Fashionable, French, and really, really nice, it’s no wonder Clémence Poésy haunts James Franco’s dreams in 127 Hours.< pclass="caption" style="width:430px">Actress Clémence Poésy, photographed at the Bowery Hotel in New York City. Poésy wears a blouse by Stella McCartney; pants by Yves Saint Laurent.

The intersection of the Venn diagram showing Joan of Arc, Chanel, and sawing your own arm off is very, very tiny. It consists of just two words: “Clémence” and “Poésy.” French actress Clémence Poésy, 27, plays the girlfriend role in Danny Boyle’s new film, 127 Hours—the true story of Aron Ralston, the rock climber who got trapped under a Utah boulder and resorted to lifesaving self-amputation. Not shy about take-a-deep-breath subjects, Clémence is now about to film the lead in a movie about Joan of Arc. She is also the coolest girl on a cool day on planet cool. She has been on the covers of some European fashion magazines, gets invited to the couture shows by Karl, and is boldfaced in every style publication and blog the world over. This white-hot-ness is a little alien, she says. “I was, believe me, the least cool girl at school.” Poésy, who grew up just outside Paris, admits that between the ages of 11 and 15 she “suffered a lot.... I know exactly what it feels like not to be in the cool group and wonder why you’re not.” But that was then; now The New York Times reports when she is seen wearing a hat. Irritatingly, she also seems terrifically nice. Polite, enthusiastic, and well educated, Poésy speaks perfect English with just a tiny French inflection—instead of that ickle baby voice so slappably annoying but beloved of other fully grown French actresses. Combined with her almost freakishly normal yet mesmeric beauty, the result is very, very appealing.