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Gallic actress Christine Boisson made an unusual and difficult transition in her career by segueing from a memorably erotic debut in director Just Jaeckin's softcore blockbuster Emmanuelle (1974) to a succession of projects in which she portrayed elegant, beautiful, and sophisticated middle-aged women. When she took the Jaeckin role (in her late teens) Boisson was all but unknown; the steamy skin film (which avoided hardcore elements but featured a notorious scene of public onanism with Boisson and star Sylvia Kristel) did much to change that. It marked Boisson's last major project of this nature, however, and after its release she almost immediately went mainstream, with such outings as the Jean-Louis Trintignant-Romy Schneider satirical comedy Love at the Top (1974), the multi-director Parisian film a sketch Paris Vu Par... 20 Ans Apres (1984), and the Jacqueline Bisset-headlined bedroom farce Les Marmottes (1993). Boisson appeared in one of her first English-language projects under the aegis of master director Jonathan Demme, with a prominent supporting role in his comedic mystery thriller The Truth About Charlie (2002), and drew additional international attention with a supporting role in director Hormoz's thoughtful psychological drama I Dreamt Under the Water (2007).