French-Speaking Celebrities

If your students don't see any point in learning French, maybe Jodie Foster and Johnny Depp can help: we've compiled a list of famous non-native French speakers around the world - if your students know how many cool people speak French, they might realize how cool French really is!

Note that this is a list of people from non-French-speaking countries/areas only. Céline Dion, for example, is not on this list because she is French-Canadian.

Alex Trebek (Canadian; gameshow host)
Ally Sheedy (American actress)
Andie MacDowell (American actress)
Angelina Jolie (American actress)
Angie Everhart (American model)
Anthony Bourdain (American chef)
Arnold Schwarzenegger (Austrian actor, governor of California)
Ashley Judd (American actress)
Boutros Boutros-Ghali (Egyptian; former UN Secretary General)
Brendan Fraser (American actor)
Brooke Shields (American actress)
Bryan Adams (Canadian singer)
Candice Bergen (American actress)
Carol Fredericks (American singer)
Charlotte Rampling (British actress)
Chloë Sevigny (American actress)
Chris de Burgh (British musician)
Christie Brinkley (American model)
Christopher Lambert (American actor)
Claudia Schiffer (German model)
Costa-Gavras (Greek filmmaker)
Cristiane Amanpour (British reporter)
Danica McKellar (American actress)
Dannii Minogue (Australian singer, actress)
Danny Roberts (American actor)
David Sedaris (American essayist, radio personality)
Demis Roussos (Egyptian singer)
Eddie Izzard (British comedian)
Elle MacPherson (Australian model)
Ellen McArthur (British; World Champion in Offshore Racing)
Elizabeth Montgomery (American actress)
Elton John (British musician)
Emma Thompson (British actress)
Farah Pahlavi (Iranian empress)
Gwyneth Paltrow (American actress)
Helena Bonham Carter (British actress)
Holly Robinson Peete (American actress)
Jackie Kennedy Onassis (Former First Lady, editor)
Jacqueline Bisset (British actress)
James Lipton (American actor)
Jane Birkin (British actress)
Jane Fonda (American actress)
Jarvis Cocker (British singer)
Jean Seberg (American actress)
Jeremy Irons (British actor)
Jerry Hall (American actress)
Jim Courier (American tennis player)
Jodie Foster (American actress)
John Howe (Canadian illustrator)
John Hume (Irish; Nobel Peace Prize Laureate)
John Hurt (British actor)
John Kerry (American senator)
John Malkovich (American actor)
John McLaughlin (British musician)
John Travolta (American actor)
Johnny Depp (American actor)
Julia Child (American chef)
Julio Iglesias (Spanish singer)
Kevin Kline (American actor)
Kirk Douglas (American actor)
Kofi Anan (Ghanaian; Secretary-General of the United Nations)
Kristin Scott-Thomas (British actress)
Kylie Minogue (Australian singer)
Lance Armstrong (American cyclist)
Lauren Bacall (American actress)
Leelee Sobieski (American actress)
Leslie Nielsen (Canadian actor)
Linda Evangelista (Canadia model)
Lisa Kudrow (American actress)
Liza Minelli (American actress, singer)
Lorraine Bracco (American actress)
Louis de Bernières (British author)
Madeleine Albright (Czech; former US Secretary of State)
Madonna (American singer, actress)
Marlon Brando (American actor)
Matthew Perry (American actor)
Melanie Blatt (British singer)
Meryl Streep (American actress)
Michael York (British actor)
Mick Jagger (British musician)
Mira Sorvino (American actress)
Molly Ringwald (American actress)
Morgan Freeman (American actor)
Nana Mouskouri (Greek singer, actress)
Nastassja Kinski (German actress)
Natalie Portman (Israeli actress)
Norman Spinrad (American writer)
Oliver Stone (American filmmaker)
Omar Shariff (Egyptian actor)
Orlando Bloom (British actor)
Perez de Cuellar (Peruvian; former UN Secretary General)
Peter Ustinov (British actor)
Petula Clark (British actress, singer)
Phil Collins (British singer)
Pope John-Paul II
Prunella Scales (British actress)
Queen Elizabeth II
Richard Jordan (American actor)
Robert De Niro (American actor)
Robert Stack (American actor)
Robin Williams (American actor)
Roscoe Lee Browne (American actor)
Rudolf Miele (German; Chairman of Miele)
Rupert Everett (British actor)
Sam Waterston (American actor)
Shania Twain (Canadian singer)
Shannen Doherty (American actress)
Sigourney Weaver (American actress)
Sting (British musician)
Theo Agelopoulos (Greek filmmaker)
Tina Arena (Australian singer)
Tina Turner (American singer)
Tommy Lee Jones (American actor)
Tony Blair (British Prime Minister)
Tonya Kinzinger (American actress)
Uma Thurman (American actress)
Vanessa Redgrave (British actress)
Vicky Leandros (Greek singer)
William Hurt (American actor)
William Shatner (Canadian actor)
Woody Allen (American actor)
Yasmine Bleeth (American actress)

http://french.about.com/od/teachingresources/a/celebrities.htm

Wow! Most of these are big stars.

French heritage is really enduring. Look at Madonna, was just half French Canadian but I didn't expect that she could speak it and all I thought she speak Spanish not French but it turned out that her Spanish is very basic just to record a song just to capture the huge Spanish speaking market.

Hey why is it that Margaux Hemingway was not included in the list. She's a very fine actress too.

Madonna Louise Veronica Ciccone lost Canadian mother at 5 years old.

Sarkozy is President of Gayland, fenchANUS GAY CASTRrATED hemaphrodite.

Hahahaha I highly doubt this is true. For example, can you prove to me that Angelina Jolie and Madonna speak French?

Oh don't get envious because Angelina Jolie and Madonna are just part French but they speak French. Sorry but that's the truth.

On the other hand Cameron Diaz and Christina Aguilera don't speak Spanish but the latter sings in Spanish of course because it's scripted.

Ricky Martin previously speak no Spanish he has just learned it. Any problem?

Who cares if some celebrities speak it? Unless they've contributed to the FRENCH language culture then it's irrelevant, and as far as I can tell msot of these don't. I don't recall ever seeing Angelina Jolie or Johny Depp in a French movie...

What Linda Evandelista is Francophone too even though her surnames sounds like hispanic. I doubt if she speaks Spanish if that's the case.

Boohoohoohooohooo! It's so sad, sad indeed.

<<Any problem?>>

Yes, there is a problem. NO PROOF!

And by PROOF I mean a video or something concrete, not a propaganda website.

<< Who cares if some celebrities speak it? Unless they've contributed to the FRENCH language culture then it's irrelevant, and as far as I can tell msot of these don't. I don't recall ever seeing Angelina Jolie or Johny Depp in a French movie... >>

Who cares if they didn't appear in a French language movie, the importance is they do speak French fluently.

When Angelina Jolie went to SE Asia, she used French to get closer to the people that's why she was able to adopt a child.

About.com is a credible website. It's not like a crap website made by hispanics or Instituto Cervantes were data are unreliable and not verified.

Why, do you want to claim that Angelina Jolie is hispanic. She's not but she's Franco-American.

The videos just aren't hithercoming! Your credibility is hencegoing!

Jodie Foster has done several French films, her latest being Un long dimanche de fiançailles.

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0344510/