70 years of Cannes jury members

Last year, she became the first German female filmmaker to ever make it into Cannes' competition, with her film "Toni Erdmann." Even though she didn't pick up the Palme d'Or, the critically acclaimed comedy obtained numerous other awards. This year, director Maren Ade will be a juror for the 70th Cannes Film Festival, along with actor Will Smith, among others.

The president of Cannes' 2017 jury is Spanish filmmaker Pedro Almodóvar. Compared to newcomer Maren Ade, he's a regular at the festival. He was already a member of the jury in 1992 and received the Best Director Award in 1999 for "All About My Mother" and Best Screenplay in 2006 for his film "Volver" (pictured). Cannes' top award, the Golden Palm, is however still missing in his collection.

Sofia Coppola was a member of the jury led by Jane Campion in 2014 - one of the nine female jury presidents in the 70-year history of the Cannes Film Festival. The seven members of that year's jury awarded the Palme d'Or to Turkish director Nuri Bilge Ceylan, for "Winter Sleep." Coppola is now vying for the recognition herself, with "The Beguiled."

Filmmaker Steven Spielberg was at the helm of the jury in 2013. That was the year Abdellatif Kechiche's film "Blue Is the Warmest Color," based on a lesbian coming-of-age graphic novel, picked up the most honors. The Palme d'Or was not only awarded to the filmmaker, it was also exceptionally presented jointly to both lead actresses, Léa Seydoux and Adèle Exarchopoulos.

While the presidency of the jury was initially reserved to French personalities in the first years of the festival, an increasing number of Americans were given the honor starting in the mid 1990s. Actor and director Robert De Niro's turn came in 2011. His jury, which included Uma Thurman and Jude Law, gave the top award to Terrence Malick for "The Tree of Life."

She was a member of the jury led by Dirk Bogarde in 1984 and president of the 2009 panel. That year, the Golden Palm went to Austrian filmmaker Michael Haneke for his drama "The White Ribbon." Huppert had celebrated her own Cannes triumph thanks to this director, winning Best Actress for her role in "The Piano Teacher" in 2001.

The cult director was at the helm of the 2004 jury. On board with him were four men and four women, including actress Tilda Swinton. They decided to reward Michael Moore's film "Fahrenheit 9/11" with the Golden Palm. The documentary dealt with George W. Bush's controversial election and his relations with the Bin Laden family.

Martin Scorsese obtained the Palme d'Or in 1976 with "Taxi Driver." Heading the jury in 1998, the star filmmaker and his co-jurors gave the top accolade to "Eternity and a Day," by Greek director Theo Angelopoulos, while Roberto Benigni's "Life Is Beautiful" won the Grand Prix.

He is one of only eight filmmakers to have obtained two Palme d'Or awards: in 1974 with "The Conversation" and in 1979 with "Apocalypse Now," together with Volker Schlöndorff for "The Tin Drum" that same year. Coppola - pictured here with his daughter Sofia and son Roman - was the French festival's jury president in 1996.

In recent years, he has made headlines through boisterous public appearances, for accepting Russian citizenship and for tax evasion. But Gérard Depardieu is first and foremost one of the best French actors of his time. After winning Best Actor in 1990 in Cannes for his lead role in "Cyrano de Bergerac," he was asked to head the jury two years later.

Whoopi Goldberg, pictured here with director Robert Altman, has not yet won anything in Cannes, but has been recognized with two Golden Globes and an Oscar. The actress was a member of the jury led by Roman Polanski in 1991. That year, the Coen brothers comedy "Barton Fink" swept the awards, winning the Palme d'Or, Best Director and Best Actor for John Turturro.

For the first 12 years of the festival, the jury president was always exclusively French. The author, painter and filmmaker Jean Cocteau assumed the role twice, in 1953 and 1954. At the time, the top accolade of the film festival was the Grand Prix, which was designed by different artists. The famous Palme d'Or was awarded for the first time in 1955.