The French actress explores creativity, intuition and the invisible worlds that shape her perspective as artistic director of Oh La La! at Art Basel Paris 2026.
Nature has its own rhythms, its own apparent disorder. For Philippine Leroy-Beaulieu, this makes it familiar territory. In the greenhouse of Paris’ Jardin des Plantes, the actress reflects on beauty, artistic freedom and the things we sense without fully understanding.
Known internationally as Sylvie Grateau in Emily in Paris, Leroy-Beaulieu grew up in Rome, surrounded by her parents’ artist friends. It was an upbringing that encouraged curiosity and an instinct for freedom—qualities that continue to shape her relationship with the world.
“I struggle with a world that’s too rigid and standardized,” she tells NOWNESS. “For me, life is something much more…undulating.”
Making room for the unexpected
As artistic director of this year’s Oh La La! initiative at Art Basel Paris, Leroy-Beaulieu brings that openness into the gallery space. The two-day programme invites galleries to transform their booths, introducing works that shift perspectives and spark new conversations.
Under the theme Myths and Legends, 45 galleries will present works by artists including Nina Childress, Leonora Carrington, Ed Ruscha and Diedrick Brackens.
What draws Leroy-Beaulieu to artists is their willingness to encounter something beyond their own understanding. She describes an openness to the unknown—a capacity to let experience unsettle familiar ways of seeing.
A feeling beyond the visible
Among the plants, her thoughts return to nature: the order within its seeming chaos, the connections that escape the eye yet make themselves felt. Intuition and sudden flashes of insight guide her attention.
“The other world, the invisible world, catches my attention all the time,” she says. “I know it exists; I don’t even need proof.”
In this episode of Inner Worlds, NOWNESS offers an intimate portrait of an actress whose curiosity reaches well beyond the screen—and into the elusive territory where feeling becomes imagination.
About NOWNESS
NOWNESS is a global video channel exploring art, design, fashion, music, culture and travel through films by established and emerging filmmakers.
