Hollywood actor George Clooney has become a French citizen, alongside his wife Amal Alamuddin Clooney and their two children, according to an official decree seen
by AFP on Monday.
The decision, published in France’s official government gazette, confirms remarks Clooney made earlier this month praising France’s strict privacy protections—particularly those shielding children from paparazzi.
“I love the French culture, your language, even if I’m still bad at it after 400 days of courses,” the 64-year-old actor told RTL radio in December. He added that France’s approach to privacy was decisive for his family. “Here, they don’t take photos of kids. There aren’t paparazzi hidden at school gates. That’s number one for us.”
The Clooneys now hold dual US-French citizenship. The actor has long-standing ties to Europe that predate his 2014 marriage to Amal Clooney, a British-Lebanese human rights lawyer who speaks fluent French.
George Clooney has owned a lakeside estate in Italy’s Lake Como since 2002, while the couple also possess a historic manor in England, an apartment in New York, and property in Kentucky. They have reportedly sold homes in Los Angeles and Mexico in recent years.
In France, the family owns the Domaine du Canadel, a former wine estate near Brignoles in the south of the country, purchased in 2021. Clooney told RTL that despite frequent travel, their French residence is “where we’re happiest.” The couple are parents to eight-year-old twins.
Beyond his acting career, Clooney is also a director and producer. He has won two Academy Awards—one for best supporting actor in ‘Syriana’ (2006) and another as a producer on ‘Argo’ (2012)—and has earned substantial income from endorsements and business ventures, including the sale of his stake in a tequila brand.
Clooney is not alone among US film figures drawn to France. Director Jim Jarmusch said on France Inter radio last week that he, too, plans to apply for French nationality, citing a desire to leave the United States and his attraction to French culture. Photo by U.S. Department of State from United States, Wikimedia commons.