Meet Thalia Besson – aka Genevieve from Emily in Paris – and the daughter of controversial film director Luc Besson

Sep 19 , 2024

Thalia Besson plays Emily in Paris’ new “villainess”, Genevieve. Photo: @bbr.image/Instagram

The 23-year-old appears to love Eminem and Givenchy and has appeared in 3 films – with director Barthélémy Grossmann declaring she’s anything but a nepo baby

We first met Emily Cooper during the height of the pandemic – just when we needed that glamorous Parisian pick-me-up the most. Now, four seasons (and several handsome love interests) later, there’s finally a new troublemaker in town. And her name is Genevieve.

Lily Collins and Thalia Besson in Emily in Paris. Photo: @bbr.image/Instagram

Played by 23-year-old Thalia Besson, Genevieve quickly throws a spanner in the works. So, who is Besson, and why does that surname sound familiar …?

Thalia Besson plays Genevieve, a key new character in Emily in Paris

Thalia Besson is stylish both on screen and off. Photo: @vecchio_paris/Instagram

By now, EIP fans are familiar with Emily’s prickly boss, Sylvie Grateau, who rekindled her romance with husband “Laurent G” in season three. What we learn in season four, however, is that Laurent has a daughter who’s been living in America, and who’s now decided to come to Paris to try to get her first job in fashion. Enter Besson as the sweet, inexperienced Genevieve. No spoilers, but let’s just say she’s not quite as sweet as she initially appears.

She is the daughter of controversial film director Luc Besson

Thalia Besson as a kid with her controversial dad, Luc Besson, back in the day. Photo: @thaliabesson/Instagram

Francophiles and cinephiles alike will know her surname right off the bat, because Thalia Besson is the daughter of acclaimed French screenwriter-producer-director Luc Besson. The 65-year-old Frenchman is best known for his action films like The Fifth Element with Milla Jovovich and Taken with Liam Neeson, but he’s been making acclaimed movies since the 1980s.

In 2018, his career was derailed after actress Sand Van Roy accused him of rape. He was cleared of all charges last June.

She is the eldest of three siblings

Thalia Besson with her siblings Mao and Sateen Besson at the Dogman premiere in Paris, France, in September 2023. Photo: Getty Images

Thalia is the eldest of Luc Besson’s three children with his fourth wife Virginie Silla, who he is still married to. She has two younger siblings, Sateen and Mao. Thalia also has two older half-sisters, Shanna and Juliette, as a result of Luc’s earlier marriages.