French-US actress Roxane Mesquida, raised in Le Pradet, a small town in the South of France, was discovered at 11 years old by director Manuel Pradal. He cast her in Marie Baie de Anges. In 1998, she appeared in Benoit Jacquot's The School of Flesh, presented at the Cannes Film Festival. Later, she collaborated with director Catherine Breillat on Fat Girl, showcased at festivals worldwide including Berlin and Toronto. They reunited for Sex is a Comedy, which featured at Cannes Film Festival in 2002. Their collaboration continued with The Last Mistress, alongside Asia Argento. In 2006, after working on Sheitan with Vincent Cassel, directed by Kim Chapiron, Mesquida relocated to the United States. She honed her craft in New York at The Barrow Group before settling in Los Angeles.

In 2010, two of her films premiered at Cannes, Gregg Araki's Kaboom and Quentin Dupieux's Rubber. She also starred in music videos, including Buck 65's Paper Airplane, Grudd Rhys's Shark Ridden Waters, and Marilyn Manson's No Reflection. 2011 marked a busy period for Mesquida, appearing as Beatrice, sister of Louis Grimaldi, in the TV series Gossip Girl, and in features such as The Most Fun You Can Have Dying by Kirstin Marcon and Kiss of the Damned by Alexandra Cassavetes.