Cotillard was chosen by director Olivier Dahan to portray the French singer Édith Piaf in the biopic La Vie en Rose, before he had even met her, saying that he noticed a similarity between Piaf's and Cotillard's eyes.
The film was dubbed "the most awaited film of 2007" in France, where some critics said that Cotillard had reincarnated Édith Piaf to sing one last time on stage.
At the Berlin International Film Festival, where the film premiered, Cotillard was given a 15-minute standing ovation.
Powerful Hollywood talent agent, Hylda Queally, signed Cotillard shortly after its premiere at the festival.
La Vie en Rose was a box office hit in France, gathering over 5 million admissions, and made US$86 million worldwide on a US$25 million budget.

Cotillard is the first actress to win a Golden Globe for a foreign language performance since 1972, when Liv Ullmann won for The Emigrants.
She is also the first person to win a (Comedy or Musical) Golden Globe for a foreign language performance.
On 10 February 2008, Cotillard became the first French actress to be awarded the BAFTA Award for Best Actress in a Leading Role since Stéphane Audran in 1973.
At the Academy Awards, she won Best Actress, becoming the first woman and second person (after Adrien Brody, The Pianist) to win both a César and an Oscar for the same performance.
Cotillard is the second French actress to win this award and the third overall to win an Academy Award after Simone Signoret in 1960 and Juliette Binoche in 1997.
She is the first Best Actress winner for a non-English language performance since Sophia Loren in 1961.
She is also the first and (as of 2020) only winner of an Academy Award for a French-language performance.

On 24 June 2008, Cotillard was one of 105 individuals invited to join the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.
In 2009, Cotillard starred alongside Johnny Depp and Christian Bale in the role of Billie Frechette in Michael Mann's Public Enemies, which was released in the United States on 1 July 2009.
Later that year, she starred in the film adaptation of the musical Nine, directed by Rob Marshall, playing Luisa Contini, the wife of Guido, played by Daniel Day-Lewis.
In the film, Cotillard performed two musical numbers: "My Husband Makes Movies" and "Take It All".

 Time magazine ranked Cotillard's performance in Nine as the fifth best female performance of 2009, behind Mo'Nique, Carey Mulligan, Saoirse Ronan, and Meryl Streep.
She was awarded the Desert Palm Achievement Actress Award at the 2010 Palm Springs International Film Festival – her second prize from the festival – and was nominated for a Golden Globe for Best Actress in a Motion Picture – Musical or Comedy for her performance in Nine.
Cotillard appeared on the cover of the November 2009 issue of Vogue with her Nine co-stars, and on the July 2010 cover by herself.

On 27 February 2010, Cotillard was the Honorary President of the 35th César Awards ceremony.
She played Mal Cobb, a projection of Leonardo DiCaprio's character, Dom Cobb's deceased wife in Christopher Nolan's film Inception, also starring Tom Hardy, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Cillian Murphy, Ken Watanabe, Michael Caine and Ellen Page, which released on 16 July 2010.
Nolan described Mal as "the essence of the femme fatale", and DiCaprio praised Cotillard's performance saying that "she can be strong and vulnerable and hopeful and heartbreaking all in the same moment, which was perfect for all the contradictions of her character".
Cotillard and Leonardo DiCaprio ranked No.
8 on Forbes' list of "Hollywood's Top Earning On-Screen Couples" for Inception, which made US$825 million at the worldwide box-office.
In the same year, she also starred in Guillaume Canet's drama Little White Lies (Les petits mouchoirs), playing the environmentalist Marie, alongside Jean Dujardin and François Cluzet.
Cotillard was chosen by director Olivier Dahan to portray the French singer Édith Piaf in the biopic La Vie en Rose, before he had even met her, saying that he noticed a similarity between Piaf's and Cotillard's eyes. The film was dubbed "the most awaited film of 2007" in France, where some critics said that Cotillard had reincarnated Édith Piaf to sing one last time on stage. At the Berlin International Film Festival, where the film premiered, Cotillard was given a 15-minute standing ovation. Powerful Hollywood talent agent, Hylda Queally, signed Cotillard shortly after its premiere at the festival. La Vie en Rose was a box office hit in France, gathering over 5 million admissions, and made US$86 million worldwide on a US$25 million budget.
Cotillard is the first actress to win a Golden Globe for a foreign language performance since 1972, when Liv Ullmann won for The Emigrants. She is also the first person to win a (Comedy or Musical) Golden Globe for a foreign language performance. On 10 February 2008, Cotillard became the first French actress to be awarded the BAFTA Award for Best Actress in a Leading Role since Stéphane Audran in 1973. At the Academy Awards, she won Best Actress, becoming the first woman and second person (after Adrien Brody, The Pianist) to win both a César and an Oscar for the same performance. Cotillard is the second French actress to win this award and the third overall to win an Academy Award after Simone Signoret in 1960 and Juliette Binoche in 1997. She is the first Best Actress winner for a non-English language performance since Sophia Loren in 1961. She is also the first and (as of 2020) only winner of an Academy Award for a French-language performance.
On 24 June 2008, Cotillard was one of 105 individuals invited to join the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. In 2009, Cotillard starred alongside Johnny Depp and Christian Bale in the role of Billie Frechette in Michael Mann's Public Enemies, which was released in the United States on 1 July 2009. Later that year, she starred in the film adaptation of the musical Nine, directed by Rob Marshall, playing Luisa Contini, the wife of Guido, played by Daniel Day-Lewis. In the film, Cotillard performed two musical numbers: "My Husband Makes Movies" and "Take It All". 
 Time magazine ranked Cotillard's performance in Nine as the fifth best female performance of 2009, behind Mo'Nique, Carey Mulligan, Saoirse Ronan, and Meryl Streep. She was awarded the Desert Palm Achievement Actress Award at the 2010 Palm Springs International Film Festival – her second prize from the festival – and was nominated for a Golden Globe for Best Actress in a Motion Picture – Musical or Comedy for her performance in Nine. Cotillard appeared on the cover of the November 2009 issue of Vogue with her Nine co-stars, and on the July 2010 cover by herself.
On 27 February 2010, Cotillard was the Honorary President of the 35th César Awards ceremony. She played Mal Cobb, a projection of Leonardo DiCaprio's character, Dom Cobb's deceased wife in Christopher Nolan's film Inception, also starring Tom Hardy, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Cillian Murphy, Ken Watanabe, Michael Caine and Ellen Page, which released on 16 July 2010. Nolan described Mal as "the essence of the femme fatale", and DiCaprio praised Cotillard's performance saying that "she can be strong and vulnerable and hopeful and heartbreaking all in the same moment, which was perfect for all the contradictions of her character". Cotillard and Leonardo DiCaprio ranked No. 8 on Forbes' list of "Hollywood's Top Earning On-Screen Couples" for Inception, which made US$825 million at the worldwide box-office. In the same year, she also starred in Guillaume Canet's drama Little White Lies (Les petits mouchoirs), playing the environmentalist Marie, alongside Jean Dujardin and François Cluzet.
Marion Cotillard