Belgian actress Emilie Dequenne, who made her name in 1999 in the Dardenne brothers' Rosetta, died of endocrine cancer at the age of 43 on March 16, 2025 in the Paris region, after spending several days in palliative care at the Gustave-Roussy hospital. She had been battling this rare cancer for almost two years. Her family and agent announced the terrible news to AFP.
At the end of 2023,Emilie Dequenne revealed that she was suffering from adrenocortical cancer (a malignant tumor of the adrenal gland), diagnosed in August of that year. She had since gone into remission before suffering an even more aggressive relapse.
The multi-award-winning actress (Prix d'interprétation féminine at the 1999 Cannes Film Festival for Rosetta, Prix d'interprétation Un Certain Regard 2012 for A Perdre la Raison, César for Best Supporting Actress 2021 for Les Choses qu'on dit, les choses qu'on fait) appeared at the last Cannes Film Festival with her hair cut short due to her illness.
On February 4, World Cancer Day, the actress posted this message, all smiles, on her Instagram account:
Numerous personalities from the French film world reacted to the news of his death, praising his talent and strength.
