Famke Beumer Janssen (Dutch pronunciation: [ˈfɑmkə ˈbøːmər ˈjɑnsə(n)]; English pronunciation: /ˈfɑːmkə ˈdʒænsən/; born November 5, 1964) is a Dutch actress and former fashion model. Janssen is also a UNODC Goodwill Ambassador for Integrity.
She is best-known for playing the villainess Bond girl Xenia Onatopp in GoldenEye and Jean Grey/Phoenix in the X-Men film series. According to MTV, Janssen "mastered the art of the beautiful but deadly villainess."
Famke Beumer Janssen was born in Amstelveen, the Netherlands.[3] Her first name means little girl in West Frisian, the native language of the Dutch province Friesland.[4] Besides her native Dutch, Janssen speaks English and French. She also learned German, but has not kept up with it.[5] She has two sisters, director Antoinette Beumer and actress Marjolein Beumer.[6]
Before going to the United States, Janssen studied economics for a year at the University of Amsterdam, which she later called "the stupidest idea I ever had." Janssen moved to the U.S. in 1984 and began her professional career as a fashion model. She signed with Elite Model Management and worked for Yves Saint Laurent, Chanel and Victoria's Secret. While with the agency, her European measurements were listed as 92–61–92 and 36 dress size. Janssen is noted for being taller than average at 5 feet 11 inches (1.80 m) and her looks have been compared to Hedy Lamarr and 1940s films stars. After retiring from modeling in the early 1990s, she enrolled at Columbia University to study creative writing and literature. She also took up acting. Several years later Janssen moved to Los Angeles to establish her acting career.
Famke Janssen - 'Person Magnificent Obsessions Exhibit' in New York |
      |
No comments:
Post a Comment