Inseparable and accomplices, this is the image given last week on the red carpet of the 6th edition of the Film Festival in Nice Alexandra and Audrey Lamy. Two sisters, who are nothing like twins since Exactly 10 years separate the eldest from his youngestbut who nevertheless have countless points in common, much less anecdotal than that of having refused to play together in a famous series… Starting with their careers. Both trained at the conservatory, Alexandra, in Nîmes, and Audrey, in National Higher Conservatory of Dramatic Artthe two sisters were revealed to the general public through two series. One guy, one girlalongside Jean Dujardin who would become the husband of the first. And Household sceneson M6 for the second. Now these serials are behind them and it is on the big screen that we can observe their talent, as evidenced by their presence in Nice where each came to defend a film.
This family success, for two reasons, was nevertheless far from being won. If Alexandra Lamy was born in Val-de-Marne, it was in the south of France, in Alès, that she grew up. She inherited it a local characteristic: the southern accent. A charming particularity, except when you want to pursue certain professions, that of a TV presenter or… an actor, under penalty of being condemned to always playing the southerner on duty. This is what could have happened to Alexandra. During his first auditions, in Paris, she had difficulty hiding her Gard origins. In December 2012, in As an asideshe confided that this distinctive regional sign “made the casting directors laugh”especially since when she played, the accent was no longer audible. A technical feat which was not achieved without difficulty and which required work…
Audrey was born in Alès, but paradoxically never had an accent problem. Maybe because she studied in Paris. However, she knows how to return to her Mediterranean roots when necessary. In 2021, on Instagram, she published three hilarious videos, using a filter which made her appear with extreme makeup and ultra-puffy lips. “I do what I want, ok? Do you understand? It’s my body, my face, my mouth, okay? So the hateful messages that I receive on my Instagram, I don’t care. That’s it. D ‘agreement ?” she said to the camera, using the accent of her native region. “A real Marseille cagole”Internet users had commented.
Alexandra Lamy and Audrey have the same voice anomaly
In the end, what could have been an obstacle to their career will therefore pose no problem for the sisters to succeed. On the other hand, their voice had another very unique characteristic which had its origin in an anomaly with which they were both born. Much less funny, this handicap, although slight, almost put an end to their dream of becoming actresses…
In an interview given to the site A Voice of Your Owndirected by Aline Jalliet last January, Alexandra Lamy spoke of a significant episode from her youth which almost compromised his career. At 16, when she had been studying theater for three years and had just joined the conservatory, an ENT friend of her mother alerted her to a possible vocal problem. After an unpleasant medical examination, the verdict falls: “So you, my daughter, it’s over. You have a breath in your voice, your vocal cords don’t fit together well, so you have to forget about theater, it’s over. You will never be able to hold a play, you will never be able to play it long.”the specialist tells him straight away.
Alexandra Lamy: “I left in tears”
This abrupt diagnosis was a shock for the young actress. “It was the tragedy of my life! His words completely traumatized me. I left in tears, it was horrible for me”she confides. But despite this announcement, Alexandra does not give up her passion. Helped by her teacher at the conservatory, Eugénie Oliver, – who also allowed her to erase her accent – she worked intensely on her voicelearning to breathe correctly and no longer strain your vocal cords. “It was theater that taught me again how to position my air column, to understand that I no longer had to pull on the muscles in my throat to speak”explains Alexandra.
Yet, the anxiety is still therewhen after One guy one girlthe actress is offered the lead role in a demanding play, her fears resurface. She then decides to consult a speech therapist, Madame Pinna, who reassures her: “Yes, it’s true, you have a murmur, yes you have little nodules, but we are going to work”. And Alexandra worked for three months, always taking care to drink plenty of water “because you have to hydrate the vocal cords”she emphasizes. She thus succeeded in overcome this anomaly and now manages to play without problem.
After this episode with a happy ending, Alexandra says she found her friend ENT to tell her the truth. “MDo you realize the harm you have done? If I hadn’t been as passionate as that, I might have missed out on a career because you didn’t do your job as a doctorwhich is to find solutions and support, and not to crush the dreams of 16 year old girls!“
Alerted by Alexandra, Audrey learns that she suffers from the same problem
When she learns that her voice suffers from a slight disorder, Alexandra wonders. What if her sister Audrey had, without knowing it, the same problem? Well seen. Alerted to the subject, Audrey realizes that she has the same little breath in her voice. “She immediately took lessons with Madame Pinna who taught her how to work on her voice, while insisting on the originality of her tone as well as mine. She told us that the work consisted just of ensuring that our vocal cords would not get tired”.
And this is how this particular grain of voice has become a real signature for the sisters. “It’s the trademark of the Lamy sisters”laughs Alexandra. A clean vocal identity which even extends to Alexandra’s daughter, Chloé Jouannet, fruit of her love affair with Thomas, a story now over, even if they see each other again with pleasure. Voices which, despite their originality, have in no way prevented them from all finding… their way!
