While the idea of “French girl style” can encompass a wide range of looks, the term most often denotes a narrow spectrum of beauty. Though the tousled chic perfected by women like Caroline de Maigret, Jeanne Damas, and Charlotte Gainsbourg has proven eternally popular, Paris’s best-dressed women aren’t all lithe, Gallic brunettes. A prime example of the French girl look beyond the bedhead crew is Senegalese-French actress Aïssa Maïga. Since her breakthrough film role alongside Juliette Binoche in Michael Haneke’s Caché, Maïga has become a red carpet fixture. Glamorous with an unapologetically feminine style, Maïga challenges the “just rolled out of bed” Parisian archetype and opts for a look that is refined and elegant. Drawn to dramatic pieces from quintessentially French designers, she’s just as likely to be seen in the front row during fashion month as she is in the latest French indie.
Born in Senegal but relocating with her family to France at the age of 4, Maïga has been acting steadily since the late ’90s. Favoring character-driven parts in features by influential directors, her work has broken boundaries in France. In 2007, she became the first black woman to be nominated for a César Award—France’s highest acting honor—for her performance in Bamako. Maïga’s string of critically acclaimed films attracted the attention of the fashion set, and in recent years she’s been making the front row rounds for a select group of designers, from Jean Paul Gaultier to Maxime Simoens and Dior.
For what should come as no surprise to fans of red carpet events, some of Maïga’s finest style moments have come during appearances at the Cannes Film Festival. With the exquisite gowns as watched as the movies, Cannes remains one of the biggest fashion events of the year, and Maïga has never once disappointed. Take a look back at even more of her sartorial highlights, and see just why this French beauty should be your new fashion girl crush.