Mélanie Laurent was born in Paris, France. She is the daughter of Annick, a ballet teacher, and Pierre, a voice actor, who is most recognized for the French version of The Simpsons (1989). She has a younger brother, Mathieu, and has both Sephardi Jewish (from Tunisia) and Ashkenazi Jewish (from Poland) ancestry. In 1998, Laurent was visiting the set of Astérix & Obélix contre César (1999) with a friend when she caught the attention of Gérard Depardieu. He offered her a role in his next film Un pont entre deux rives (1999). She only played a small role, but it was enough to further Mélanie's interest in acting.