Actor / Director Profile

Famke Janssen was born November 5, 1964, in Amsterdam, Netherlands, and has two other siblings. Following her high school graduation, she studied economics for a year at the University of Amsterdam, which she has called "the stupidest idea I ever had." Moving to America in 1984, Famke modeled for Chanel in New York. Later, taking a break from modeling, she majored in writing and literature at Columbia University and studied acting with Harold Guskin. She then went to Los Angeles, where she continued to study acting under Roy London.Her first film was Fathers & Sons (1992); later, she became James Bond's enemy in GoldenEye (1995) opposite Pierce Brosnan. Becoming the first Bond girl of the 1990s (and easily the most famous), Famke received strong critical acclaim for her performance as the femme fatale Xenia Onatopp. Her career has bloomed since then with her starring in such films as House on Haunted Hill (1999), a reoccurring role on FX's "Nip/Tuck" (2003) and the blockbuster trilogy X-Men (2000), X2 (2003), and X-Men: The Last Stand (2006).