Famke Janssen


Famke Beumer Janssen is a Dutch actress, director, screenwriter, and former fashion model. She played Xenia Onatopp in GoldenEye, Jean Grey / Phoenix in the X-Men film series, Ava Moore on Nip/Tuck, and Lenore Mills in the Taken film trilogy. 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 role in the Netflix original series Hemlock Grove and for her role in ABC's How to Get Away with Murder. Janssen starred in the 2017 NBC crime thriller .

Early life and education

Famke Beumer Janssen was born in Amstelveen, the Netherlands. She has two sisters, director Antoinette Beumer and actress Marjolein Beumer, both of whom changed their surnames to Beumer after their parents divorced.
In addition to her native Dutch, Janssen speaks English and French. She learned German, but has not kept up with it. 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." In the early 1990s, she enrolled at Columbia University's School of General Studies to study creative writing and literature.

Career

Modelling and early 1990s

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, Inc. Her looks have been compared to Hedy Lamarr and other 1940s films stars.
After retiring from modelling in the early 1990s, Janssen had guest roles on several television series, including a starring role in the 1992 ' episode "The Perfect Mate", as empathic metamorph Kamala, opposite Patrick Stewart, with whom she later starred in the X-Men film series. That same year, Janssen was offered the role of Jadzia Dax in ', but turned it down to pursue film roles. Her first film role was alongside Jeff Goldblum in the 1992 crime drama film Fathers & Sons.

1990s

In 1995, Janssen appeared in Pierce Brosnan's first 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. 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. In the late 1990s, she appeared in The Faculty, Rounders, Deep Rising, and House on Haunted Hill.

''X-Men'' films

In 2000, Janssen played superhero Dr. Jean Grey in the Marvel Studios 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 '. For that role, she won a Saturn Award for Best Supporting Actress. She returned as Jean in the 2013 film The Wolverine as a hallucination of Wolverine. In 2014, Janssen reprised her role of Jean Grey in a brief cameo for '.

2002–present

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. 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. 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. 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.
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. She reprised her role as Lenore Mills in Taken 2 and Taken 3. She starred as the main villain Muriel in '.
Janssen has starred in the Netflix original horror thriller television series Hemlock Grove since 2013, wherein she plays the role of family matriarch Olivia Godfrey. Janssen had a recurring role in the ABC crime thriller television series How To Get Away With Murder, appearing in 9 episodes throughout the series, beginning her role with season two of the show and concluding it until the series finale.
Janssen was cast in a starring role in the NBC crime thriller,
', a spin-off of the NBC series The Blacklist, in March 2016; it was picked up to series in May 2016. In 2019, she served as a juror for the Tribeca Film Festival.

Personal life and activism

Janssen was married to writer and director Kip Williams, son of architect Tod Williams, from 1995 to 2000.
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." 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.
In 2016, Janssen showed frustration in not being cast in the new X-Men movie , saying Hollywood was sexist towards 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."

Filmography

Film

YearTitleRoleNotes
1992Fathers & SonsKyle Christian
1994'Dr. Sara Lee JaffeeDirect-to-video film
1995Lord of IllusionsDorothea Swann
1995GoldenEyeXenia Onatopp
1996Dead GirlTreasure
1997City of IndustryRachel Montana
1998Monument Ave.Katy O'Connor
1998'Leeanne Magruder
1998Deep RisingTrillian St. James
1998RPMClaudia Haggs
1998RoundersPetra
1998CelebrityBonnie
1998'Fiona
1998'Miss Elizabeth Burke
1999House on Haunted HillEvelyn Stockard-Price
2000Love & SexKate Welles
2000CircusLily Garfield
2000X-MenJean Grey
2001MadeJessica
2001Don't Say a WordAgatha "Aggie" Conrad
2002I SpyRachel Wright
2003X2Jean Grey
2004EulogyJudy Arnolds
2005Hide and SeekDr. Katherine Carson
2006'Jean Grey / Phoenix
2006'Allegra Marshall
2007'Gretchen Reigert
2007Turn the RiverKailey Sullivan
2008'Kristen Squires
2008TakenLenore "Lenny" Mills
2008100 FeetMarnie WatsonDirect-to-video film
2010The ChameleonJennifer JohnsonDirect-to-video film
2011Down the ShoreMary Reed
2012Taken 2Lenore "Lenny" Mills
2013'Muriel
2013The WolverineJean Grey
2013The Being ExperienceOriginally titled In the Woods
2014A Fighting ManDiane SchulerDirect-to-video film
2014UnityNarrator Documentary
2014'Jean GreyCameo
2014Taken 3Lenore "Lenny" Mills
2015Jack of the Red HeartsKay
2017The ShowIlana Katz
2017All I WishVanessa
2017Once Upon a Time in VeniceKatey Ford
2018Status UpdateKatherine Alden
2018Bayou CaviarNicOriginally titled Louisiana Caviar
2018AsherSophie
2019The Poison RoseJayne Hunt
2019 PrimalDr. Ellen Taylor
2020The Postcard KillingsValerie Kanon
EndlessPost production
Redeeming Love

Television

YearTitleRoleNotes
1992'KamalaEpisode: "The Perfect Mate"
1994Melrose PlaceDiane AdamsonEpisode: "Michael's Game"
1994Model by DayLex / Lady XTelevision film
1994'CleoEpisode: "Voyeur"
2000–2001Ally McBealJamieEpisodes: "The Man with the Bag", "The Ex-Files"
2004–2010Nip/TuckAva MooreRecurring role, 11 episodes
2007WintersChristie WintersTelevision film
2008Puppy LoveMayaWeb series
2009'Valentina GalindoTelevision film
2013–2015Hemlock GroveOlivia GodfreyMain role
2015–2020How to Get Away with MurderEve RothlowRecurring role, 9 episodes
2015SuperMansionFrau MantisVoice role; 2 episodes
2016Robot ChickenJean GreyVoice role; episode: "Joel Hurwitz"
2016–2018The BlacklistSusan HargraveRecurring role, 5 episodes
2017'Susan HargraveMain role
2019When They See UsNancy RyanNetflix miniseries; 2 episodes
2019The CaptureJessica MalloryBBC series; 1 episode

As director

YearAwardNominated WorkResults
1995MTV Movie Award for Best Fight GoldenEye
1999Blockbuster Entertainment Award for Favorite Supporting Actress – HorrorHouse on Haunted Hill
2000Blockbuster Entertainment Award for Favorite Supporting Actress – Science FictionX-Men
2006Teen Choice Award for Choice Liplock '
2007Saturn Award for Best Supporting Actress'
2007Hamptons International Film Festival for Special RecognitionTurn the River
2007Hamptons International Film Festival for Special PrizeTurn the River
2016Gold Derby TV Award for Drama Guest ActressHow to Get Away with Murder