Famke Janssen

Famke Beumer Janssen (; born 5 November 1964) is a Dutch actress and former model acting in Hollywood. She played Xenia Onatopp in GoldenEye, Jean Grey / Phoenix in the X-Men film series (2000–2014), and Lenore Mills in the Taken film trilogy (2008–2014). In 2008, she was appointed a Goodwill Ambassador for Integrity by the United Nations. She made her directorial debut with Bringing Up Bobby in 2011. She is also known for her roles in the Netflix original series Hemlock Grove (2013–2015), FX's Nip/Tuck (2003–2010), and ABC's How to Get Away with Murder (2014–2020). Janssen starred in the 2017 NBC crime thriller The Blacklist: Redemption. She starred in the Netflix Dutch crime series Amsterdam Empire (2025).

Early life Famke Beumer Janssen was born on November 5, 1964, in Amstelveen, the Netherlands. She has two sisters, director Antoinette Beumer and actress Marjolein Beumer, both of whom changed their surnames to Beumer after their parents divorced.

In addition to her native Dutch, Janssen speaks English and French. She learned German, but has not kept up with it. Following her high school graduation, Janssen studied economics for a year at the University of Amsterdam, which she later called "the stupidest idea I ever had."

Career

In 1984, Janssen moved to the United States to begin her professional career as a fashion model. She signed with Elite Model Management and worked for Yves Saint Laurent, Giorgio Armani, Chanel, and Victoria's Secret. She starred in a 1988 commercial for the perfume Exclamation by Coty. Her looks have been compared to 1940s movie stars like Hedy Lamarr. but turned it down to pursue film roles. Her first film role was alongside Jeff Goldblum in the 1992 crime drama film Fathers & Sons.

In 1995, Janssen appeared in Pierce Brosnan's debut James Bond film, GoldenEye, as femme fatale Xenia Onatopp. She appeared in Lord of Illusions with Scott Bakula. In an attempt to fight against typecasting after her Bond girl performance, Janssen began seeking out more intriguing supporting roles, appearing in John Irvin's City of Industry, Woody Allen's Celebrity, Robert Altman's The Gingerbread Man, and Ted Demme's Monument Ave. Denis Leary, her co-star in Monument Ave., was impressed by how easily she blended in, initially not recognizing her, as she was already in character. She returned as Jean in the 2013 film The Wolverine as a hallucination of Wolverine, followed by a brief cameo for X-Men: Days of Future Past (2014).

In 2002, Janssen landed the role of villainess Serleena in Men in Black II, but had to abandon the film due to a death in her family and was replaced by Lara Flynn Boyle. Janssen had a prominent role in the second season of the TV series Nip/Tuck, as the seductive and manipulative life coach Ava Moore, which earned her Hollywood Lifes Breakthrough Artist of the Year Award. She reprised her role in the final two episodes of the series.

In 2007, she starred in Turn the River, for which she was awarded the Special Recognition Best Actress Award at the Hamptons International Film Festival. The following year, she starred in Luc Besson's Taken. Janssen continued to work in television, appearing in TV pilots for NBC's police drama Winters and Showtime's The Farm, a spinoff of The L Word, set in a women's prison. Both pilots were rejected by their networks. Janssen provided the Dutch language narration for the Studio Tram Tour at all Disney theme parks. She reprised her role as Lenore Mills in Taken 2 (2012) and Taken 3 (2014). She starred as the main villain Muriel in Hansel & Gretel: Witch Hunters (2013).

Janssen starred in the Netflix original horror thriller television series Hemlock Grove, wherein she plays the role of family matriarch Olivia Godfrey. Janssen had a recurring role in the ABC crime thriller television series How To Get Away With Murder, appearing in ten episodes throughout the series, beginning her role in season two of the show and concluding it in the series finale.

Janssen was cast in a starring role in the NBC crime thriller The Blacklist: Redemption, a spin-off of the NBC series The Blacklist, in March 2016; it was picked up to series in May 2016. The following month, Janssen expressed frustration at not being cast in X-Men: Apocalypse, saying Hollywood was sexist toward older women. She said: "Women, it's interesting because they're replaced, and the older versions are never to be seen again... whereas the men are allowed to be both ages."

In 2019, she served as a juror for the Tribeca Film Festival. Also in 2019, Janssen joined Jeffrey Dean Morgan in The Postcard Killings, which was released in 2020. In 2021, Janssen starred in the Christian romantic drama film Redeeming Love and the action-thriller Dangerous.

In a March 2021 interview, she revealed to Forbes some details about her involvement with the live-action adaptation of Saint Seiya, a popular anime and manga. Janssen said that filming was supposed to take place in Europe the previous year, but production had been postponed twice due to the coronavirus pandemic. She also hinted that she would play one of the main characters, but did not specify their name. The movie, titled Knights of the Zodiac, was eventually released in 2023, with Janssen playing the role of Vander Guraad. In January 2026, X-Men writer Chris Claremont stated that Janssen would reprise the role of Jean Grey in Avengers: Doomsday. In June 2026, Jannssen stated despite speculation she was not in Avengers: Doomsday.

