Depardieu was born in Châteauroux, Indre, the son of Anne Jeanne Josèphe "Éliette" and René Maxime Lionel Depardieu, who was a metal worker. Gérard Depardieu left school at 13 and was a minor street criminal in his home town of Châteauroux in central France before being discovered as an acting talent by a Parisian producer in the early 1970s.

By the mid-'70s, Depardieu had co-starred in 11 French films, though he wouldn't enjoy widespread success until his role of a nihilistic but lovable petty criminal in director Bertrand Blier's Going Places (1974). Not long afterward, Depardieu could be found holding his own against acclaimed French actress Isabelle Adjaniin Barocco and portraying a passionate Communist organizer in 1900 (both 1976). In 1978, Depardieu re-teamed with Blier for the Oscar-winning Get Out Your Handkerchiefs, and he went on to win France's prestigious César award for his performance as a resistance fighter in The Last Metro (1980). After his portrayal of a 16th century peasant in The Return of Martin Guerre (1982), Depardieu played the title role in Danton, and he stepped behind the camera as co-director for 1984's Le Tartuffe.

The 1990s were equally successful for Depardieu, particularly in the case of director Jean-Paul Rappeneau's 1990 version of Cyrano de Bergerac, for which Depardieu earned an Oscar nomination. He made his foray into American film in 1990's Green Card opposite Andie MacDowell , though the bulk of his success still stemmed from French films. Depardieu was praised for his performances in Kenneth Branagh's Hamlet (1996), Nick Cassavetes' She's So Lovely (1997), and Randall Wallace's The Man in the Iron Mask (1998), with Gabriel Byrne John Malkovich, Jeremy Irons and Leonardo DiCaprio.

Over the following years, Depardieu maintained his prowess in film. In addition to critically acclaimed performances in The Closet (2001), CQ (2001), City of Ghosts (2002), and Nathalie... (2003), Depardieu began work with internationally recognized French director Alain Chabat in 2004. Depardieu made his directorial debut with 2000's The Bridge. More recently, he played Obelix in the two Astérix movies.