Famke Janssen

Famke Janssen is a Dutch actress and former fashion model. Janssen studied economics at the University of Amsterdam before moving to New York City, where she later graduated from Columbia University with a bachelor’s degree in creative writing.

Janssen began her career modeling for brands like Yves Saint Laurent and Chanel before transitioning to acting in the early 1990s. She made her TV debut with a guest role on Star Trek: The Next Generation and gained international attention in 1995 playing the femme fatale Xenia Onatopp in GoldenEye.

She achieved further fame as Jean Grey in X-Men (2000) and reprised the role in several sequels, including X-Men: The Last Stand (2006) and The Wolverine (2013). Her other notable credits include Taken (2008), Hemlock Grove, How to Get Away with Murder and The Blacklist: Redemption. In 2023, she played the role of Katherine in Netflix’s physiological thriller Locked In.

The X-Men actress made her directorial debut with the 2011 film Bringing Up Bobby.

Janessen tied the knot with writer and director Kip Williams in 1995. The twosome split in 2000.