Michael Vartan was born on 27th November 1968 in France, an only child. Michael's father, Eddie Vartan, was a French musician, whose ancestry was Armenian and Bulgarian on one side, and Hungarian Jewish on the other. Michael's mother, Doris Vartan (née Pucher), is a Polish Jewish immigrant to the United States. His aunt is singer Sylvie Vartan. His parents divorced when he was five (his mother later re-married to screenwriter Ian La Frenais. He spent his childhood shuttling between the tiny Normandy village of Fleury, France (where his father lived) and the United States (where his mother lived). At the age of eighteen, after deciding against joining the French military service (mandatory for all males above 18 in France), Michael shifted to the States. His mother encouraged him to take acting classes, and he enrolled in an acting school after being told by many people that he had the potential for it. He made his acting debut in the French film Un homme et deux femmes (1991) and followed that with another French film, Promenades d'été (1992). It was with the Italian film Fiorile (1993), in which he played, ironically, a French soldier, that he made his international debut. Vartan, who was nominated for a French Caesar Award for Best Up-and-Coming Actor, played two characters in this fable of a curse that haunts a family through centuries. Of his performance, New York Post movie critic Mike Medved heralded the actor, saying, "[Vartan] is so hugely effective that it's hard to understand how he could have (so far) avoided discovery by Hollywood". Soon after, Vartan signed with an agent and landed a role in Extravagances (1995) playing the bigoted small-town thug who harasses three drag queens (Wesley Snipes, Patrick Swayze and John Leguizamo).
He went on to star opposite David Schwimmer, as one of his character's best friends in Le porteur de cercueil (1996), a comedy of escapades surrounding three old high school pals coping with bachelorhood, marriage and a case of mistaken identity. He also gave an impressive performance in Back home (1997) as Jake, who, during a Thanksgiving family reunion tries to gain some perspective into the nature of love and family relationships. Michael's true mettle as an actor was seen when he played a character that he has described as being most unlike him. The role was that of the English Lit teacher-cum-Prince Charming Sam Coulson in the 1999 hit Collège attitude (1999). He followed his talked-about NBK performance with similar good ones in Un couple presque parfait (2000) and Coup de foudre au Plaza (2000). Meanwhile, he joined stellar company by being one among the biggest names in Hollywood to feature on shows like Ally McBeal (1997) and Friends (1994).
In 2001, he became a regular feature on TV, playing CIA agent Michael Vaughn in the series Alias (2001), and came to international acclaim, playing the role for five seasons. Vartan also appeared in the two-part TNT mini-series Les brumes d'Avalon (2001), a retelling of the legendary story of Camelotm which was shot on location in Prague. He portrayed "Sir Lancelot", opposite Anjelica Huston, Julianna Margulies and Joan Allen. He then starred opposite Robin Williams in the psychological thriller Photo obsession (2002), playing "Will Yorkin", a husband and father whose family becomes the obsession of Williams' character, an employee at the local "One-Hour Photo".
Vartan starred opposite Jane Fonda and Jennifer Lopez in New Line Cinema's summer blockbuster Sa mère ou moi! (2005). He portrayed Kevin, a man whose overprotective mother (Fonda) tries to derail his engagement to his fiancée (Jennifer Lopez).
In the fall of 2007, Vartan was one of the leads of the ABC/Warner Bros. Television series, Big Shots (2007). He played James Walker, the moral center of the drama, which revolved around four high-powered CEOs who socialize at the same exclusive golf club. Vartan also had a starring role in the action/thriller Solitaire (2007) for the Weinstein Company. He played a cynical American travel writer who embarks on a river cruise in the Australian outback, where the group finds themselves stranded in a treacherous lagoon. The role offered a departure from his romantic male leads in the comedies as Sa mère ou moi! (2005) and Collège attitude (1999). Solitaire (2007) was written and directed by Aussie Greg McLean (whose debut film Wolf Creek (2005) has received rave reviews). With a reported $25 million budget, it was one of the most expensive locally-produced movies made in Australia. Around the same time, Michael also had a lead role in the independent feature "Jolene (2008): My Life", for director Dan Ireland (The Whole Wide World (1996)). Based on a story from critically acclaimed author E.L. Doctorow (Ragtime (1981), Billy Bathgate (1991)), the film revolved around a woman who at the age of 15, escapes an oppressive foster care system only to jump into three disastrous marriages, each of which forces her to rely on her survival instincts and determination to make something of her life. Vartan played "Brad Benton", the only son and heir to an oil drilling fortune who uses his charms to pursue an uninterested Jolene.
In his limited free time, Vartan has fed his obsession with sports, particularly ice hockey. "If it weren't for acting, I'd give anything to play a professional sport", he has said, still holding onto his lifelong dream.
