Maiwenn Le Besco is the daughter of actress Catherine Belkhodja and a Breton father (hence her Breton last name and the Breton surnames of their children), who ushered her into the entertainment industry at a young age (an experience later chronicled by Le Besco in her one-woman shows "Le Pois Chiche" and "I'm an Actress"). She starred in few films as a child and teenage actress, before meeting director and producer Luc Besson in 1991.

The two years later Le Besco began a relationship, after which she, having lost her motivation as an actress, interrupted her career for several years. Maiwenn lived in Beverly Hills raising the daughter she had had with Besson at the age of 16 During this period, she only appeared in a supporting part in Leon, in which she was credited as Ouin-Ouin. She also directed the film's making of. Perhaps Maiwenn's most internationally-seen film role was her appearance (albeit in heavy makeup and prosthetics) as the alien diva Plavalaguna in Luc Besson's The Fifth Element (coproduction French and UK, 1997).

After her breakup with Luc Besson, Maiwenn returned to France and resumed her career as an actress. Actress performed as a standup comedian in an autobiographical one-woman-show, and reentered the movie business after several filmmakers saw her comedy routine in Paris. Maiwenn appeared in several notable movies, including the horror film "Haute Tension" (English title: High Tension), in which she starred opposite Cecile de France. In 2006, she directed her first feature film, the semi-autobiographical "Pardonnez-moi".