Famke Janssen
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Famke Janssen (born Famke Beumer on November 5, 1965 in Amsterdam, The Netherlands) is a Dutch actress and former fashion model, most famous for her roles in Goldeneye, Nip/Tuck and the X-Men film series.
Biography
Janssen moved to the United States in 1984 and began her professional career as a model and worked for Yves Saint Laurent and Chanel. After studying stagecraft at Columbia University she moved to Los Angeles where she appeared in guest roles on TV series (such as and Melrose Place).Her first film role was with Jeff Goldblum in Fathers & Sons (1992), later she appeared in the first Pierce Brosnan James Bond film, GoldenEye, making an impression on the cinema world as Xenia Onatopp. After her brilliant performance, she became one of the most sought after actresses by many directors. In 1998 alone, she starred in eight fims. She was also cast in Men in Black II as villainess Serleena in 2002, but had to drop out due to a death in the family. She was also offered the role of the T-X in , but turned it down and was replaced by Kristanna Loken.
Janssen played the highly coveted role of superheroine Dr. Jean Grey/Phoenix in X-Men, X2, and . In the films, she plays Dr. Jean Grey, a teacher and medical expert at the Xavier Institute for Higher Learning, where she also doubles as a core member of the X-Men. Her mutant powers are telekinesis and telepathy. In the first film, she appears before a Senate hearing as an advocate for mutant rights, and later helps to save the leaders of the world's nations from an attack by Magneto. In the second film, her powers are growing exponentially as she also grows as Phoenix, and she travels to Boston with Storm to track down Nightcrawler, and later embarks on a mission to Alkali Lake with the rest of the X-Men and The Brotherhood. In the final minutes of the film, she sacrifices her life to save the X-Men from drowning under the water escaping from the Alkali Lake dam. Lastly, in the third film, she is ressurected as the Phoenix and she fights alongside the Brotherhood to destroy humans and their mutant cure.
Famke also starred in the movies Lord of Illusions, Rounders, and Deep Rising.
Janssen also had a prominent role in the second season of the popular TV show Nip/Tuck, as seductive and manipulative life coach Ava Moore.
She speaks Dutch, English, French, and German and is the only brunette in a family of blondes. While best known for her poise and great physical beauty, she is also recognized in Hollywood for her exceptionally large feet, which even made their way into a scene in her 2000 film Love & Sex (in which Jon Favreau's character teases a blushing Janssen about the size of her feet).
Trivia
- Height: 5' 11" (1.80 m)
- Measurements: 36-24-36 (91-61-91 cm)
- Shoe size: size 11 (US) 44 (European)
- First name is pronounced "Faam-kuh"
- Has two sisters, Antoinette Beumer (Director) and Marjolein Beumer (Actress)
- Famke's name means little girl in Frisian, the native language of the Dutch province Friesland
- Provides the Dutch-language narration for the Studio Tram Tour at all Disney parks
- Married to writer/director Tod Culpan Williams from 1995 to 2000, son of architect Tod Williams
- Has a brindle Boston Terrier named Licorice, with whom she frequently travels. [link]
Selected filmography
- Fathers & Sons (1992) - Kyle Christian
- episode "The Perfect Mate" (1992) - Kamala
- (1994) - Dr. Sara Lee Jaffee
- Lord of Illusions (1995) - Dorothea Swann
- GoldenEye (1995) - Xenia Onatopp
- City of Industry (1997) - Rachel Montana
- Monument Ave. (1998) - Katy (known internationally as Snitch)
- The Gingerbread Man (1998) - Leeanne
- Deep Rising (1998) - Trillian St. James
- RPM (1998) - Claudia Haggs
- Celebrity (1998) - Bonnie
- Rounders (1998) - Petra
- Adventures of Sebastian Cole, The (1998) - Fiona
- The Faculty (1998) - Miss Elizabeth Burke
- House on Haunted Hill (1999) - Evelyn Stockard-Price
- Love & Sex (2000) - Kate Welles
- Circus (2000) - Lily
- X-Men (2000) - Jean Grey
- Made (2001) - Jessica
- Don't Say a Word (2001) - Aggie Conrad
- I Spy (2002) - Special Agent Rachel Wright
- X2 (2003) - Jean Grey
- Eulogy (2004) - Judy
- Hide and Seek (2005) - Katherine Carson
- The Four Saints (2006)
- The Treatment (2006)
- (2006) - Jean Grey/Phoenix
- Turn the River (2007) - Kailey
External links
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