Famke Janssen

Template:Short description Template:Pp-pc Template:Use dmy dates Template:Infobox person Famke Beumer Janssen ({{#invoke:IPA|main}}; born 5 November 1964) is a Dutch actress and former model. She played Xenia Onatopp in GoldenEye (1995), Jean Grey / Phoenix in the X-Men film series (2000–2014), and Lenore Mills in the Taken film trilogy (2008–2014). In 2008, she was appointed a Goodwill Ambassador for Integrity by the United Nations. She made her directorial debut with Bringing Up Bobby in 2011. She is also known for her roles in the Netflix original series Hemlock Grove (2013–2015), FX's Nip/Tuck (2003–2010), and ABC's How to Get Away with Murder (2014–2020). Janssen starred in the 2017 NBC crime thriller The Blacklist: Redemption.

Early life

Famke Beumer Janssen<ref name=yahoobio>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> was born on November 5, 1964,<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> in Amstelveen, the Netherlands.<ref name= "NYTimesArticle1">Template:Cite news</ref><ref name= "newnetherlandinstitute1">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> She has two sisters, director Antoinette Beumer and actress Marjolein Beumer, both of whom changed their surnames to Beumer after their parents divorced.<ref name= "NYTimesArticle2">Template:Cite news</ref>

In addition to her native Dutch, Janssen speaks English and French. She learned German, but has not kept up with it.<ref name="timeout-hotseat">Template:Cite journal</ref> 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."<ref name="NYTimesArticle2"/> In the early 1990s, she enrolled at Columbia University's School of General Studies to study creative writing and literature.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

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, Giorgio Armani, Chanel, and Victoria's Secret. She starred in a 1988 commercial for the perfume Exclamation by Coty.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> Her looks have been compared to 1940s movie stars like Hedy Lamarr.<ref name="NYTimesArticle1"/>

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.<ref name="NYTimesArticle1"/> That same year, Janssen was offered the role of Jadzia Dax in Star Trek: Deep Space Nine,<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> but turned it down to pursue film roles. Her first film role was alongside Jeff Goldblum in the 1992 crime drama film Fathers & Sons.

File:FamkeeJanssenOct08.jpg

Janssen in 2008

In 1995, Janssen appeared in Pierce Brosnan's debut James Bond film, GoldenEye, as femme fatale Xenia Onatopp. She 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.<ref name="tavissmiley">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> 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.<ref name="NYTimesArticle1"/> In the late 1990s, she appeared in The Faculty, Rounders, Deep Rising, and House on Haunted Hill.

In 2000, Janssen played superhero Dr. Jean Grey in the 20th Century Fox film X-Men. She later reprised the role in the 2003 sequel, X2, where her character shows signs of increasing powers, but at the end of the film, she is presumably killed. Janssen returns as Jean, whose death in X2 awoke her dark alternate personality, Phoenix, in X-Men: The Last Stand (2006). For that role, she won a Saturn Award for Best Supporting Actress.<ref name="newnetherlandinstitute2">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> She returned as Jean in the 2013 film The Wolverine as a hallucination of Wolverine,<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> followed by a brief cameo for X-Men: Days of Future Past (2014).<ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

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 and was replaced by Lara Flynn Boyle.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> Janssen had a prominent role in the second season of the 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.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> 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.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> The following year, she starred in Luc Besson's Taken. Janssen continued to work in television, appearing in TV pilots for NBC's police drama Winters and Showtime's The Farm, a spinoff of The L Word set in a women's prison. Both pilots were rejected by their networks. Janssen provided the Dutch language narration for the Studio Tram Tour at all Disney theme parks.<ref name="tavissmiley"/>

In 2011, Janssen made her directorial debut with the drama Bringing Up Bobby. She wrote the screenplay to the film, which stars Milla Jovovich, Bill Pullman, and Marcia Cross.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> She reprised her role as Lenore Mills in Taken 2 (2012) and Taken 3 (2014). She starred as the main villain Muriel in Hansel & Gretel: Witch Hunters (2013).

