Gérard Depardieu: French prosecutors want him to stand trial over allegations he raped actress

In 2020, actor Gérard Depardieu was charged with the rape of actress Charlotte Arnould when she was 22 years old in 2018. French newspaper Le Monde reported that “Prosecutors have since conducted an investigation to determine whether a trial was warranted. It will now be up to an investigating magistrate to decide whether the hearing goes ahead.

“A lawyer representing Depardieu did not immediately respond to Agence France-Presse's request for comment, while Arnould's lawyer Carine Durrieu-Diebolt said the move was ‘the result of a long investigation which was able to gather evidence corroborating the words of my client’. It was ‘a huge step forward filled with hope’ for Arnould, Durrieu-Diebolt added.”

In April 2024, NationalWorld reported that Depardieu is set to face a trial in October over alleged sexual assaults on a film set. A statement said that a trial will begin in October for “sexual assaults likely to have been committed in September 2021” against “two victims, on the set of the film The Green Shutters.”

Gérard Depardieu, who has been described as the ‘sacred monster’ of French cinema was born in 1948. He has starred in classics such as Cyrano de Bergerac, Jean de Florette and The Last Metro, and his international films include Green Card, Conquest of Paradise and Life of Pi. As well as winning a Best Actor Award at the Cannes Film Festival, he has also won a Golden Globe Award and a  César Award for Best Actor. He had two children, Guillaume and Julie with wife Élisabeth Guignot, and the couple married in 1970. Whilst he was separated from her, Depardieu had a daughter, Roxanne with model Karine Silla in 1992.

Depardieu had another son Jean with Hélène Bizot in 1992. His son Guillaume died at the age of 37 in 2008. Guillaume’s agents told Agence France Press that "He passed away after having contracted a virus which led to a devastating bout of pneumonia." 

Depardieu was first photographed with Clementine Igou in 2004 and started living with her in 2005. According to reports, they were drawn together through their mutual love of wine. They were not publicly photographed together until 2014.

Depardieu and Clementine Igou are no longer together and his current girlfriend is reportedly Magda Vavrusova. In May 2024, The Telegraph reported that: “An Italian photographer known as the ‘king of paparazzi’ has accused French film star Gérard Depardieu of punching him three times in the face.

“Depardieu reportedly struck Rino Barillari after he took pictures of the actor dining with his partner, producer Magda Vavrusova, in Harry’s Bar in Rome’s exclusive Via Veneto neighbourhood. But Ms Vavrusova has told police that Depardieu only intervened to protect her from Mr Barillari’s ‘aggressive methods’.”