She began her acting career in the 1980s. She starred in Claude Berri's Jean de Florette and Manon des sources, for which she won the César for Best Supporting Actress.
Claude Sautet's Un cœur en hiver (1991) and Nelly et monsieur Arnaud (1994) won numerous awards; André Téchiné directed her in J'embrasse pas (1991), Les Égarés (2003), Les Témoins (2006); she worked with Brian de Palma, Claude Chabrol, Olivier Assayas, François Ozon, Isabelle Rocard, Renaud Bertrand, Michaël Cohen, Virginie Despentes...She co-directed Un silence si bruyant, with Anastasia Mikova, a documentary about incest in which three women and a man recount their broken childhoods.
A UNICEF ambassador (1996-2006), she takes part in numerous humanitarian activities. She was awarded the Stanislavski Prize at the Moscow International Film Festival (2010) for lifetime achievement.