‘Emily in Paris’ Star Philippine Leroy-Beaulieu Had a Childhood in Two Acts

Philippine Leroy-Beaulieu, 59, is a French-Italian actress best known in the U.S. for her role in the French comedy series “Call My Agent!” She appears in season 5 of “The Crown” and currently stars as Sylvie in Netflix’s “Emily in Paris.” She spoke with Marc Myers.

Behind my family’s house in Rome was a garden. It was so large that as a child, I thought of it as a park. For me, that private setting out back in the middle of a city was magical.

The garden was my playground. It had so many different parts. There was a section with pine trees, another like a little acacia forest, and parts with wheat growing. It was a crazy garden but beautiful.

Our house was often filled with many of my parents’ artist friends, so my younger brother, Terence, and I spent a lot of time alone. I’d take my cocker spaniel, Caroline, into the garden and sit under a tree and tell her my secrets. My imagination grew.

My father, Philippe, was a very successful movie actor who made most of his films in Italy. Rome was the center of Europe’s film industry in the late 1960s and ’70s, and he was more popular there than in France.

My mother, Françoise, was initially an interior decorator, but she later designed jewelry, knitwear and accessories for Dior, where she worked for 20 years.

As a child, I thought of myself as Italian. In Rome, I was exposed to so much visual beauty that I wondered why other places weren’t as special. Italians were warm and teased me in a sweet way. I’d laugh a lot.

When I was 7, we visited my father on a set. He was in “The Life of Leonardo da Vinci,” a popular Italian miniseries in 1971. After makeup, he looked just like Leonardo in his self-portrait. I was stunned.

Because my father had a strong French accent, his voice in films was overdubbed. So when I saw the miniseries, he not only looked different but he sounded different. I’d have nightmares of my father speaking to me in strange voices.

Watching my father on set made me curious about being someone else. I came to realize that adults play at make-believe, not just children, and that playacting was a way for me to become an adult.

Then my parents divorced when I was 10½. Their separation was hard on me. My mother took Terence and me to live with her in Paris. She started working at Dior when I was 13.

The hardest part about leaving Rome was the loss of my country and identity. I had to rebuild the whole thing. In school, I wasn’t accepted as French. I didn’t speak the language perfectly and I didn’t have the same cultural references as other children. The kids were mean and called me terrible things. They often left me out. It was hard, but the experience made me the person I am, so it’s fine.

As a teenager, I began to sing in front of the mirror in my room. I’d sing songs from “Cabaret” and “Jesus Christ Superstar.” At 13, I decided I was going to be an actor. I told my mother, but she was totally against it. The subtext was, “You’re not going to be like your dad.” I decided that as soon as I finished school, I’d do whatever I wanted.

After high school, I spent a year at the Sorbonne, studying French literature. While there, I had an Italian literature teacher who was fond of Italian drama. When he announced he was planning to stage Carlo Goldoni’s “La Locandiera,” I said I was in.

I was cast in the play. I took acting lessons and helped make costumes. We performed at the Italian Cultural Center in Paris. It felt very natural to be on stage.

When I was 19, I was cast in Roger Vadim’s French comedy, “Surprise Party.” Then came Judith Krantz’s “Mistral’s Daughter” and a TV miniseries in the U.S. In 1985, I had a major role in “Three Men and a Baby” in France, which was a huge hit. That launched my career.

My big break in America came during the pandemic. With the lockdown, people spent more time streaming series and saw me in “Call My Agent!” “Emily in Paris” came next.

Today, I live in an apartment in Paris’s Saint-Germain section on the Left Bank, where my parents first met. I moved in five years ago. The silence and calm make my home so peaceful.

I also have a beautiful view of the back of a neo-Gothic church. When Sunday Mass is held, I can hear singing and smell the incense if the wind is just right.

When I’m not shooting a TV series or a film, I love visiting the Fontainebleau forest, about a half-hour south of Paris. I can spend hours there walking the pathways and never run into anyone. It’s like my garden in Rome, only bigger.

Philippine’s Flips

Your role in “Emily in Paris”? They originally wanted someone 35 to 45 years old for Sylvie. I auditioned, but I didn’t hear back for months.

Why? They loved me for the part, but they first had to revise the script to make Sylvie a character who freely judges everyone.

Mom? She passed in early 2020. I treasure a brooch she designed and gave me. It’s a crescent moon with green and red stones and pendants hanging down.

Dad? I travel to Rome often to see him. He’s calmer, sweeter and softer now and very proud of what’s happening with my career.