Céline Cousteau


Céline S. Cousteau is a socio-environmental advocate and public figure. She is known for her work as a documentary film director, producer, explorer, artist, public speaker, brand ambassador and designer, and is a frequent panelist at the United Nations in New York. She is the Founder/Director of CauseCentric Productions and Co-Founder/ Chairman of the Board of the Outdoor Film Fellowship. Céline is the daughter of ocean explorer and filmmakers Jean-Michel Cousteau and granddaughter of Jacques Yves Cousteau.

Early Years & Personal Life

Céline is the third generation of Cousteau explorers. She was born in California to Jean-Michel Cousteau, a renowned documentary-filmmaker and environmental advocate, and Anne-Marie Cousteau, a late expedition photographer. She is the sister of Fabien Cousteau, an ocean explorer and shark advocate, and granddaughter of pioneering ocean explorer Jacques Yves Cousteau. She grew up between their family homes in France and the United States.
Céline spent much of her youth aboard her grandfather's world-famous research vessel the Calypso, plying the seas with family in search of answers to the oceans' greatest mysteries. One of her first major expeditions on board was at age nine when she and her father and grandfather journeyed to the Amazon. There they spent 18 months navigating its coastal and jungle waters in areas that were still largely unknown to the outside world. This exploration also involved encounters with remote and un-contacted tribes, considered by many to be the last remaining guardians of the rainforest. It was through this experience that Céline began to learn about the interconnectedness of not only the environment, but humanity. She has spent her life dedicated to understanding the human "tribe" and the relationships forged between individuals, communities and ecosystems. Her relentless search to uncover the interconnectedness of everything has been the inspiration behind her many films, artworks and activism.
She has one son with her partner Çapkin van Alphen, an Australian cameraman.

Education

She attended the Norfolk Academy in Norfolk, Virginia and the United Nations International School in New York City, and graduated from Skidmore College in 1994, where she majored in psychology and minored in studio art. She received her master's degree in International and Intercultural Management from the School for International Training.

Career

Céline is the founder and CEO of CauseCentric Productions. CauseCentric Productions produces and distributes multi-media content with an emphasis on short films to amplify the voices and communicate the stories of solution focused grassroots organizations and individuals working on environmental and socio-cultural issues.
Céline is also the founder of the Outdoor Film Fellowship, formerly the Céline Cousteau Film Fellowship, a film fellowship program that equips young filmmakers, creatives, and activists to motivate change through storytelling.
Most recently, Céline released her first feature documentary, "Tribes on Edge", in 2019. This film was birthed form Céline's return to the Amazon in 2011 where she went in search of the indigenous tribes she first contacted with her grandfather aboard the Calypso. There she spent time with tribes of the Vale do Javari, Brazilian Amazon who's existence has since become threatened by the modern world. At their request, Céline agreed to tell the world their story through the medium of film.

Art & Fashion