Family: Hélène at Avignon

For the first time ever, Mathilde's younger sister Hélène gave an interview. In Paris Match Belgique of 27 June 2024 she talked to Dorian de Meeûs about the play she was doing and that took her to the prestigious theatre festival of Avignon this summer.

Hélène started her career as a lawyer, then turned solicitor for a financial firm. She'd never guessed she'd one day take to the stage as she was always very shy. To overcome her fear of public speaking she'd taken a course at Brussels theatre school Cours Florent in 2018. It changed her so much she quit her job and started teaching at Cours Florent. 

"Rollekebol" is the first play she herself stars in, alongside Nicolas Godart, Lily Moreau, Camille Malnory and François Hoffmann. The actors all met at the Cours Florent. Their group doesn't have a name yet.

The play Rollekebol is about a family that's falling apart. The main roles are played by the teenage children. Hélène plays the mother who, confronted with the empty nest, loses track of life and becomes depressed.

When asked about Hélène's role, her sister Elisabeth d'Udekem tells Dorian de Meeûs, "Hélène asked me to come watch the general rehearsal, to put her at ease. She's been very discrete about her passion for acting. I was amazed to see her in the role of a depressed and suicidal person whilst in real life she is a person who's always full of enthusiasm and optimism." 

Hélène d'Udekem in Avignon

Recently Hélène also guided a class of public reading, centred around the YA book "La traversée de Jim" written by her friend, author Alia Cardyn. It's the story of a young man who becomes very ill with cancer and recovers, told in a lighthearted, non dramatic way.

This of course refers to Hélène's private life. Her son had a brain tumor when he was still a very young toddler. He recovered from it. Hélène: "Yes, but thankfully that's all behind us now. It made us realize how much research still needs to be done in pediatric oncology. I joined the board of the foundation Kick Cancer, founded by my friend Delphine Heenen, who does an amazing job."

Hélène also talks about her big sister Mathilde who became a very well known person from one day to the next. Hélène: "Let's be honest, I could never do what she does. I'm much too shy to be in the spotlight all the time. When she got engaged and married, I was 19 years old. I hated the cameras that were always present and the stares from people. I really didn't like it. I really admire Mathilde's natural capacity to relax while doing what she does, and to be in control of her impulses. She's a typical eldest sister." 

What does Hélène remember from the days that followed Philippe & Mathilde's engagement announcement? 
Hélène: "Because of the huge media interest that followed my sister's engagement, I was forced to become more outgoing. I had to force myself to approach other people, because the others didn't dare to approach me anymore."

Did this episode show her what the media were all about?
Hélène: "Yes, and it scared me. When my sister's first pregnancy was announced I had the bad idea to pick up the phone ... It was a journalist who wanted more information and to have reactions from our family. I kept saying I wasn't going to comment, and gave no answer whatsoever, yet the next day a full interview with me was printed in the papers, with answers I'd never given! Of course it was no real drama but I was completely taken aback. I was horrified and I became extremely prudent around the press. 

Since then things have calmed down, haven't they?
Hélène: "True. The big media frenzy around our family was at the time of the engagement and wedding, and at the birth of my niece Elisabeth. Thankfully it's died down since."