Famke Janssen was born November 5, 1965, in Amersterdam, Netherlands, and has two other siblings. Moving to America in the 1980s, she modeled for Chanel in New York. Later, taking a break from modeling, she attended Columbia University, majoring in literature.

This model-turned-actress broke into Hollywood in the early 1990s. Her first film was Fathers & Sons; later, she became James Bond's enemy in GoldenEye. Her career has bloomed since then with her starring in such films as House on Haunted Hill, Hide and Seek, a reoccurring role on FX's Nip/Tuck and the blockbuster movies X-Men, X2, and X-Men: The Last Stand.



Her two sisters are blonde and blue-eyed, while she is the only brunette. Speaks Dutch, German, English, and French. Sisters Antoinette Beumer and Marjolein Beumer are a director and actress respectively. Measurements: 36-24-36 (Source: Celebrity Sleuth magazine). While appearing on "Late Night with Conan O'Brien" (1993) to promote her role of the sex-crazed assassin in the James Bond film GoldenEye (1995), Famke gave Conan a first hand experience of her character's signature moves by performing them on him using the top of his desk. When she asked him if he would like the demonstration, Conan responded with "This is what we in the industry call a 'no-brainer'." Ranked #69 in Stuff magazine's "102 Sexiest Women In The World." [2002] Originally, Famke Janssen cast for the "Star Trek: Deep Space Nine" (1993) series after her work on the "Star Trek: The Next Generation" (1987) episode "The Perfect Mate" and was to reprise her role as Kamala. However, she wanted to leave herself open for feature film work and turned the role down. Jadzia Dax's role was created to take the place of this character, performed by actress Terry Farrell. Did all her own pool shots in Turn the River (2007). Her favorite movies of her career are Love & Sex (2000) and Turn the River (2007). Her favorite horror movie is The Shining (1980). Is a Vegetarian. Was briefly involved in a relationship with Ryan Gosling.