Editing Irène Jacob (section)

==Early life==
Irène Jacob was born in [[Suresnes]], [[Hauts-de-Seine]], a western suburb of Paris. The youngest child with three older brothers, she was raised in a highly educated and intellectual family and environment: her father, [[Maurice Jacob]], was a [[physicist]]; her mother, a [[psychologist]]; one brother, Francis Jacob, a musician; and her other two brothers, scientists.<ref name="Flint">Flint</ref><ref>''Biography Base''. "Irene Jacob Biography." Retrieved on 13 December 2007.</ref> In 1969, at the age of three, Irène moved with her family to [[Geneva]], Switzerland, where she became interested in the arts.

{{blockquote|My family was very shy with feelings and never spoke about them, but we evolved a little bit. I think part of the reason I was attracted to theater was because I wanted to be close to stories because they could help me relate to my family.<ref>McKenna, Kristine. "A Face That Tells the Story." ''Los Angeles Times'', 1994.</ref>}}

Jacob developed an interest in performing after seeing the films of [[Charlie Chaplin]]. "They took my heart", she has recalled. "They made me laugh and cry, and that was exactly what I was waiting for in a film: to awaken me to my feelings."<ref name="McKenna">McKenna</ref>

She made her stage debut in 1977 at the age of 11. She attended the [[Conservatoire de Musique de Genève|Geneva Conservatory of Music]] and earned a degree in languages (she speaks fluent French, English, German, and Italian).<ref name="Flint"/> She also studied at the [[Drama Studio London|Drama Studio]] in London, England.<ref>''Yahoo Movies''. "Irene Jacob Biography." Retrieved on 13 December 2007.</ref><ref>''Net Glimpse''. "Irene Jacob Biography." Retrieved on 13 December 2007.</ref> In 1984, she moved to Paris, where she studied acting at the prestigious ''Rue Blanche'' (the French national drama academy).