Coco Before Chanel
Young seamstress Gabrielle “Coco” Chanel strives to break free from poverty and social expectations to launch her revolutionary fashion vision, battling the rigid class system and personal betrayals that threaten to silence her talent.
“Before she was France's famous mademoiselle…”
Synopsis
Several years after being left at an orphanage by her father, who never returned for her, Gabrielle Chanel works at a provincial bar. There, she serves as both a seamstress for the performers and a singer, earning the nickname Coco from the song she performs nightly with her sister. A relationship with Baron Balsan provides her with access to French society and an opportunity to cultivate her talent for design.
Credits
Related titles
No curated related titles yet. Use the edit affordance to add "More from this director", "Same franchise", or "Adaptation source material" entries — every change goes through the wiki review queue.
How many hands made this film
The scale of the collaboration
A crew of 46+ credited
Why a floor?
This is a minimum, not a total. We only count the credits we’ve captured so far, and coverage is uneven — a blockbuster might show a few hundred names while another of the same size shows a couple dozen. The real crews all ran into the thousands. The number here only grows as full credits are enriched — so we frame it as a floor, never a headcount.
Craft leads on file
Edited by Luc BarnierShot by Christophe BeaucarneScored by Alexandre DesplatDesigned by Olivier Radot
Box Office
2009 · Box office
Grossed $50.8M worldwide
Worldwide gross
$50.8M
US & Canada: $6.1M — 12% of worldwide · International: $44.7M (88%)
Opening weekend: $407K — 7% of its US run. It had legs — it kept earning long after opening weekend.
Opening week (7-day): $630K — 10% of its US & Canada run.
Peak 43 theaters
Also known as
- Coco Chanelde
- Coco Chanel - Der Beginn einer Leidenschaftde
- Coco Chanel- Der Beginn einer Leidenschaftde
- Coco Before Chanelen
- 1es
- 1fr
- Coco avant Chanel - L'amore prima del mitoit
Community tags
Be the first to tag this page — tags appear right away. Try a theme, capability, or subject (e.g. WWII, heist, slow burn, time travel, A24).
Cast & Crew
46 unique people credited
Top billed cast
Audrey Tautou
as Gabrielle Chanel
Benoit Poelvoorde
as Étienne Balsan
Alessandro Nivola
as Boy Capel
Marie Gillain
as Adrienne Chanel
Emmanuelle Devos
as Emilienne d'Alençon
Regis Royer
as Alec, le jockey
Etienne Bartholomeus
as Maître d'hôtel Balsan
Yan Duffas
as Maurice de Nexon
Fabien Behar
as Patron boutique
Roch Leibovici
as Jean, le palefrenier
Jean Yves Chatelais
as Bellowing Director
Pierre Diot
as Actor in the Theater
Supporting cast
21Vincent Nemeth
as Fat Man in the Theater
Bruno Abraham Kremer
as Tailor in Deauville
Lisa Cohen
as Gabrielle Chanel, 10 Years Old
Ines Bessalem
as Adrienne Chanel, 10 Years Old
Marie Benedicte Roy
as Shop Client
Emilie Gavois Kahn
as Replacement Seamstress
Fanny Deblock
as Balsan Prostitute
Claude Brecourt
as Director Alcazar
Karina Marimon
as Girl at Picnic
Bruno Paviot
as Guest Balsan
Franck Monsigny
as Guest Balsan
Marie Parouty
as Sophie, Friend of Emilienne
Jean Chretien Sibertin Blanc
as Raymond
Marie Josee Hubert
as Cooker
Patrick Laviosa
as Pianist Bellowing at Balsan
Kim Schwarck
as Girl in Coco's Lodge
Marthe Drouin
as Bellowing Singer (uncredited)
Frantz Herman
as Guest Balsan (uncredited)
Emma Jouannet
as Young Walker Deauville (uncredited)
Berenice Sand
as Walker Deauville (uncredited)
Gregory Ragot
as Le père de Coco enfant
Directors
1Writers
3Producers
4Other crew
6Parents Guide
AI Personalities
Advisory Bot AI
I keep the family-safety picture honest — community advisories, AI-moderated, summarized without spin.
Ratings & reviews
Official ratings
We’re attempting to crowdsource this data.
Please submit below if you know where it’s available in your region — accurate confirmations help everyone find what they’re looking for.
Where to watch
Not currently streaming on any platform we track.
Gallery
Add imageNo community images for Coco Before Chanel yet
Add a still, a storyboard, or concept art — every image gets its own page where members can discuss it.
Trailers
No trailers logged for Coco Before Chanel yet — add the first one below.
Spot a trailer we’re missing?
Add a trailer from any film, show, or game.
Media & Uploads
Scripts, set photos, storyboards, score sketches — community-curated reference material for film students and industry professionals.
Did you or a loved one work on Coco Before Chanel?
Every stage matters — pitch decks and treatments from development, location scouts and table-reads from pre-production, set photos and crew anecdotes from production, edit-bay notes from post, and press kits, festival memories, or marketing ephemera from distribution. Any moment that didn't make the press tour, any document or photograph that's been sitting in a box — please share it so it's not lost to time.
We particularly welcome contributions from writers, producers, cast, crew, festival programmers, distributors, marketing teams, their families, and anyone who was there at any stage.
Sign in to contribute scripts, stills, photos, or behind-the-scenes stories.
Be the first to share something on Coco Before Chanel.
Scripts, scans, photos, score sketches — anything that helps another reader study this work.
Memorable quotes
Browse all →No quotes logged for Coco Before Chanel yet — add the first memorable line below.
Got a quote we’re missing?
Submit a line from any film, show, or game.
The conversation
Loading the conversation…
Comments (0)
on Coco Before ChanelNo comments yet. Be the first to share what you think.
Edit history
Loading edit history…