French director, actor, and sculptor Jean-Marie Binoche was born in 1933 in Paris, France. He had one eighth Portuguese-Brazilian ancestry and was raised partly in Morocco by his French-born parents. He was married to Polish actress, teacher, and director, Monique Yvette Stalens, until 1968, when they divorced. Their children, renowned French actress Juliette Binoche and her sister, actress Marie Stalens, were sent away to boarding school, where Juliette Binoche later expressed feeling lonely. During their teens, the Binoche sisters spent their school holidays with their maternal grandmother, not seeing their parents for months at a time. Binoche has stated that this perceived parental abandonment had a profound effect on her.

Jean-Marie Binoche passed away in late July 2019 at the age of 86. His death was announced by his daughter, Juliette, on her official Instagram account with the simple words, "Il est parti". ("He has left")