Famke Janssen (
IPA: ) (born November 5, 1965) is a
Dutch actress and former
fashion model. She is best known for her roles in
GoldenEye,
Nip/Tuck and as Dr.
Jean Grey/
Phoenix in the
X-Men movies. Janssen is also a
UNODC Goodwill Ambassador for Integrity.
[Artists and UNODC unite for integrity]
Janssen's name is pronounced as Fahm-Kuh Yan-Sin. The first name means
little girl in
West Frisian, the native language of the Dutch province
Friesland.
[query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9C07E2DE1F3EF936A25752C1A96E958260]
Early life
Famke Beumer Janssen was born in
Amstelveen, the
Netherlands, as the only brunette in a family of blondes. Besides her native
Dutch, Janssen learned to speak
English,
German and
French. She has two sisters, director Antoinette Beumer and actress
Marjolein Beumer.
[query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=990CE5DB1E3FF933A1575BC0A9669C8B63&sec=&spon=&pagewanted=all] Janssen moved to the
United States in 1984 and began her professional career as a fashion model. She was signed with
Elite Model Management and worked for
Yves Saint Laurent,
Chanel and
Victoria's Secret.
