Noémie Merlant (French: [nɔemi mɛʁlɑ̃]; born 27 November 1988) is a French actress. She has been nominated for her performances three times at the César Awards, including a nomination for her breakout role in Portrait of a Lady on Fire (2019) and a win for The Innocent (2022).

Merlant was born on 27 November 1988 in Paris.^[1] Both of her parents are real estate agents.^[2] She was raised in Rezé near Nantes.^[3]

Merlant began her career as a professional model before attending the Cours Florent acting school in Paris.^[4]

She had her first breakthrough in the 2016 film Heaven Will Wait for which she was nominated for the César Award for Most Promising Actress.

In 2019 Merlant starred in Portrait of a Lady on Fire. She won the Lumières Award for Best Actress for her performance and was nominated for the César Award for Best Actress alongside her co-star Adèle Haenel.^[5]

In 2020 she starred in Zoé Wittock's Jumbo, a film about a woman who falls in love with an amusement park ride.^[6] She also starred in Marie-Castille Mention-Schaar's A Good Man.^[7]

In 2022 Merlant portrayed Francesca Lentini, a musician and personal assistant to the celebrated composer/conductor Lydia Tár (Cate Blanchett) in the movie Tár, directed by Todd Field.^[8]

In 2023, it was announced that Merlant would play the titular Emmanuelle in a reboot of the iconic franchise directed by Audrey Diwan.^{[9] [10]}