiences are using it to explore older women - it may not be quite so pretty but my God that won't stop me from investigating it. Show less «

[on posing nude with the Mona Lisa in the Louvre] It was such a powerful idea, a once-in-a-lifetime trip. It was really a magical experience...Show more »

[on posing nude with the Mona Lisa in the Louvre] It was such a powerful idea, a once-in-a-lifetime trip. It was really a magical experience, and there was something wildly audacious and naughty, too. You've got all these people looking at you from the extraordinary paintings, and it's a very spiritual feeling. You feel that you are part of hundreds of years of art. Show less «

[on living in France] I'm a legitimate foreigner. I'm an Englishwoman speaking French. They have no references for me, or my life, my childh...Show more »

[on living in France] I'm a legitimate foreigner. I'm an Englishwoman speaking French. They have no references for me, or my life, my childhood, my upbringing, my schooling. I'm exotic. They like that, and I like that. Show less «

He wanted to seduce all the pretty girls. That's for sure. As long as his wife wasn't there, I think he had a pretty good time with most of ...Show more »

He wanted to seduce all the pretty girls. That's for sure. As long as his wife wasn't there, I think he had a pretty good time with most of them. And that was Sean Connery. Show less «

When I take on something, I take the whole thing on. It's not even a question of separating, "Oh, am I going to be naked?" I go with my whol...Show more »

When I take on something, I take the whole thing on. It's not even a question of separating, "Oh, am I going to be naked?" I go with my whole person. Show less «

I knew that was a world I couldn't survive in, that Hollywood world. I didn't consciously think about it, but I think I wanted to be a Europ...Show more »

I knew that was a world I couldn't survive in, that Hollywood world. I didn't consciously think about it, but I think I wanted to be a European. Show less «

I was brought up in the hard way. My parents were great, my dad was great, but we didn't talk about our feelings.

[on the kinds of roles she is attracted to] Films that come in quietly and actually do something to you. You could read them and think there...Show more »

[on the kinds of roles she is attracted to] Films that come in quietly and actually do something to you. You could read them and think there's not much story there, but within that 'not much story', a hell of a lot actually goes on. The director wants to find out what goes on in between. Show less «

I like to wait and be invited to dance. I'm an old-fashioned girl.

[on Broadchurch (2013)] To act with David Tennant is the thing itself. You can't describe it. You just experience it.

[on Dexter (2006)] To come in at the very end of a series like that after so may seasons is like being a surprise relation arriving for the ...Show more »

[on Dexter (2006)] To come in at the very end of a series like that after so may seasons is like being a surprise relation arriving for the holidays. You feel welcome yet strange at the same time. Show less «

[on Stardust Memories (1980)] I thought I had retired from moviemaking and was just going to be a housewife, then [Woody Allen] sent me that...Show more »

[on Stardust Memories (1980)] I thought I had retired from moviemaking and was just going to be a housewife, then [Woody Allen] sent me that script. Game over. Show less «

[on Il portiere di notte (1974)] With Dirk Bogarde beside me, I felt I could do anything. He would give you that cosy but creepy smile and y...Show more »

[on Il portiere di notte (1974)] With Dirk Bogarde beside me, I felt I could do anything. He would give you that cosy but creepy smile and you thought all was well. Show less «

[on La caduta degli dei (Götterdämmerung) (1969)] I just kept putting one foot in front of the other and doing what I was told. I ...Show more »

[on La caduta degli dei (Götterdämmerung) (1969)] I just kept putting one foot in front of the other and doing what I was told. I knew it was very strange, but I didn't mind. Show less «