Famke Janssen

Famke Beumer Janssen (born 5 November 1964 in Amstelveen, Netherlands) is a Dutch actress, director, screenwriter, producer, and former fashion model. She began her career in the mid-1980s after moving to the United States to model for top-tier fashion houses such as Yves Saint Laurent, Giorgio Armani, Chanel, and Victoria’s Secret . After stepping away from modeling in the early 1990s, she pursued studies in literature and creative writing at Columbia University.

Her early acting work includes a guest spot on Star Trek: The Next Generation (1992) and her first film role in Fathers & Sons (1992) alongside Jeff Goldblum . Her breakout came in 1995 as the deadly Bond girl Xenia Onatopp in GoldenEye, which launched her into international fame. She then took on a diverse array of roles to avoid typecasting, including appearances in Celebrity, The Gingerbread Man, City of Industry, and Monument Ave.

In 2000, she took on one of her most iconic roles as Dr. Jean Grey in the X-Men film franchise, earning a Saturn Award for Best Supporting Actress for X-Men: The Last Stand (2006). On television, she received acclaim for her recurring role as Ava Moore in Nip/Tuck, earning a Breakthrough Artist of the Year award from Hollywood Life She continued to build her career with roles in Hemlock Grove, How to Get Away With Murder, and The Blacklist: Redemption.

Janssen ventured into directing with her 2011 feature Bringing Up Bobby, which premiered at Cannes and marked her evolution into filmmaking. Off-screen, she’s also engaged in activism: in 2008, she was appointed the UN Goodwill Ambassador for Integrity, and she has supported PETA and environmental causes. Despite her fame, she’s often spoken about her discomfort with the spotlight and her preference for privacy, avoiding social media and focusing on her craft instead.