Virginie Ledoyen was born Virginie Fernandez on 15 November 1976 in Aubervilliers, near Paris. At the age of 2, she was already shooting advertisements for television. At 9, she started going to the École des Enfants du Spectacle, and made her film debut at 10 in Exploits d'un jeune Don Juan, Les. She was then nominated for the César (the French equivalent of an Oscar) for most promising actress in 1993, 1994 and 1995.

Her international breakthrough was in 1999, when she became ambassador for the cosmetics L'Oréal; this led to her casting in The Beach, with Leonardo DiCaprio.
She took the stage name Ledoyen, which is her paternal grandmother's maiden name. Her grandmother had been a French stage actress. Her paternal grandfather was of Spanish decent. Was a model in print and on TV from the age of 2. Her brother, Michael, was a production assistant. Her first on-screen kiss was with the much older actor Marcello Mastroianni. Graduated from Paris' L'Ecole des Enfants du Spectacle. Hobbies include gardening and reading. Nominated for Most Promising Young Actress at the 1996 César Awards for her role in Benoît Jacquot's Fille seule, La. Also nominated for Best Actress at the Paris Film Festival for the film Jeanne and the Perfect Guy. L'Oreal celebrity model (2000-2005). Met ex-companion Louis while they both were working on the set of Fille seule, La. Her first child, a daughter, Lilas, was born. [29 September 2001] Hosted the Cannes Festival's awards presentation. [26 May 2002] Sang with Pascal Obispo for the song "Qu'on me parle plus de toi" on the album Ensemble. Favourite actresses are Sophie Marceau and Isabelle Huppert. French citizen. Shares birthday with actors Helmut Fisher and Jonny Lee Miller, and singer Chad Kroeger from rock band "Nickelback". Has supported Lionel Jospin's 2002 presidential campaign.