The feisty actress was wearing a figure-flattering iridescent gown created for her by the stylist-turned-designer L'Wren Scott (Mick Jagger's girlfriend).
We bumped into each other at the annual Cinema Against Aids benefit, to raise funds for Aids research charity amfAR, which is held in the hills outside Cannes at the famed Moulin de Mougins restaurant.
The actress has been out of the loop for a while because of her marriage, now over, to billionaire cosmetic tycoon Ron Perelman.
"He didn't like me working," she explained simply.
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Ellen Barkin explains her hiatus from acting was due to being married to tycoon, Ron Perelman. 'He didn't like me working,' she says
Well, Ms Barkin's back in business now as the female lead in Ocean's 13, which had its gala world premiere last night at Cannes.
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