Her Own Woman

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European cinemagoers may not know Marilou Berry's name, but they will find her face uncannily familiar. The look-alike daughter of France's legendary comic actress Josiane Balasko is lighting up the silver screen herself these days. In two breakout roles last year, she wowed the critics. One of them, her bittersweet performance in Look at Me, earned a nomination for Most Promising Actress at the César awards, France's version of the Oscars. Now, in the just-opened film Once Upon a Time in the Oued, she's winning plaudits for her role as a headstrong young woman who wins the hero's heart and makes his unlikely dream come true.

Yet for an actress keen to establish a cinematic identity all her own, it's not easy emerging from the shadow of a larger-than-life mother. In addition to looking like her mom, Berry exhibits the same compelling presence onscreen. But Berry takes the inevitable comparison to maman in stride. "Her long, successful career in acting is something I'm both proud of and comfortable with," says Berry. "Like most children, there's enough about me as an individual to distinguish myself from my parents. And so far, that seems to be working as far as acting goes."

Balasko built her formidable career on brassy comic roles portraying salty, street-smart women. Aware — and somewhat chagrined — that they'll never be the shapeliest beauties in the room, classic Balasko characters waste no time trying to seduce with verbal niceties or polite formalities. Adapting that approach to a more wounded and vulnerable persona, Berry first created a stir as the plain, plump, unfairly named Lolita in Look At Me, who tries desperately to win affection in a world dominated by a famous, self-obsessed father. She followed up with another impressive portrayal as the teenage double-bass virtuoso and aspiring jazz musician Hannah, whose sweet struggles with sexist bandmates, a stiflingly affectionate Jewish family and her own ample waistline in 1960s Paris provided the heart and laughter of the comedy The First Time I Turned 20.

In her new release, a Franco-Algerian tale of confused identity, she plays the supporting role of Nadège, who becomes ensnared in a romance while accompanying a betrothed friend to her wedding. Although the part is smaller than her first two outings, Berry says Nadège's lively spirit prompted her to take the role without hesitation. "So long as I'm motivated by the character, I don't care if it's a lead or a bit part," says Berry, 22. "I was lucky to start superfast with big roles, but I'm not ready to start demanding anything. I've only had an agent for a year!"

Despite coming from a long line of artists — in addition to Balasko, father Philippe is a successful sculptor and uncle Richard boasts a long career in movies — Berry was determined to make her own way. After leaving school at 17, she enrolled in a Paris drama conservatory, taking acting classes and theater internships just like other aspiring thespians. During her third year of training, Berry's class was visited by a casting director working with the writing-directing couple Agnès Jaoui and Jean-Pierre Bacri to fill the roles in Look at Me. Berry was asked to read for Lolita along with a flock of professional actresses and fellow neophytes. "Six months went by, I heard nothing, and I moved on thinking it was over," recalls Berry. "Then they called and said I had the part; it turned out to be the beginning."

If Balasko's fame is firmly founded on the humorously brusque characters she incarnated in films ranging from the 1978 satire Les Bronzés to the 2001 French version of Absolutely Fabulous, Berry says she's drawn to projects that weave mirth with serious and even sad themes. "That mix is more like life, and I find making that work harder than being exclusively funny or serious," Berry explains. "When it does work, I feel I'm proving myself as an actress."

Now that Oued is in theaters, Berry has read for the lead role in an upcoming Paris stage comedy about obsessive-compulsive neuroses and behavior tics called Toc-Toc. Another comic film, Those Happy Days, is due out in 2006. By then, Berry hopes fans will have come to recognize her for her own trademark talents, not just for her likeness to her mother.