George Clooney, along with his wife Amal and their two children, has been granted French citizenship by an official decree published in France’s government gazette. This achievement confirms the actor's aspiration, which he hinted at in early December when he praised French privacy laws that shield his family from the intrusive eyes of paparazzi.
"I am deeply in love with French culture and your language, even though I'm still struggling with it after 400 days of lessons," Clooney told RTL radio at the time, speaking in English. "Here, children are not photographed. There are no paparazzi lurking at school gates. That's a top priority for us," he added.
As a dual US-French citizen, Clooney's attachment to Europe predates his 2014 marriage to his wife, a British-Lebanese human rights lawyer who speaks fluent French. The actor owns an estate in Italy's picturesque Lake Como region, purchased in 2002, and he and his wife also own a historic manor in England.
In 2021, they purchased a former wine estate called the Domaine du Canadel near the village of Brignoles in southern France. They also own a New York apartment and a property in Kentucky but reportedly sold their homes in Los Angeles and Mexico over the past decade.
The couple are parents to eight-year-old twins, and Clooney told RTL that although they travel frequently, their home in France "is where we're happiest."
In addition to his acting career, Clooney is also a director and producer and has won two Oscars: one for best supporting actor in 2006's Syriana and another as a producer on 2012's Argo.
Clooney is not the only Hollywood figure seeking French citizenship. The US director Jim Jarmusch also plans to apply for French nationality, telling France Inter radio on Friday that he is drawn to the country's culture and wants a place that will allow him to escape from the United States.
