Anne of Austria (22 September 1601 – 20 January 1666) was Queen consort of France and Navarre, regent for her son, Louis XIV of France, and a Spanish Infanta by birth. During her regency (1643–1651) Cardinal Mazarin served as France's chief minister.

Born at Benavente Palace in Valladolid, Spain, and baptised Ana María Mauricia, she was the eldest daughter of Habsburg parents, Philip III of Spain and Margaret of Austria. She held the titles of Infanta of Spain and of Portugal and Archduchess of Austria. Despite having been a native of Spain, she was referred to as "...of Austria" due to the fact that the Habsburgs were originally from Austria.

Anne was raised mainly at the Royal Alcazar of Madrid. Unusually, Anne grew up close to her parents, and lived a rather calm and orderly life when compared to other royal children. Her parents were very religious, and she therefore was raised to be as well, often visiting monasteries during her childhood. In 1611, she lost her mother, who died in childbirth; despite her grief, Anne did her best to take care of her younger siblings, who referred to her with affection as mother.

Austria (ⁱ/ˈɒstriə/ or /ˈɔːstriə/; German: Österreich [ˈøːstɐˌʁaɪç] ( listen)), officially the Republic of Austria (German:  Republik Österreich (help·info)), is a landlocked country of roughly 8.47 million people in Central Europe. It is bordered by the Czech Republic and Germany to the north, Hungary and Slovakia to the east, Slovenia and Italy to the south, and Switzerland and Liechtenstein to the west. The territory of Austria covers 83,855 square kilometres (32,377 sq mi) and has a temperate and alpine climate. Austria's terrain is highly mountainous due to the presence of the Alps; only 32% of the country is below 500 metres (1,640 ft), and its highest point is 3,798 metres (12,461 ft). The majority of the population speak local Austro-Bavarian dialects of German as their native language, and German in its standard form is the country's official language. Other local official languages are Burgenland Croatian, Hungarian and Slovene.

The origins of modern-day Austria date back to the time of the Habsburg dynasty when the vast majority of the country was a part of the Holy Roman Empire of the German Nation. During the 17th and 18th centuries, Austria became one of the great powers of Europe and, in response to the coronation of Napoleon I as the Emperor of the French, the Austrian Empire was officially proclaimed in 1804. In 1867, the Austrian Empire was reformed into Austria-Hungary.

Maria Anna of Austria (Maria Anna Josepha; 7 September 1683 – 14 August 1754) was an Archduchess of Austria and Queen consort of Portugal. She was also Regent of Portugal from 1742 until 1750 during the illness of her husband King John V of Portugal.

Born Maria Anna Josepha, she was a daughter of Holy Roman Emperor Leopold I and Eleonor Magdalene of Neuburg. Maria Anna was a sister of Holy Roman Emperors Joseph I and Charles VI. Through her brother Charles, she was an aunt of Maria Theresa, Austria's first queen regnant.

On October 27, 1708 Maria Anna of Austria married John V, King of Portugal. She would cease to be the Queen Consort of Portugal on July 31 1750, when her husband died. During her time as Queen Consort of Portugal, she acted as regent during times of her husband's illness.

In 1742 Maria Anna took over power as regent after her husband suffered a stroke, which left him partially paralyzed. When John V died on 31 July 1750 she gave up power to their eldest son Joseph I of Portugal.

Anne Parillaud (French pronunciation: [an pa?i?jo]) (born 6 May 1960 in Paris) is a French actress, who has appeared in 30 films since 1977.

She is best known internationally for her role as Nikita in the movie of the same name.

A native Parisian, Anne Parillaud was born on 6 May 1960. While in school she studied ballet and her ambition was to become a lawyer, but a role during summer vacation — when she was only 16 — in Michel Lang's L'hôtel de la plage launched her into the world of film. She and director Luc Besson have a daughter, but the couple separated shortly after he directed her in Nikita.Nikita was an especially intense experience for Parillaud:

After the international success of Nikita Parillaud left France to star in three films abroad: Map of the Human Heart, Innocent Blood and Frankie Starlight. She has said regarding the experience of playing a vampire in John Landis's Innocent Blood:

She last starred in the French psychological thriller In Their Sleep, which was directed by Caroline du Potet and Eric du Potet.

Just Jaeckin (August 8, 1940, Vichy, Allier) is a French film director.

He was born in Vichy France during the Nazi Occupation, but left with his mother and father for England: after the war, he returned to France where he studied art and photography, much of it he did before and after serving with the French Army: while with the army, he did photos under commission.^{[citation needed]}

After a string of movies made during the 1970s and 1980s, Jaeckin retired from making films. Today he lives in France, but is still remembered for the films he made, including the original Emmanuelle. He lives with his wife Anne and continues to do photography and sculpture.

Jaeckin debuted with Emmanuelle in 1974, starring Sylvia Kristel, setting the trend for a number of European softcore films and launching an array of other sequels for screen and cable TV. In 1975 he directed Histoire d'O (English title: Story of O), starring Corinne Clery. The film met with far less acclaim than the book. It was banned in the United Kingdom by the British Board of Film Censors until February 2000.