Famke Janssen

Famke Janssen
Janssen at WonderCon in March 2013
Born	Famke Beumer Janssen[1] (1965-11-05) 5 November 1965[1] Amstelveen, Netherlands
Occupation	Actress
Years active	1992–present
Height	5 ft 11.5 in (181.6 cm)
Spouse(s)	Kip Williams (1995–2000)

Famke Beumer Janssen (/ˈfɑːmkə ˈjænsən/; Dutch pronunciation: [ˈfɑmkə ˈjɑnsə(n)]; born 5 November 1965) is a Dutch actress, director, screenwriter, and former fashion model. She is best known for playing Xenia Onatopp in GoldenEye (1995), Jean Grey/Phoenix in the X-Men film series (2000–present), Ava Moore on Nip/Tuck, and Lenore Mills in Taken (2008) and its sequel, Taken 2 (2012). In 2008, she was appointed a Goodwill Ambassador for Integrity by United Nations. She made her directorial debut with Bringing Up Bobby in 2011.

Early life and education

Janssen was born in Amstelveen, Noord-Holland, Netherlands.^[2] Her first name, Famke, means "girl" in West Frisian, the native language of the Dutch province Friesland.^[3] She has two sisters, director Antoinette Beumer and actress Marjolein Beumer.^[4] In addition to her native Dutch, Janssen speaks English and French. She also learned German, but has not kept up with it.^[5] Following her high school graduation, Janssen studied economics for a year at the University of Amsterdam, which she later called "the stupidest idea I ever had."^[4] In the early 1990s, she enrolled at Columbia University to study creative writing and literature.

Career

In 1984, Janssen moved to the United States to begin her professional career as a fashion model. She signed with Elite Model Management and worked for Yves Saint Laurent, Chanel, and Victoria's Secret. She starred in a 1988 commercial for the perfume Exclamation by Coty, Inc.^[6] Her looks have been compared to Hedy Lamarr and other 1940s films stars.^[3]

After retiring from modelling in the early 1990s, Janssen had guest roles on several television series, including a starring role in the 1992 Star Trek: The Next Generation episode "The Perfect Mate", as empathic metamorph Kamala, opposite Patrick Stewart, with whom she later starred in the X-Men film series.^[3] That same year, Janssen was offered the role of Jadzia Dax in Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, but turned it down to pursue film roles.^[7] Her first film role was alongside Jeff Goldblum in the 1992 crime drama film Fathers & Sons.

Janssen in October 2008

In 1995, Janssen appeared in Pierce Brosnan's first James Bond film, GoldenEye, as femme fatale Xenia Onatopp. She also appeared in Lord of Illusions with Scott Bakula. In an attempt to fight against typecasting after her Bond girl performance, Janssen began seeking out more intriguing support roles, appearing in John Irvin's City of Industry, Woody Allen's Celebrity, Robert Altman's The Gingerbread Man, and Ted Demme's Monument Ave.^[8] Denis Leary, her co-star in Monument Ave., was impressed by how easily she blended in, initially not recognizing her as she was already in character.^[3] In the late 1990s, she also appeared in The Faculty, Rounders, Deep Rising, and House on Haunted Hill.

In 2000, Janssen played superhero Dr. Jean Grey in X-Men. She reprised the role in X2 (2003) and again in X-Men: The Last Stand (2006) as well as portraying a darker role of Jean Grey's alternate personality, Phoenix, for which she won a Saturn Award for Best Supporting Actress.^[9] She returned as Jean Grey in the film The Wolverine (2013).

In 2002, Janssen landed the role of villainess Serleena in Men in Black II, but had to abandon the film due to a death in her family.

In addition, Janssen had a prominent role in the second season of the popular TV series Nip/Tuck, as the seductive and manipulative life coach Ava Moore, which earned her Hollywood Life's Breakthrough Artist of the Year Award.^[10] She reprised her role in the final two episodes of the series.

Janssen at the 2011 Deauville Film Festival

In 2007, she starred in Turn the River, for which she was awarded the Special Recognition Best Actress Award at the Hamptons International Film Festival.^[11] The following year, she starred in Luc Besson's Taken. Janssen also continued to work in television, appearing in TV pilots for NBC's cop drama Winters and Showtime's The Farm, a The L Word spin-off set in a women's prison. Both pilots were rejected by their respective networks. Janssen also provided the Dutch-language narration for the Studio Tram Tour at all Disney theme parks.^[8]

In 2011, Janssen made her directorial début with the drama Bringing Up Bobby. She also wrote the screenplay to the film, which stars Milla Jovovich, Bill Pullman, and Marcia Cross.^[12] She reprised her role as Lenore Mills in Taken 2 (2012) and starred as the main villain Muriel in Hansel and Gretel: Witch Hunters (2013).

Janssen starred in the series Hemlock Grove (2013) where she plays the role of Olivia Godfrey.

Personal life and activism

Janssen was married to writer and director Kip Williams, son of architect Tod Williams, from 1995 to 2000.^[2]

Janssen appeared with her dog Licorice, a brindle Boston Terrier, in a 2007 PETA campaign to raise awareness for animal rights. The campaign used the slogan "Be an Angel for Animals."^[13] On 28 January 2008, she was appointed a Goodwill Ambassador for Integrity for the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime at a United Nations anti-corruption conference held in Nusa Dua, Bali.^[14]

Filmography

Film

Television

Awards and nominations

References

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Famke Janssen.

• Famke Janssen at the Internet Movie Database
• Famke Janssen at the TCM Movie Database
• Famke Janssen at AllRovi
• Famke Janssen at the Fashion Model Directory