When we left actor Diane Kruger in ELLE Spain’s June 2024 issue, David Cronenberg’s film ‘The Shrouds’ was set to debut in Cannes on June 20.

Today we find Kruger covering the April 25, 2025 issue of Madame Figaro [IG], where the actor has just finished filming the six episodes of ‘Merteuil’, by Jessica Palud, freely adapted from ‘Dangerous Liaisons’ [1988], which was adapted from ‘Les Liaisons Dangereuses’ [1959], directed by Roger Vadim.

Kruger wears a relaxed mix of Chloé on the Madame Figaro cover, styled by Barbara Baumel. The story adds Acne Studios, AMI, Alexandre Mattiussi, Frère, Hermès, Tom Ford, Sirivannavari, and jewelry from Chaumet to the fashion mix, photographed by Thiemo Sander [IG] / Hair by John Nollet; makeup by Christophe Danchaud

Kruger as Madame de Rosemonde

Kruger plays Madame de Rosemonde, in the ‘Merteuil’ series, and here we share synchronicity. Just today I wrote about the ancient, global history of courtesans, inspired by a Louboutin Beauty campaign with Daphne Groeneveld.

Her character excels in the art of seduction, Kruger explains. “But she uses her beauty for the sole purpose of being the equal of men, or even their superior. She is a strategist and a manipulator determined not to be locked up in the shackles of the patriarchal society of the time.”

The film will be released in the second half of 2025 under the name ‘The Seduction’ everywhere except France.

French filmmaker Jessica Palud searches for women-related challenges that are universal and timeless. Presently age 48, Kruger says she has many opportunities for interesting movie roles, many more than when she was 25. She thanks the efforts made by top women in Hollywood to change the narrative and business practices of Hollywood.

Queried about facing the mirror of aging, Kruger almost brushes off the question, except to say it can be liberating given the richness of her private life and interests.

Kruger and Reedus Have One Child

Now married to Norman Reedus, their daughter Nova Tennessee is a six-year-old. In a sweet share, the actor says “My daughter Nova loves to see and review the footage from the movie where we met, her dad and I.”

That movie was the 2015 film ‘Sky’, where Kruger reached out to Reedus about working with her on the film. They did not know each other. At the time Kruger was involved in a 10-year relationship with Joshua Jackson, which ended in 2016.

Reedus shares a son Mingus Lucien, born in 1999 with top model Helena Christensen.

About ‘Shrouds’

Much of the Kruger interview in Madame Figaro is devoted to ‘Shrouds’, which AOC detailed in two other posts. [See widget below].

The film received a 3.5-minute standing ovation at its 2024 Cannes premiere, which is never a predictor of success with critics and/or success at the box office.

‘Shrouds’ opened in New York and Los Angeles on April 18, 2025, with a nationwide release on April 25. Spending 15-20 minutes searching the reviews, it’s as if even critics don’t know what to say about a man grieving so deeply that he watches the decomposition of his wife’s body in a high-tech setup in her coffin.

Cronenberg’s actual wife Carolyn died in 2017, and he was so distraught, that he wanted to jump in the casket with her. Now 82, the director can’t let her go — and so he doesn’t.

The Arizona Republic gives the film 4-stars and is not unkind. Like many other reviewers, AR doesn’t seem to know what to say. Perhaps a more film savvy reviewer, Kyle Smith writing for the Wall Street Journal reminds many that we have no interest in seeing this movie, which is absolutely original and art house quality:

The Shrouds turns out to be the name of the fashionably morbid restaurant Karsh [Vincent Cassel playing Cronenberg] owns that sits within a cemetery and is decorated with display cases that hold actual shrouds, as Karsh explains on a somewhat unusual blind date. Amusing as this idea is as an illustration of the upper class’s idea of chic and daring, it’s not nearly as disturbing as what Karsh explains next. Via his company GraveTech, deceased loved ones can be monitored, via a smartphone app, as they rot. The shrouds in which they are wrapped are equipped with high-definition movable cameras whose images can be called up on a screen. Mourners can marvel at how their loved ones’ skeletons are decomposing, then go have a cup of chowder.