“At first, these beings impressed me”

Niels Arestrup died this Sunday, December 1 at the age of 75. The actor leaves behind his wife Isabel Le Nouvel and their 12-year-old twins. In 2021, he confided in the reasons for his late fatherhood.

The world of cinema mourns the loss of Niels Arestrup this Sunday, December 1st. He died “following a long illness” at his home in Ville-d'Avray, AFP said after confirming the information with his press officer. It was his wife Isabelle Le Nouvel who announced the news: “I have the extreme pain of sharing the pain following the death of my husband, the immense actor Niels Arestrup, at the end of a courageous fight against illness, he surrounded himself with love of his own”. Together, they had twins, a boy and a girl, born in 2012 a few months after their union.

Although the couple met in 2001, they took their time before starting their family. In 2021, the three-time Caesarean actor spoke about this late paternity to Liberation a you Figaro. Very busy with his job, it took him a while to really want children: “I was always stuck somewhere else, on tour, filming.” He also felt impressed by this role of father. “At the beginning, these beings, very organic with the mother, impressed me, paralyzed me”he shared, before finally explaining that “love came by itself”. A happy dad who still admitted that he couldn't spend enough time with them, because of his job as an actor. “They come home from school around 4 p.m., that’s the time I leave”he explained to Figaro.

Who is Isabelle Le Nouvel, his wife and the mother of his twins?

More than his partner and the mother of his children, Isabelle Le Nouvel is also his partner in numerous projects intended for the boards. Niels Arestrup was also starring in the next play written by the 51-year-old actress, Melancholy of Glory. It was in 2001 that the couple met for the first time. She assisted on a production of the one who would become the star of My heart stopped beating. Despite the 25 years that separate them, magic quickly happens between them. They then collaborated on numerous occasions. In 2014, she wrote her first play herself entitled Big Apple. The playwright has also written several novels.

Article written in collaboration with 6Medias.