Charlotte Gainsbourg

Charlotte Gainsbourg

Author: Bella Freud February 18, 2026 Duration: 1:29:21
Charlotte Gainsbourg is an actress and musician. The daughter of Jane Birkin and Serge Gainsbourg, she was born in London and raised in Paris. She made her acting debut at the age of 13 playing Catherine Deneuve’s daughter in the film Paroles et Musique, and her musical debut the same year with the song “Lemon Incest” duetting with her father Serge. In 1986, she won a Cesar Award for her starring role in the film L’Effrontée. Her debut album was released the same year, produced by her father to accompany the film Charlotte For Ever, which starred a 15 year old Charlotte alongside her father Serge. Gainsbourg has since released four further albums, her most recent Rest in 2017, which explored her grief following the deaths of her father and sister Kate Barry. In 2009, Gainsbourg starred in Lars von Trier’s film Antichrist, for which she won the Cannes Best Actress award, marking the beginning of a collaboration between the actress and director. She went on to star in his 2011 film Melancholia, and 2013’s Nymphomaniac. Gainsbourg directed and produced a documentary about her mother, Jane par Charlotte, in 2021, exploring their relationship two years before Birkin’s death.  Charlotte Gainsbourg is a reluctant fashion icon, cited by all those with a love of fashion, independent film, and music as a truly original figure of glamour and cool. She has fronted campaigns for fashion houses including Balenciaga and Yves Saint Laurent, with YSL’s Anthony Vaccarello directing Gainsbourg’s most recent music video Blurry Moon. In this episode of Fashion Neurosis, Bella Freud and Charlotte Gainsbourg discuss relationships with powerful fathers, her work with Lars von Trier, and love and grief. Part of the Vox Media Podcast Network. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

In Fashion Neurosis with Bella Freud, the iconic designer turns her studio into something closer to a therapist's office. Every episode, a guest settles in for a conversation that starts with the fabric of our lives-literally. Bella Freud guides discussions that pick apart why we wear what we do, treating a wardrobe choice not as a trivial concern but as a window into our deeper selves. These aren't typical interviews about trends; they're meandering, personal explorations. You’ll hear stories about the power of a specific scent, the armor of a well-cut jacket, or the nostalgia tied to a childhood uniform. Naturally, the dialogue in this podcast often spirals into much broader territory, touching on the anxieties, cultural shifts, and personal histories that shape us. Freud shares her own vivid anecdotes generously, creating a space where fashion becomes the starting point for talking about everything from love and politics to the very construction of identity. The result is a series of intimate, sometimes surprising dialogues that reveal how the things we put on our bodies are inextricably linked to what’s happening in our minds and in the world around us.
Author: Language: English Episodes: 68

Fashion Neurosis with Bella Freud
Podcast Episodes
Lorde [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 56:15
Lorde is a New Zealand singer and songwriter. She is a Grammy-winning artist and cultural force, known for her genre-defying sound, introspective lyricism, and striking creative vision. She gained recognition at the age…
Haim [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:01:14
Haim is an American rock band made up of three sisters: Este, Danielle, and Alana Haim. Hailing from Los Angeles, the siblings grew up in a musical household, playing in a family band before forming HAIM in 2007. Their u…
Courtney Love [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 53:39
Courtney Love is an American singer, songwriter and actress, who rose to prominence as the lead singer of Hole, which she formed in 1989. Her life has been subject of intense media scrutiny, particularly her marriage to…
Rachel Jones [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:03:14
Rachel Jones is a multidisciplinary artist working with painting, installation, sound and performance. Jones explores a sense of self as a visual and visceral experience, using motifs and abstraction to grapple with the…
Alex Consani [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 57:04
Alex Consani is an American model. She is also a social media star - performing brilliant and hilarious skits on tiktok, garnering her millions of followers and fans. A fearless advocate for trans visibility, Alex Consan…
Graydon Carter [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 56:41
Graydon Carter is a celebrated Canadian journalist, editor, and cultural commentator best known for his 25 years as the Editor of Vanity Fair. Born in Toronto, Graydon Carter began his career in journalism in Canada wher…
Bethann Hardison [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:00:02
Bethann Hardison is a pioneering force in fashion and activism in a career spanning over five decades. Emerging from Brooklyn in the late 1960s, she became one of the first Black models to gain prominence in both New Yor…
Sam McKnight [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:02:43
Sam McKnight is one of the most celebrated hairstylists in the world. His career has spanned more than 40 years at the forefront of cutting edge fashion, beauty, and pop culture. Known for his creative vision, Sam McKnig…
Marina Abramović [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 57:13
Marina Abramović is one of the most influential and groundbreaking performance artists of our time. Born in Belgrade, Serbia, she has spent over five decades pushing the limits of the mind, body, and spirit through art.…
Es Devlin [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:01:44
Es Devlin is a British artist and stage designer celebrated for creating large-scale, emotionally resonant installations and performances that fuse light, music, language, and space. Her work has shaped the visual identi…