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Elsa Zylberstein is a French stage and film actress born in Paris, France, on October 16, 1969. Her father was a Polish Jewish physicist, while her mother was a devout Catholic. She displayed deep interest in dancing at a young age, and because of that she underwent trained as a classical dancer for several years. Her training led her to study the dramatic arts at a conservatory, under the free acting courses given by Florent Francis Huster. After completing her studies, Elsa Zylberstein made her debut on the big screen in René Feret's Bapteme. Three years later, she bagged a substantial role in Maurice Pialat's acclaimed Van Gogh, a historical drama about the renowned painter.

But it was with director Martine Dugowson's Mina Tannenbaum that gave Elsa Zylberstein had her true leading role. Working alongside Romane Bohringer as one of two Jewish girls growing up as best friends in Paris, this sexy actress earned critical acclaim for her performance. She again worked with Dugowson and Bohringer for Portraits Chinoise in 1996, displaying the ensemble romantic satire with her portrayal of a self-pitying young Parisian. The following year, Elsa Zylberstein was given more attention by English-speaking audience with her role in Metroland, a British drama starring Christian Bale and Emily Watson. Taking on the role Bale's Bohemian lover, Elsa Zylberstein gave the film its erotic heat, thus defining her character with both unself-conscious sex appeal and intelligence.

For the most part, Elsa Zylberstein has remained most visible in French movies, playing roles of keen, complex women in dramas as well as screwball comedies, for her bubbly personality matches well with her sexy femme fatale image. Among her more celebrated films of the late 1990s was Raúl Ruiz's Le Temps retrouvé, a highly praised adaptation of Marcel Proust's legendary novel of the same name.

Among Elsa Zylberstein’s most recent works include The Stone Council, J'invente rien, La cloche a sonné, Little Jerusalem, Journées froides qui menacent les plantes, Why (Not) Brazil?, Modigliani, Loser Takes All!, Tomorrow We Move, 3 Blind Mice That Day, Monsieur N., Ferocious, Un ange, Les fantômes de Louba, and Not Afraid, Not Afraid.

Elsa Zylberstein is sometimes credited as Elsa Steiner.