Who Is Thalia Besson? All About the Actor Who Plays Genevieve in 'Emily in Paris' Season 4

The rising star may play a villain on the Netflix hit, but in reality, she's French film royalty.

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Thalia Besson as Genevieve in Emily in Paris.
(Image credit: Stephanie Branchu/ Netflix)

Light spoilers for Emily in Paris season 4, part 2 ahead. After three and a half seasons of Emily being the only American in Paris (or at least, Darren Star's version of the City of Lights), the heroine of Emily in Paris has some competition. Season 4, part 2 of Netflix's guilty-pleasure hit introduces Genevieve, Laurent’s daughter (and Sylvie's step-daughter!) from a past relationship. Played by Thalia Besson, the standout new character seems to be a new friend for Lily Collins' character at first but, once she joins Agence Grateau, it becomes clear that Genevieve's willing to step over Emily on her way to the top (and into Gabriel's arms?).

Genevieve is a fun new addition as maybe the first straight-up villain of Emily in Paris, as she shakes up two will-they-won't-they sagas, both Emily and Gabriel's and Sylvie and Laurent's. After making her debut on the romance series, the actress is set to become an exciting new Netflix star. Below, find out everything there is to know about Thalia Besson, including why her character will likely stick around for Emily in Paris season 5.

Lily Collins as Emily, Thalia Besson as Genevieve in Emily in Paris.

Emily (Lily Collins) and Genevieve (Thalia Besson) are the two Americans at Agence Grateau in Emily in Paris season 4.

(Image credit: Stephanie Branchu/ Netflix)

Thalia Besson is the daughter of famed French director Luc Besson.

Besson, 23, was born in 2001 to director Luc Besson and producer Virginie Besson-Silla. The former's name is likely familiar to film fans, as Luc Besson is a world-renowned director who has written and helmed dozens of films, including 1988's The Big Blue, 1994's Léon: The Professional, 1997's The Fifth Element, and 2014's Lucy.

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Meanwhile, Virgine Besson-Silla is a producer who began her career working on French films. Since then, she has regularly collaborated with her husband and even worked on the Paris unit for Oscar winner Everything Everywhere All at Once.

Thalia has two younger siblings, Sateen Besson and Mao Besson, and two step-sisters, Juliette Besson and Shanna Besson.

Director Luc Besson with his wife Virginie Silla and their children Sateen Besson, Mao Besson, Thalia Besson and Shanna Besson attend a red carpet for the movie "Dogman" at the 80th Venice International Film Festival on August 31, 2023 in Venice, Italy.

Thalia Besson with her family at the 2023 Cannes Film Festival. From left: Sateen Besson, Thalia Besson, Mao Besson, Shanna Besson, Virginie Silla, and Luc Besson.

(Image credit: Stephane Cardinale - Corbis/Corbis via Getty Images)

Thalia Besson is an actor and director who made her acting debut in one of her father's films.

Besson made her acting debut in 2017, with an uncredited role in her father's film Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets. She went on to star in the French movies Arthur, Malédiction, and Dangerous Waters, while also working as a model, before landing her breakout role in Emily in Paris.

According to her Instagram, Besson has also directed two films, with her first film being "almost ready" according to a post from July 2024.

A post shared by Thalia (@thaliabesson)

Besson already has her next couple of roles set after Emily in Paris. She's set to star alongside The Witcher's Freya Allen in the horror movie Triton. She'll also appear in the upcoming road-trip drama When I'm Ready.

Thalia Besson has kept relatively tight-lipped about her acting career.

As Besson is still a relative newcomer in her film career, she has not done much press over the past few years, including for Emily in Paris. However, based on season 4's ending, we can guess she'll have a future with the Netflix series.

Will Thalia Besson's character Genevieve be in 'Emily in Paris' season 5?

It seems very likely that we'll be seeing more of Genevieve in Emily in Paris season 5. For the spoiler-prone, Genevieve's efforts to get Gabriel (Lucas Bravo) all to herself don't pan out by the end of season 4, part 2. Even though Emily and Gabriel are broken up by the finale, the season ends with Gabriel turning Genevieve down and heading to Rome to win Emily back (not knowing she's currently busy with her new Italian beau Marcello). However, Genevieve is employed at Agence Grateau, and will probably stick around in her efforts to take Emily's job and man.

Quinci LeGardye
Quinci LeGardye
Culture Writer

Quinci LeGardye is a Culture Writer at Marie Claire. She currently lives in her hometown of Los Angeles after periods living in NYC and Albuquerque, where she earned a Bachelor’s degree in English and Psychology from The University of New Mexico. In 2021, she joined Marie Claire as a contributor, becoming a full-time writer for the brand in 2024. She contributes day-to-day-content covering television, movies, books, and pop culture in general. She has also written features, profiles, recaps, personal essays, and cultural criticism for outlets including Harper’s Bazaar, Elle, HuffPost, Teen Vogue, Vulture, The A.V. Club, Catapult, and others. When she isn't writing or checking Twitter way too often, you can find her watching the latest K-drama, or giving a concert performance in her car.