Award-winning transformations: Becoming Edith Piaf

In "La Vie en Rose," Marion Cotillard was given the role of a lifetime: bring back to life the tiny, turbulent and tyrannical French singer/songwriter Edith Piaf.

Piaf's story is the stuff of legend. She was abandoned by her parents, raised in a brothel, then randomly discovered singing in the streets of Paris. Through sheer force of personality and will, she became the most beloved French singer in history.

It took an equal amount of determination for this boot-strapped indie film to find the spotlight.



Doubly so for a young French actress hand-picked to convincingly play a French cultural icon and a self-destructive alcoholic who remains an enigma, even to those who knew and loved her best.

For her efforts, Cotillard received the Actress of the Year award at the Hollywood Awards this week. And with "Rose" now getting Oscar buzz, the actress has absolutely no regrets.

Will Edith Piaf's life be relevant to audiences today?

She was an icon for her time, and we were initially afraid that young people would not come to see the movie. But she had such an incredible life, very extreme, and she lived with such passion. I was pretty sure that she would touch all generations. And she really was very rock and roll. She came from the streets. She was the punk of her day.

How did you find out how to portray her physically, her mannerisms, her walk?

I read all the books I could find. But what helped me the most was the footage of her in her personal life, in concert and the movies she made as an actress. The roles she chose were very close to who she was. I got to watch her walking through a room, and the energy she had. She was a small person but you can see the energy in her walk, in every motion. She was so powerful.

And what made her tick inside?

More than the physical aspects, my burning desire was to understand her. At first I wanted to understand who she was. And its's hard to explain how one does that. How do you finally get to understand a woman without ever meeting her? But I have a very deep and interesting relationship with her. I have the feeling that I have met Piaf.

What was the biggest help to you?

The best friend I could have had to help me understand Piaf was Ginou Richer, her best friend for fifteen years. The second we met, we immediately fell in love with each other. I was so nervous. I had read her book, "Sparrow," and when she arrived, she said, 'Oh, I'm so nervous to meet you.' I said, 'No, me! I am nervous!' She shared her life with me, a perfect stranger, when we met. This is so generous.

She met Piaf when she was only 16 and was only 30 when Piaf died. They traveled around the world together. It's a love story between those two women.