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Shanna Besson | |
|---|---|
| Born | Shanna Leila Besson (1993-01-03)3 January 1993 (age 32) |
| Occupation(s) | Actress, photographer |
| Parent(s) | Luc Besson Maïwenn Le Besco |
| Relatives | Catherine Belkhodja (grandmother) Isild Le Besco (aunt) |
Shanna Leila Besson (born 3 January 1993) is a French actress and photographer. She is the only child of French film directorsMaïwenn andLuc Besson.
Shanna Besson was born 3 January 1993 when her mother was 16 years old and her father, Luc Besson, was 33; her parents had married the previous year. The family lived in Los Angeles during her early years. Her father was working as a director inHollywood.
In 1995, during the filming ofThe Fifth Element, her father left her mother for young actressMilla Jovovich, who was appearing in it.[1] As a result, her motherMaïwenn returned toParis, taking Shanna with her. Jovovich and Luc Besson married, but divorced two years later.
Shanna's maternal aunt is French actressIsild Le Besco. She has a younger half-brother Diego Le Fur, child of her mother's relationship with Jean-Yves Le Fur.
Through her father, Shanna has four siblings, including an older half-sister, Juliette, from his first marriage to actressAnne Parillaud. Her three younger half-siblings are children of his fourth and last marriage, to producerVirginie Silla. She is of French, Algerian and Vietnamese descent through her mother.[2]
When she was 10 years old, Besson made her acting debut in her mother's directorial debut, a short filmI'm an Actress. In the semi-autobiographical work, she played a girl forced to be a child star by her mother. The film was based onMaïwenn's own experiences of being pressured into acting by her mother.
Besson later began a career behind the scenes in film. She directed a behind the scenes "making-of" featurette on her father's filmThe Lady (2011).[3]
She later began work as a still photographer, working for each of her parents:Taken 2 was produced by her father andMon roi was directed by her mother.[4]