Famke Janssen
| Famke Janssen | |
|---|---|
 Janssen at the WonderCon in March 2013 |
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| Born | Famke Beumer Janssen[1] 5 November 1965 Amstelveen, Netherlands |
| Nationality | Dutch |
| Occupation | Actress |
| Years active | 1992–present |
| Height | 5 ft 11.5 in (181.6 cm) |
| Spouse(s) | Kip Williams (1995–2000) |
Famke Beumer Janssen (pron.: /ˈfɑːmkə ˈjænsən/; born 5 November 1965) is a Dutch actress, director, screenwriter, and former fashion model. She is known for playing the villainous Bond girl Xenia Onatopp in GoldenEye (1995), Jean Grey/Phoenix in the X-Men film series (2000–2013), 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.
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Early life and education [edit]
Janssen was born in Amstelveen, Noord-Holland, Netherlands.[2] Her first name, Famke, means "little 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 [edit]
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/Phoenix in X-Men. She reprised the role in X2 (2003) and X-Men: The Last Stand (2006), for which she won a Saturn Award for Best Supporting Actress.[9] She will return as Jean Grey in a cameo appearance for The Wolverine (2013).
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.
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).
Personal life and activism [edit]
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 [edit]
| Year | Title | Role | Notes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1992 | Star Trek: The Next Generation | Kamala | TV series, Season 5: Episode 21, "The Perfect Mate" | |
| 1992 | Fathers & Sons | Kyle Christian | ||
| 1994 | Melrose Place | Diane Adamson | TV series, Season 2: Episode 17, "Michael's Game" | |
| 1994 | Model by Day | Lex/Lady X | TV movie | |
| 1994 | The Untouchables | Cleo | TV series, Season 2: Episode 19, "Voyeur" | |
| 1994 | Relentless IV: Ashes to Ashes | Dr. Sara Lee Jaffee | Video | |
| 1995 | GoldenEye | Xenia Onatopp | Nominated—MTV Movie Award for Best Fight (Shared with Pierce Brosnan) | |
| 1995 | Lord of Illusions | Dorothea Swann | ||
| 1996 | Dead Girl | Treasure | ||
| 1997 | City of Industry | Rachel Montana | ||
| 1998 | Monument Ave. | Katy | ||
| 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 | Nominated—Blockbuster Entertainment Awards Favorite Supporting Actress – Horror | |
| 2000 | Love & Sex | Kate Welles | ||
| 2000 | Circus | Lily Garfield | ||
| 2000 | X-Men | Jean Grey | Nominated—Blockbuster Entertainment Awards for Favorite Supporting Actress – Science Fiction | |
| 2000-2001 | Ally McBeal | Jamie | TV series, Season 4: Episodes 8 and 10, "The Man with the Bag"、"The Ex-Files" | |
| 2001 | Made | Jessica | ||
| 2001 | Don't Say a Word | Agatha "Aggie" Conrad | Nominated—Blockbuster Entertainment Awards for Favorite Supporting Actress – Science Fiction | |
| 2002 | I Spy | Rachel Wright | ||
| 2003 | X2 | Jean Grey | ||
| 2004 | Nip/Tuck | Ava Moore | TV series, Season 2: Episodes 3-14 and 16 | |
| 2004 | Eulogy | Judy Arnolds | ||
| 2005 | Nip/Tuck | Ava Moore | TV series, Season 3: Episode 2, "KiKi" | |
| 2005 | Hide and Seek | Dr. Katherine Carson | ||
| 2006 | X-Men: The Last Stand | Jean Grey/Phoenix | Saturn Award for Best Supporting Actress Nominated—Teen Choice Award for Choice Liplock (Shared with Hugh Jackman) |
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| 2006 | The Treatment | Allegra Marshall | ||
| 2007 | The Ten | Gretchen Reigert | ||
| 2007 | Turn the River | Kailey Sullivan | Hamptons International Film Festival Best Actress Hamptons International Film Festival Special Prize |
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| 2007 | Winters | Christie Winters | TV movie | |
| 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, Season 6: Episodes 18 and 19, "Walter and Edith Krieger"、"Hiro Yoshimura" | |
| 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, Season 1: Episodes 1-13 | |
| 2013 | In the Woods | Post-production | ||
| 2013 | The Wolverine | Jean Grey | Cameo, Post-production | |
| 2013 | Unity | Narrator | Documentary, Post-production | |
| 2013 | Famous | Valerie Wick | Post-production | |
| 2014 | A Fighting Man | Filming |
References [edit]
- ^ "Famke Janssen- Biography". Yahoo! Movies. Retrieved 23 December 2012.
- ^ a b "Famke Janssen Biography". FilmReference.com. Retrieved 16 October 2011.
- ^ a b c d Elias, Justine (15 November 1998). "Famke Janssen; Transformations As a Way of Life, Not Just on Screen". The New York Times. Retrieved 16 October 2011.
- ^ a b Malanowski, Jamie (20 August 2000). "A Scene Stealer's Big Score". The New York Times. Retrieved 16 October 2009.
- ^ Toal, Drew (7–13 May 2008). "The Hot Seat: She's a hustler, baby". Time Out New York. Retrieved 16 October 2011.
- ^ "Famke Janssen Exclamation perfume commercial". YouTube.com. Retrieved 16 October 2011.
- ^ "Famke Janssen". BuddyTV. Retrieved 23 December 2012.
- ^ a b "Famke Janssen on Tavis Smiley". PBS.org. 6 May 2008. Retrieved 16 October 2011.
- ^ Awards for Famke Janssen at the Internet Movie Database
- ^ Famke Janssen at Hollywood Life Magazine's Breakthrough of the Year Awards
- ^ "2007 Hamptons International Film Festival Awards". HamptonsFilmFest.org. 4 January 2008. Retrieved 16 October 2011.
- ^ Gilmore, Joan (5 August 2010). "Around Town: Bobby crew at JRB gallery". The Journal Record. Retrieved 16 October 2011.
- ^ "Famke Janssen Is an Angel for Animals". PETA. Retrieved 16 October 2011.
- ^ "UN Anti-Corruption Conference Opens in Bali". UNIS Vienna. 28 January 2008. Retrieved 16 October 2011.
External links [edit]
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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 Memory Alpha (a Star Trek wiki)
- Famke Janssen at the Fashion Model Directory
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