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Emily in Paris actress Philippine Leroy-Beaulieu has said that she thinks British women ‘aren’t scared of being vulgar’ with how they dress.
The French star, 61, who plays the formidable Sylvie Grateau in the hit Netflix series, spoke in a new interview where she compared French and English styles.
She made the savage comparison saying French women dress so differently as they are ‘scared of not being chic’.
She told Grazia: ‘What I love about British style is they’re so free with their fashion and the way they dress.
‘My daughter lives in East Sussex and I’ve noticed her friends and how they dress, there’s so much fantasy and they’re not scared of being vulgar, which the French are.
Emily in Paris actress Philippine Leroy-Beaulieu has said that she thinks British women ‘aren’t scared of being vulgar’ with how they dress
The French star, 61, who plays the formidable Sylvie Grateau in the hit Netflix series, spoke in a new interview where she compared French and English styles
‘It limits them a lot – they’re scared of not being chic.’
She plays uncompromising marketing boss Sylvie in the show which also stars Lily Collins as Emily – an American who moves to Paris for work.
It comes after Philippine admitted that taking on such a strong female role has left both men and women scared of her.
Defending Sylvie’s brittle exterior the glamorous French actress said success in women is often wrongly associated with them being a ‘bitch’.
‘Sylvie is only part of me!’ she said in an interview with The Times magazine. ‘And Sylvie is layered. She is tough, but she’s vulnerable.’
She added: ‘When you’re hypersensitive you have to be tough, to protect yourself, otherwise what? You’re just gonna cry all the time. You need armour to protect yourself from this s****y world. You have to say no. You have to have boundaries. Because people try to get you all the time.’
Insisting that men ‘shouldn’t be frightened’ of women like Sylvie, she said: ‘I think a good man, a mensch, is not afraid of a strong woman.’ And she quipped, pointedly: ‘Are there enough good men?’
Being tough is something that comes naturally to the star in a world where the roles for older women have historically been few and far between.
She made the savage comparison saying French women dress so differently as they are ‘scared of not being chic’
She said: ‘My daughter lives in East Sussex and I’ve noticed her friends and how they dress, there’s so much fantasy and they’re not scared of being vulgar, which the French are’
She plays uncompromising marketing boss Sylvie in the show which also stars Lily Collins (centre) as Emily – an American who moves to Paris for work
The daughter of French actor Philippe Leroy and model Francoise Laurent, Philippine carved out a career in French cinema and rejected the draw of Hollywood because ‘I’m really very European’.
There were ‘dips’, she said, in her forties, but today she is ‘living proof that you can rebuild a career when you are older’.
She starred in three series of the hit French comedy Call My Agent! (later remade for English-speaking audiences) and is now starring in the fourth season of Emily In Paris, which hit Netflix on August 15.
And despite her feet hurting after filming in Sylvie’s stilettos, she is unapologetic about the youthful outfits she wears on the show.
‘There are these rules, but you don’t have to follow rules. I’m not the kind of person who follows rules.
‘These days women do whatever they wanna do. Sylvie’s character is about being free of whatever age you happen to be.’
Ashley Park, Lily Collins and Philippine who all star in the show are seen at the season four premiere in Hollywood this month
It comes after Philippine admitted that taking on such a strong female role has left both men and women scared of her
