Straightforward and effortlessly chic, she has won over audiences as the uncompromising marketing boss Sylvie Grateau in the hit Netflix series Emily In Paris.
But Philippine Leroy-Beaulieu has admitted that both men and women are afraid of her because she takes on such a strong female role.
The 61-year-old glamorous French actress defends Sylvie’s fragile looks and her dizzying heels, saying that success in women is often wrongly associated with being a “bitch.”
“Sylvie is just a part of me!” she said in an interview with The Times magazine. “And Sylvie is layered. She’s tough, but she’s vulnerable.”
She added: ‘If you’re overly sensitive, you gotta be tough to protect yourself, otherwise what? You’re gonna cry all the time. You gotta have armor to protect yourself from this s****y world. You gotta say no. You gotta set boundaries. Because people are gonna try to get you all the time.’
Philippine Leroy-Beaulieu has admitted that taking on such a strong female role has made both men and women afraid of her
Philippine as her character Sylvie Grateau and Lily Collins as Emily Cooper in Emily in Paris
She stressed that men “shouldn’t be afraid” of women like Sylvie, saying, “I think a good man, a human being, is not afraid of a strong woman.” And she joked, quite bluntly, “Are there enough good men?”
Being tough comes naturally to the star, especially in a world where roles for older women have historically been scarce.
Philippine, the daughter of French actor Philippe Leroy and model Francoise Laurent, made a career in French film, rejecting the lure of Hollywood because “I’m actually very European.”
There were “dips,” she said, in her 40s, but today she is “living proof that you can build a career later in life.”
Philippine at a Saint Laurent fashion show at Place Jacques Rueff in Paris in February
Philippine has won over audiences with uncompromising marketing boss Sylvie Grateau in the hit Netflix series Emily In Paris
She starred in three seasons of the hit French comedy Call My Agent! (later remade for English-speaking audiences) and has now finished filming the fourth season of Emily In Paris, which will air next month.
And despite her feet aching from filming in Sylvie’s stilettos, Phlippine isn’t shy about the youthful outfits she wears on the show. “There are rules, but you don’t have to follow rules. I’m not the type of person who follows rules. These days, women do what they want. Sylvie’s character is about being free of whatever age you are.”
The fourth season of Emily In Paris starts on Netflix on August 15.