Irène Marie Jacob (born 15 July 1966) is a French-Swiss actress known for her work with Polish film director Krzysztof Kieślowski.

She attended the Geneva Conservatory of Music and earned a degree in languages (she speaks fluent French, English, German, and Italian).

[8] From 1992 to 1993, despite numerous offers from Hollywood that came in the wake of her success, including the lead role in Indecent Proposal, Jacob focused on smaller French films.

Jacob gained international acclaim as the protagonist in Kieślowski's Three Colours: Red (1994), which received three Academy Award nominations for Best Director, Best Cinematography, and Best Original Screenplay.

Her performance in Three Colours: Red gained huge international recognition, bringing further offers from major American motion-picture studios.

Jacob retreated from public attention and took nine months off, spending most of her time reading Tolstoy, Balzac, Singer, and several autobiographies.

[5] From 1995 to 1999, Jacob made a series of American and European films that met with varying degrees of commercial and critical success.

Marshals (1998), starring opposite Wesley Snipes and Tommy Lee Jones; The Big Brass Ring (1999), with William Hurt; and Spy Games (1999), with Bill Pullman and Bruno Kirby.