Sophie Nélisse

Sophie Nélisse
Born	Marie-Sophie Nélisse March 27, 2000[1] Windsor, Ontario, Canada
Residence	Montréal, Quebec
Citizenship	Canadian
Occupation	actress
Years active	2010–present
Relatives	Isabelle Nélisse (sister)

Marie-Sophie Nélisse (born March 27, 2000) is a Canadian teen actress. She is known for her Genie Award–winning performance in Monsieur Lazhar, and as Liesel Meminger (the lead character) in the film adaptation of the best-selling novel The Book Thief.

Biography

Nélisse was born in Windsor, Ontario, on March 27, 2000. She is of French-Canadian descent. Her mother, Pauline Belhumeur, left her job as a schoolteacher in 2013 to act as a talent manager for both Sophie and her younger sister, actress Isabelle Nélisse, best known for her role in Mama.^[2][3] Nélisse is fluent in both French and English.

Her family moved to Montréal, Québec when she was four.^[4][5]

She spent her early years training in gymnastics, aiming for the 2016 Olympics, and signed to a talent agency to make money to pay for the training, but after getting the part in The Book Thief (and subsequent accolades) she shifted her focus to acting.^[6][7] Besides her Genie Award for Monsieur Lazhar, she won a Jutra Award for her performance and a Young Artist Award nomination as Best Leading Young Actress in an International Feature Film.^[8] She also had roles in the film Ésimésac and in a Québec sitcom called Les Parent. She plays the title role in the film The Great Gilly Hopkins, which premiered in 2015.

Filmography

Film

Year	Title	Role	Notes
2011	Monsieur Lazhar	Alice L'Écuyer	Academy of Canadian Cinema and Television Award for Best Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role Jutra Award for Best Supporting Actress Nominated—Young Artist Awards for Best Young Actress in an International Feature Film
2012	Ésimésac	Marie Gélinas
2013	The Book Thief	Liesel Meminger	Satellite Awards for Best Breakthrough Performance Hollywood Film Award Spotlight Award Phoenix Film Critics Society for Best Performance by a Youth in a Leading or Supporting Role—Female Young Artist Award for Best Leading Young Actress in a Feature Film[9] Nominated—Broadcast Film Critics Association Award for Best Young Actor/Actress
2014	Pawn Sacrifice	Young Joan
2015	Endorphine	Simone
2015	The Great Gilly Hopkins	Gilly Hopkins
2016	Wait Till Helen Comes	Molly	Post-production, also stars her sister Isabelle Nélisse
2016	The History of Love	Alma	Post-Production
2016	Mean Dreams	Casey Caraway	Post-production

Television

Year	Title	Role	Notes
2010	Mirador	Jeune fille de Ralf	1 episode
2010	Toute la vérité	Fille de Violaine	1 episode
2011-2016	Les Parent	Zoé	Recurring
2012	Vertige	Rosalie Roussel	Main cast
2015	Les Dieux de la Danse	Herself	Dance competition (1 episode)

Awards and nominations

Year	Organisation	Award	Work	Result
2012	Genie Awards	Best Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role	Monsieur Lazhar	Won
2012	Jutra Awards	Best Supporting Actress (Meilleure Actrice de Soutien)	Monsieur Lazhar	Won
2013	Satellite Awards	Breakthrough Performance	The Book Thief	Won
2013	Hollywood Film Festival	Spotlight Award	The Book Thief	Won
2013	Phoenix Film Critics Society Awards	Best Performance by a Youth in a Lead or Supporting Role—Female	The Book Thief	Won
2014	Young Artist Awards	Best Leading Young Actress in a Feature Film (tie)	The Book Thief	Won
2014	Saturn Awards	Best Performance by a Younger Actor	The Book Thief	Nominated
2014	Online Film & Television Association	Best Youth Performance	The Book Thief	Nominated
2014	Critics Choice Awards	Best Young Actor/Actress	The Book Thief	Nominated

References

1. "Monitor". Entertainment Weekly (1209/1210). Jun 1–8, 2012. p. 35.
2. Boivin, Catherine-Chantal (22 November 2011). "Sophie Nélisse: Activités familiales pour les vacances des fêtes: jouer en famille" [Sophie Nélisse: Family activities for the holidays: playing among family]. Voir. Retrieved 4 February 2016.
3. Pilon-Larose, Hugo (6 April 2015). "Sophie Nélisse et sa mère Pauline Belhumeur, la double vie d'une maman gérante" [Sophie Nélisse and her mother Pauline Belhumeur, the double life of a manager mother]. La Presse (in French). Gesca. Retrieved 2 February 2016.
4. Plasket, Kelli (27 November 2013). "Meet Sophie Nélisse". Time for Kids. Retrieved 4 February 2016.
5. Szklarski, Cassandra (6 March 2012). "Sophie Nelisse of 'Monsieur Lazhar' takes Genie nomination in stride". Canadian Press. Retrieved 4 February 2016.
6. Lewis, Casey (11 March 2014). "How Sophie Nélisse Went From Olympic-Bound Gymnast to 'Book Thief' Star in Two Seconds Flat". Teen Vogue. Retrieved 4 February 2016.
7. Wilkinson, Amy (7 November 2013). "Why Sophie Nelisse Gave Up Her Olympic Dream For ‘Book Thief’". MTV News. Retrieved 4 February 2016.
8. "34th Annual Young Artist Awards". Young Artist Awards. Retrieved 31 March 2013.
9. "35th Annual Young Artist Awards". Young Artist Awards. Retrieved 14 April 2014.

External links

• Sophie Nélisse at the Internet Movie Database