11 Over-40 French Women Who Only Get Cooler as They Age

French women have a timeless quality that's hard to put into words. It's a combination of not looking like they tried and somehow appearing perfectly put-together. It's not something that can be readily taught, but these 11 women make it look easy. Every one of the French women featured here is as chic as can be and each is all over age 40. Not only that, but they seem to get cooler by the decade and make fashion over 40 look easy.

The women we're calling out include actresses, fashion editors, and former models, but there's nothing flashy about their style. They clearly have the fashion industry at their fingertips, but their classic aesthetics are indicative of French women in every field. Check out their cool confidence ahead and start looking forward to getting older.

Keep scrolling to see which over-40 French women inspire us and to shop pieces that they'd surely love at the end.

Caroline de Maigret

Age: 45

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

Caroline de Maigret is a model and the co-author of How to Be Parisian Wherever You Are.

Follow: @carolinedemaigret

Carla Bruni

Age: 52

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(Image credit: Getty Images)

Carla Bruni is a songwriter, former model, and former French first lady.

Follow: @carlabruniofficial

Marion Cotillard

Age: 45

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(Image credit: Getty Images)

Marion Cotillard is an Academy Award–winning actress, a musician, and the face of Lady Dior.

Follow: @marioncotillard

Emmanuelle Alt

Age: 53

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(Image credit: Getty Images)

Emmanuelle Alt is the current editor in chief of Vogue Paris.

Follow: @emmanuellealt

Isabelle Huppert 

Age: 67

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(Image credit: Collage Vintage )

Isabelle Huppert is a veteran actress who was recently nominated for her first Academy Award for her work in Elle.

Follow: @isabelle.huppert

Vanessa Paradis

Age: 47

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(Image credit: Getty Images)

Vanessa Paradis is a model, singer-songwriter, and actress who is a front-row fixture at every Chanel runway show alongside daughter, Lily-Rose Depp.

Aïssa Maïga

Age: 45

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(Image credit: Vittorio Zunino Celotto/Getty Images)

Aïssa Maïga is a Senegalese-born French actress and producer. Her signature look on the red carpets she frequents is dresses that cinch at the waist.

Juliette Binoche

Age: 56

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(Image credit: Getty Images )

Juliette Binoche is an Academy Award–winning actress for The English Patient and perhaps best known for her starring role in Chocolat.

Follow: @juliettebinoche

Inès de la Fressange

Age: 63

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(Image credit: Getty Images)

Inès de la Fressange is a model, style icon, and author of Parisian Chic City Guide.

Follow: @inesdelafressangeofficial

Carine Roitfeld

Age: 66

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(Image credit: Getty Images)

Formerly the editor in chief of Vogue Paris, Carine Roitfeld now runs CR Fashion Book and is the global fashion director of Harper's Bazaar.

Follow: @carineroitfeld

Catherine Deneuve

Age: 77

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(Image credit: Getty Images)

Catherine Deneuve is an actress (having appeared in over 100 films) and one of Saint Laurent's original muses.

Garance Doré

Age: 45

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(Image credit: Getty Images)

Garance Doré is a photographer, illustrator, blogger, and author of The New York Times best seller Love Style Life.

Follow: @garancedore

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This post was originally published on an earlier date and has been updated.

Allyson Payer
Senior Editor

Allyson is a senior editor for Who What Wear. She joined the company in 2014 as co-founder Katherine Power's executive assistant and over the years has written hundreds of stories for Who What Wear. Prior to her career in fashion, Allyson worked in the entertainment industry at companies such as Sony Pictures Television. Allyson is now based in Raleigh, North Carolina, and is originally from Baton Rouge, Louisiana. She holds a BFA in theater. Her path to fashion may not have been linear, but based on the number of fashion magazines she collected as a child and young adult, it was meant to be.