Famke Janssen

Birthday: 5 November 1964, Amstelveen, Noord-Holland, Netherlands

Height: 6' (1.83 m)

Biography

Famke Beumer Janssen was born on November 5, 1964 in Amsterdam, Netherlands, and has two other siblings. She studied economics for a year at the University of Amsterdam, which she has called "the stupidest idea I ever had." Moving to America in 1984, Famke modeled for Chanel in New York City. Later, taking a break from modeling, she majored in writing and literature at Columbia University and studied acting with Harold Guskin. She then went to Los Angeles, California, where she continued to study acting under Roy London.

Her first film was the crime drama Fathers & Sons (1992), where she played the love interest of Jeff Goldblum. Later, she became James Bond's enemy in GoldenEye (1995) opposite Pierce Brosnan. Famke received strong critical acclaim for her electrifying performance as the femme fatale Xenia Onatopp. Her career has bloomed since then with her starring in such films as House on Haunted Hill (1999), a reoccurring role on FX's "Nip/Tuck" (2003) and the blockbuster trilogy X-Men (2000), X2 (2003), and X-Men: The Last Stand (2006) 

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.

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 in October 2008

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

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1992	Fathers & Sons	Kyle Christian
1992	Star Trek: The Next Generation	Kamala	TV series (1 episode: "The Perfect Mate")
1994	Melrose Place	Diane Adamson	TV series (1 episode: "Michael's Game")
1994	Model by Day	Lex/Lady X	TV movie
1994	The Untouchables	Cleo	TV series (1 episode: "Voyeur")
1994	Relentless IV: Ashes to Ashes	Dr. Sara Lee Jaffee
1995	GoldenEye	Xenia Onatopp
1995	Lord of Illusions	Dorothea Swann
1996	Dead Girl	Treasure
1997	City of Industry	Rachel Montana
1998	Monument Ave.	Katy O'Connor
1998	The Gingerbread Man	Leeanne Magruder
1998	Deep Rising	Trillian St. James
1998	RPM	Claudia Haggs
1998	Rounders	Petra
1998	Celebrity	Bonnie
1998	The Adventures of Sebastian Cole	Fiona
1998	The Faculty	Miss Elizabeth Burke
1999	House on Haunted Hill	Evelyn Stockard-Price
2000	Love & Sex	Kate Welles
2000	Circus	Lily Garfield
2000	X-Men	Jean Grey
2000-2001	Ally McBeal	Jamie	TV series (2 episodes)
2001	Made	Jessica
2001	Don't Say a Word	Agatha "Aggie" Conrad
2002	I Spy	Rachel Wright
2003	X2	Jean Grey
2004	Nip/Tuck	Ava Moore	TV series (12 episodes)
2004	Eulogy	Judy Arnolds
2005	Hide and Seek	Dr. Katherine Carson
2005	Nip/Tuck	Ava Moore	TV series (1 episode: "KiKi")
2006	X-Men: The Last Stand	Jean Grey/Phoenix
2006	The Treatment	Allegra Marshall
2007	Winters	Christie Winters	TV movie
2007	The Ten	Gretchen Reigert
2007	Turn the River	Kailey Sullivan
2008	The Wackness	Kristen Squires
2008	Taken	Lenore "Lenny" Mills
2008	100 Feet	Marnie Watson
2008	Puppy Love	Maya	TV series
2009	The Farm	Valentina Galindo	TV movie
2010	Nip/Tuck	Ava Moore	TV series (2 episodes)
2010	The Chameleon	Jennifer Johnson
2011	Down the Shore	Mary Reed
2011	Bringing Up Bobby		Director, producer, writer
2012	Taken 2	Lenore "Lenny" Mills
2013	Hansel and Gretel: Witch Hunters	Muriel
2013	Hemlock Grove	Olivia Godfrey	TV series (13 episodes)
2013	The Wolverine	Jean Grey
2013	Unity	Narrator (voice)	Documentary; post-production
2013	In the Woods		Post-production
2014	A Fighting Man		Filming

Awards and nominations

Year	Nominated Work	Award	Results
1996	GoldenEye	MTV Movie Award for Best Fight (Shared with Pierce Brosnan)	Nominated
2000	House on Haunted Hill	Blockbuster Entertainment Awards Favorite Supporting Actress – Horror	Nominated
2001	X-Men	Blockbuster Entertainment Awards for Favorite Supporting Actress – Science Fiction	Nominated
2006	N/A	Hamptons International Film Festival Golden Starfish Award for Career Achievement	Won
2006	N/A	High Falls Film Festival Susan B. Anthony 'Failure is Impossible' Award	Won
2006	X-Men: The Last Stand	Teen Choice Award for Choice Liplock (Shared with Hugh Jackman)	Nominated
2007	X-Men: The Last Stand	Saturn Award for Best Supporting Actress	Won
2007	Turn the River	Hamptons International Film Festival for Best Actress	Won
2007	Turn the River	Hamptons International Film Festival Special Prize	Won