Activism Janssen appeared with her dog, Licorice, a brindle Boston Terrier, in a 2007 PETA campaign to raise awareness for animal rights. The campaign used the slogan "Be an Angel for Animals." On 28 January 2008, she was appointed a Goodwill Ambassador for Integrity for the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime at a United Nations anticorruption conference held in Nusa Dua, Bali.

Personal life From 1989 to 2000, Janssen was married to writer and director Kip Williams, son of architect Tod Williams.

Filmography Film

Year Title Role Notes Refs. 1992 Fathers & Sons Kyle Christian 1994 Relentless IV: Ashes to Ashes Dr. Sara Lee Jaffee Direct-to-video Model by Day Lex / Lady X Television film 1995 Lord of Illusions Dorothea Swann GoldenEye Xenia Onatopp 1996 Dead Girl Treasure 1997 City of Industry Rachel Montana 1998 Monument Ave. Katy O'Connor Leeanne Magruder Deep Rising Trillian St. James RPM Claudia Haggs Rounders Petra Celebrity Bonnie Fiona Miss Elizabeth Burke 1999 House on Haunted Hill Evelyn Stockard-Price 2000 Love & Sex Kate Welles Circus Lily Garfield X-Men Jean Grey 2001 Made Jessica Don't Say a Word Agatha "Aggie" Conrad 2002 I Spy Special Agent Rachel Wright 2003 X2: X-Men United Jean Grey 2004 Eulogy Judy Arnolds 2005 Hide and Seek Dr. Katherine Carson 2006 X-Men: The Last Stand Jean Grey / Phoenix Allegra Marshall 2007 Gretchen Reigert Turn the River Kailey Sullivan Winters Christie Winters Television film 2008 Kristen Squires Taken Lenore "Lenny" Mills-St. John 100 Feet Marnie Watson Direct-to-video film 2009 The Farm Valentina Galindo Television film 2010 The Chameleon Jennifer Johnson Direct-to-video film 2011 Down the Shore Mary Reed 2012 Taken 2 Lenore "Lenny" Mills-St. John 2013 Hansel & Gretel: Witch Hunters Muriel The Wolverine Jean Grey The Being Experience Originally titled In the Woods 2014 A Fighting Man Diane Schuler Direct-to-video film X-Men: Days of Future Past Jean Grey / Phoenix Cameo Taken 3 Lenore "Lenny" Mills-St. John 2015 Unity Narrator (voice) Documentary Jack of the Red Hearts Kay Adams 2017 The Show Ilana Katz All I Wish Vanessa Once Upon a Time in Venice Katey Ford 2018 Status Update Katherine Alden Bayou Caviar Nic Originally titled Louisiana Caviar Asher Sophie 2019 The Poison Rose Jayne Hunt Primal Dr. Ellen Taylor 2020 The Postcard Killings Valerie Kanon Endless Lee Douglas 2021 The Vault Margaret Originally titled Way Down Dangerous Agent Shaughnessy 2022 Redeeming Love Duchess 2023 Door Mouse Mama Knights of the Zodiac Vander Guraad Boy Kills World Hilda Van Der Koy Locked In Katherine Direct-to-streaming film The Experiment Doctor Rachel McVeigh Post-production One Second After Mayor Kate Lindsey Post-production

Television

Year Title Role Notes 1992 Star Trek: The Next Generation Kamala Episode: "The Perfect Mate" 1994 Melrose Place Diane Adamson Episode: "Michael's Game" 1994 Cleo Episode: "Voyeur" 2000–2001 Ally McBeal Jamie 2 episodes 2004–2010 Nip/Tuck Ava Moore Recurring role, 11 episodes 2008 Puppy Love Maya Web series 2013–2015 Hemlock Grove Olivia Godfrey Main role 2015–2020 How to Get Away with Murder Eve Rothlo Recurring role, 10 episodes 2015 SuperMansion Frau Mantis (voice) 2 episodes 2016 Robot Chicken Jean Grey (voice) Episode: "Joel Hurwitz" 2016–2018 The Blacklist Susan Hargrave Recurring role, 5 episodes 2017 The Blacklist: Redemption Main role 2019 When They See Us Nancy Ryan Miniseries, 2 episodes The Capture Jessica Mallory Episode: "Correction" 2022 Long Slow Exhale Melinda Barrington Recurring role 2025 Amsterdam Empire Betty Jonkers Main role, also executive producer (Netflix)

As director Bringing Up Bobby (2011), as director, producer, writer

Awards and nominations Year Association Category Nominatedwork Result Ref(s) 1996 MTV Movie Awards MTV Movie Award for Best Fight GoldenEye 2000 Blockbuster Entertainment Awards Favorite Supporting Actress – Horror House on Haunted Hill Fangoria Chainsaw Awards Best Supporting Actress House on Haunted Hill 2001 Blockbuster Entertainment Awards Favorite Supporting Actress – Science Fiction X-Men 2006 Hamptons International Film Festival Golden Starfish Award for Career Achievement The Treatment High Falls Film Festival Susan B. Anthony "Failure is Impossible" Award The Treatment Scream Awards Sexiest Superhero X-Men: The Last Stand Teen Choice Awards Choice Movie: Liplock X-Men: The Last Stand 2007 Hamptons International Film Festival Special Recognition Turn the River 2016 Gold Derby Awards Best Drama Guest Actress How to Get Away with Murder