'''Famke Janssen''' (born on November 5, 1965 in Amstelveen, The Netherlands) is a Dutch actress and former fashion model. She is perhaps best known for her roles in ''
Goldeneye'', ''Nip/Tuck'' and the ''
X-Men'' film series.
Biography
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. After studying stagecraft at Columbia University she moved to Los Angeles where she appeared in guest roles on TV series (such as ''Star Trek: The Next Generation'' and ''Melrose Place'').
thumb|left|200px|Janssen as Xenia Onatopp (1995) Her first film role was with Jeff Goldblum in ''Fathers & Sons'' (1992), later she appeared in the first Pierce Brosnan James Bond film, ''
GoldenEye'', making an impression on the cinema world as femme fatale Xenia Onatopp. After her brilliant performance, she became one of the most sought after actresses by many directors. In 1998 alone, she starred in eight films. She was also cast in Men in Black II as villainess Serleena in 2002, but had to drop out due to a death in the family. She was also offered the role of the T-X in Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines, but turned it down and was replaced by Kristanna Loken.
Janssen played the highly coveted role of superheroine Dr. Jean Grey/Phoenix in ''
X-Men'', ''
X2'', and ''
X-Men: The Last Stand''. In the films, she plays Dr. Jean Grey, a teacher and medical expert at the Xavier Institute for Higher Learning, where she also doubles as a core member of the X-Men. Her mutant powers are telekinesis and telepathy. In the first film, she appears before a Senate hearing as an advocate for mutant rights, and later helps to save the leaders of the world's nations from an attack by Magneto. In the second film, her powers are growing exponentially as she also grows as Phoenix, and she travels to Boston with Storm to track down Nightcrawler, and later embarks on a mission to Alkali Lake with the rest of the X-Men and The Brotherhood. In the final minutes of the film, she sacrifices her life to save the X-Men from drowning under the water escaping from the Alkali Lake dam. Lastly, in the third film, she is resurrected as the Phoenix and she fights alongside the Brotherhood to destroy humans and their mutant cure.
Famke also starred in the movies ''
Lord of Illusions'', ''
I Spy'', ''
Rounders'', and ''
Deep Rising''.
Janssen also had a prominent
