Being recognized on screen as the sexy femme fatale who could crush a victim to death with her thighs may not sound ideal for any struggling actress, but the towering Dutch beauty has become the object of every man’s fantasy ever since. Famke Janssen was born in Holland and lived with her parents and two sisters until she went off to New York in 1984 in search of a modeling career. After signing with the Elite modeling agency, Famke enrolled at Columbia University in writing and literature. After graduating from Columbia, Famke decided to pursue a career in acting and shortly left for Los Angeles where she took up acting lessons and landed a role in the film, “Fathers and Sons.” Once Famke realized that Hollywood wouldn’t be calling her for my gigs anytime soon, she accepted a number of TV offers for guest roles on popular series like “Star Trek: The Next Generation” and “Melrose Place.”
Famke finally returned to the big screen in her first successful film role in 1995 as the Soviet mafia assassin in “GoldenEye,” also receiving an MTV award for “Best Fight” that same year. Famke’s typecast role as a Hollywood femme fatale worried the actress so much that she decided to pull out of mainstream filmmaking for a few years, relishing in the production of smaller, independent features while still building credibility with her new adoring fans and the critics. Famke’s recent popularity first knocked on her door in 2000, when kid director Bryan Singer offered her the role of Jean Grey in “X-Men,” the first major comic book adaptation in over ten years. While Famke is currently still a relative unknown, her mark has a cult star has made it possible for her to jump from independent features to big budget action-vehicles with the freedom that most actresses would die for.
We featured Famke and her character of Xenia Onatopp in our Looks That Kill – How Chicks Who Kick Ass feature.
Famke Janssen Bullz-Eye Interview
A chat with Famke Janssen
Former Bond girl Famke Janssen chatted with Will Harris about her new Netflix horror series “Hemlock Grove.”
Famke Janssen on Video and on the Web
Famke Janssen Photos
Video of some of the best photos of Famke.
Famke is pretty funny on Letterman.
Great video clip of lovely Famke.
Famke Janssen on the Screen
Famke’s big screen success began with her turn as the villainous Bond girl in “GoldenEye,” the first Bond film starring current spy-stud Pierce Brosnan, and the alien horror flick, “The Faculty.” She later went on to make quite an impression in the Matt Damon/Ed Norton poker drama “Rounders” and other independents like the mobster comedy “Made,” written, directed and starring the “Swingers” team of Jon Favreau and Vince Vaughn, before making her way back to mainstream films. Famke’s latest endeavors included the TV-to-film adaptation dud “I Spy” and the immensely popular “X-Men” franchise as the redheaded mutant Jean Grey. She also had a memorable role in “Taken.”
Famke Says
On her role in “X-Men”:
“We’ve always been ready for female superheroes. Because women want to be them and men want to do them.”
On growing up in Holland:
“I felt different being born into a family with two sisters who are blonde and blue-eyed, with me being the only brunette, and then I started growing and growing and growing. I never seemed to stop. When I was 12, all my girlfriends seemed to come up to my waist.”