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Clotilde Marie Pascale Courau yesterday celebrated the fiftieth anniversary of her birth. Clotilde was born on 3 April 1969 as the daughter of Jean-Claude Courau (b.1942) and Catherine du Pontavice des Renardières (b.1948), daughter of Count Pierre Francoise Marie Antoine du Pontavice des Renardières (b.1926) and Marie Lélia Gabriel (b.1926).
In 1985, at the age of sixteen, Clotilde dropped out of school and decided to become an actress. In the years since the, she has appeared in over fifty films. Clotilde Courau was recognised in 2007 by the French Ministry of Culture when she became a Dame of the Ordre des Arts et des Lettres.
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Clotilde Courau's engagement to Emanuele Filiberto, Prince of Venice, was announced on 10 July 2003. On 25 September 2003, the couple were married vat the Church of Santa Maria degli Angeli e dei Martiri in Rome. The bride wore a gown designed by the fashion house Valentino. Emanuele Filiberto (b.1972) is the only child of Vittorio Emanuele, Prince of Naples, and his wife Marina Doria; Emanuele Filiberto is also the only male-line grandson of King Umberto II of Italy (1904-1983) and Queen Marie-José (1906-2001; née Belgium).
Emanuele Filiberto and Clotilde of Savoy have two children. Vittoria Chiara Cristina Adelaide Maria of Savoy, the eldest daughter, was born on 28 December 2003 at Geneva. Vittoria was followed three years later by Luisa Giovanna Bianca Agata Gavina Maria who was born on 16 August 2006, also at Geneva.
Emanuele Filiberto posted a touching tribute to his wife on his Instagram page to mark her birthday:
"I love you terribly. If a flower blossomed every time I thought of you, every desert would be full of them.
(Khalil Gibran)
Happy Birthday my love."