September 10, 2026
20 years ago, Sofia Coppola introduced the world to Marie Antoinette, the notorious last queen of France, through a pastel-covered lens.
Played by ’00s It girl Kirsten Dunst, Coppola depicted a humanized version of the Austrian archduchess, who was only 14 when she was sent to France to marry Louis-Auguste, the future Louis XVI.
Dunst gave the late monarch a playful, youthful, modern energy as the film followed a restless teenage queen. Unaware of the growing unrest among the French people, she grappled with the isolation of palace life through shopping, gambling, boredom and pleasure.
The film is a cinematic feast for the eyes, with scenes of the Queen and her ladies adorned in elaborate 18th-century panniers crafted in pastel silks and satins, dripping in pearls, jewels, feathers and ribbons. As the story unfolds, the Queen’s infamous pouf grows larger.
Costume designer Milena Canonero won the Academy Award for Best Costume Design in 2007. Lavish, colorful tablescapes, all set against the opulence of Versailles, make every shot look like a Rococo painting.
Coppola overlaid the historically accurate 18th-century setting with an iconic indie soundtrack, and when The Strokes’ “What Ever Happened?” played, it became one of the film’s most memorable moments. Marie Antoinette became an instant cult classic.
In reality, Marie Antoinette was blamed for France’s financial and economic turmoil, and became a symbol of the Monarchy’s overindulgence. She was ultimately executed in 1793, during the French Revolution.
Twenty years later, Coppola’s version of Marie Antoinette lives on as an enduring vision of the Queen and Versailles. Now, you are invited to immerse yourself in the history and celebrate the film’s 20th anniversary at the Château de Versailles, with an exhibition at the Petit Trianon.
Marking the film's 20th anniversary, the book Making Marie Antoinette brings together Andrew Durham's iconic behind-the-scenes photographs with a conversation with Sofia Coppola.
The exhibition runs from September 22, 2026, through January 24, 2027, at the Petit Trianon, Château de Versailles, France.
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