File:Famke Janssen (2016) (cropped).jpg

Janssen in 2016

Janssen starred in the Netflix original horror thriller television series Hemlock Grove, wherein she plays the role of family matriarch Olivia Godfrey.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> Janssen had a recurring role in the ABC crime thriller television series How To Get Away With Murder, appearing in 10 episodes throughout the series, beginning her role in season two of the show and concluding it in the series finale.

Janssen was cast in a starring role in the NBC crime thriller, The Blacklist: Redemption, a spin-off of the NBC series The Blacklist, in March 2016;<ref name="Spinoff">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> it was picked up to series in May 2016.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> The following month, Janssen expressed frustration in not being cast in X-Men: Apocalypse, saying Hollywood was sexist toward older women. She said, "Women, it's interesting because they're replaced, and the older versions are never to be seen again... whereas the men are allowed to be both ages."<ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref>

In 2019, she served as a juror for the Tribeca Film Festival.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> Also in 2019, Janssen joined Jeffrey Dean Morgan in The Postcard Killings, which was released in 2020.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> In 2021, Janssen starred in the Christian romantic drama film Redeeming Love<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> and the action-thriller Dangerous.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

In a March 2021 interview, she revealed to Forbes some details about her involvement with the live action adaptation of Saint Seiya, a popular anime and manga. Janssen declared that filming was supposed to take place in Europe the previous year, but production had been postponed twice due to the Coronavirus pandemic. She also hinted that she will play one of the main characters but did not specify their name.<ref name="Saint Seiya">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>The movie, titled Knights of the Zodiac, was eventually released in 2023, with Janssen playing the role of Vander Guraad.<ref name=":0" />

Activism

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."<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> 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 anticorruption conference held in Nusa Dua, Bali.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

Personal life

In 1989,<ref>Ancestry.com. New York, New York, U.S., Marriage License Indexes, 1907-2018 [database on-line]. Lehi, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2017.</ref> Janssen married writer and director Kip Williams, son of architect Tod Williams. They divorced in 2000.<ref name= "newnetherlandinstitute1"/> She has stated that she does not want to have children.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

Filmography

Film

Year	Title	Role	Notes	Refs.
1992	Fathers & Sons	Kyle Christian
1994	Relentless IV: Ashes to Ashes	Dr. Sara Lee Jaffee	Direct-to-video film
1994	Model by Day	Lex / Lady X	Television film
1995	Lord of Illusions	Dorothea Swann
1995	GoldenEye	Xenia Onatopp
1996	Dead Girl	Treasure
1997	City of Industry	Rachel Montana
1998	Monument Ave.	Katy O'Connor
1998	Template:Sortname	Leeanne Magruder
1998	Deep Rising	Trillian St. James
1998	RPM	Claudia Haggs
1998	Rounders	Petra
1998	Celebrity	Bonnie
1998	Template:Sortname	Fiona
1998	Template:Sortname	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
2001	Made	Jessica
2001	Don't Say a Word	Agatha "Aggie" Conrad
2002	I Spy	Rachel Wright
2003	X2: X-Men United	Jean Grey
2004	Eulogy	Judy Arnolds
2005	Hide and Seek	Dr. Katherine Carson
2006	X-Men: The Last Stand	Jean Grey / Phoenix
2006	Template:Sortname	Allegra Marshall
2007	Template:Sortname	Gretchen Reigert
2007	Turn the River	Kailey Sullivan
2007	Winters	Christie Winters	Television film
2008	Template:Sortname	Kristen Squires
2008	Taken	Lenore "Lenny" Mills
2008	100 Feet	Marnie Watson	Direct-to-video film
2009	The Farm	Valentina Galindo	Television film
2010	The Chameleon	Jennifer Johnson	Direct-to-video film
2011	Down the Shore	Mary Reed
2012	Taken 2	Lenore "Lenny" Mills
2013	Hansel & Gretel: Witch Hunters	Muriel
2013	The Wolverine	Jean Grey
2013	The Being Experience	Template:TableTBA	Originally titled In the Woods
2014	A Fighting Man	Diane Schuler	Direct-to-video film
2014	Unity	Narrator (voice)	Documentary
2014	X-Men: Days of Future Past	Jean Grey	Cameo
2014	Taken 3	Lenore "Lenny" Mills
2015	Jack of the Red Hearts	Kay
2017	The Show	Ilana Katz
2017	All I Wish	Vanessa		<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
2017	Once Upon a Time in Venice	Katey Ford
2018	Status Update	Katherine Alden		<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
2018	Bayou Caviar	Nic	Originally titled Louisiana Caviar	<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
2018	Asher	Sophie		<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
2019	The Poison Rose	Jayne Hunt		<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
2019	Primal	Dr. Ellen Taylor
2020	The Postcard Killings	Valerie Kanon		<ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
2020	Endless	Lee Douglas		<ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
2021	The Vault	Margaret	Originally titled Way Down	<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
2021	Dangerous	Agent Shaughnessy		<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
2022	Redeeming Love	Duchess		<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
2023	Door Mouse	Mama		<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
2023	Knights of the Zodiac	Vander Guraad		<ref name=":0">Template:Cite news</ref>
2023	Boy Kills World	Hilda Van Der Koy		<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
2023	Locked In	Katherine		<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
Template:TableTBA	The Experiment			<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

Television

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1992	Star Trek: The Next Generation	Kamala	Episode: "The Perfect Mate"
1994	Melrose Place	Diane Adamson	Episode: "Michael's Game"
1994	Template:Sortname	Cleo	Episode: "Voyeur"
2000–2001	Ally McBeal	Jamie	Episodes: "The Man with the Bag", "The Ex-Files"
2004–2010	Nip/Tuck	Ava Moore	Recurring role, 11 episodes
2008	Puppy Love	Maya	Web series
2013–2015	Hemlock Grove	Olivia Godfrey	Main role
2015–2020	How to Get Away with Murder	Eve Rothlow	Recurring role, 10 episodes
2015	SuperMansion	Frau Mantis	Voice role; 2 episodes
2016	Robot Chicken	Jean Grey	Voice role; episode: "Joel Hurwitz"
2016–2018	The Blacklist	Susan Hargrave	Recurring role, 5 episodes
2017	The Blacklist: Redemption		Main role
2019	When They See Us	Nancy Ryan	citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>
2019	The Capture	Jessica Mallory	Episode: "Correction"<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
2022	Long Slow Exhale	Melinda Barrington	Recurring role<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

As director

• Bringing Up Bobby (2011), as director, producer, writer

Awards and nominations

Year	Association	Category	Nominated work	Result	Ref(s)
1996	MTV Movie Awards	MTV Movie Award for Best Fight Template:Small	GoldenEye	Template:Nom	citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>
2000	Blockbuster Entertainment Awards	Favorite Supporting Actress – Horror	House on Haunted Hill	Template:Nom	citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>
	Fangoria Chainsaw Awards	Best Supporting Actress	House on Haunted Hill	Template:Nom	citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>
2001	Blockbuster Entertainment Awards	Favorite Supporting Actress – Science Fiction	X-Men	Template:Nom	citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>
2006	Hamptons International Film Festival	Golden Starfish Award for Career Achievement	The Treatment	Template:Won	citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>
	High Falls Film Festival	Susan B. Anthony "Failure is Impossible" Award	The Treatment	Template:Won	citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>
	Scream Awards	Sexiest Superhero	X-Men: The Last Stand	Template:Nom	<ref name="Awards" />
		Best Superhero	X-Men: The Last Stand	Template:Nom	<ref name="Awards" />
		Best Flesh Scene Template:Small	X-Men: The Last Stand	Template:Won	citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>
	Teen Choice Awards	Choice Movie: Liplock Template:Small	X-Men: The Last Stand	Template:Nom	citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>
2007	Hamptons International Film Festival	Special Recognition	Turn the River	Template:Won	<ref name="Awards" />
		Special Prize	Turn the River	Template:Won	<ref name="Awards" />
	Saturn Awards	Best Supporting Actress	X-Men: The Last Stand	Template:Won	citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>
2016	Gold Derby Awards	Best Drama Guest Actress	How to Get Away with Murder	Template:Nom	<ref name="Awards" />

External links

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