Famke Janssen, Model Turned Superstar

Famke Janssen.

Famke Beumer Janssen (born 5 November 1964) is a Dutch model who turned her beauty and talent into a career as director, screenwriter, and actress. Famke Janssen is most famous for her role as Jean Grey in the "X-Men" film series.

Famke is from Amstelveen, North Holland, the Netherlands. She has two sisters. Famke signed with Elite Model Management in 1984 and moved to New York, and spent most of the next decade modelling for Chanel, Victoria's Secret, Yves Saint Laurent and other top brands.

Famke has continued doing some modelling along the way, though in the 1990s she began acting full-time.

Famke Janssen''s covers include:

• France: 'Elle' - September 30 1985, June 16 1986
• Germany: 'Max' - November 1995; 'Woman' - February 2007
• Italy: 'Vogue' - March 1987; 'Elle' - July 1989
• Spain: 'Elle' - December 1989; 'Elle' - March 1989
• UK: 'Elle' - November 1988; 'Harpers & Queen' - December 1995; 'Marie Claire' - October 2000; 'Maxim' - October 2000; 'Tatler' - December 2001; 'In Style' - June 2003;
• US: 'Elle' - March 1989; 'Maxim' - January 1998; 'Entertainment Weekly' - April 28 2000; 'Maxim' - July 2000; 'Marie Claire' - August 2000; 'Glamour' - May 2003; 'Premiere' - May 2006

Famke on the cover of a Victoria's Secret catalog.

Famke began her acting career with guest starring roles on shows such as 'Star Trek: The Next Generation" and her first film, 'Fathers and Sons' with Jeff Goldblum.

She became an international star with her appearance as Xenia Onatopp in the James Bond film "GoldenEye."

Many other smaller films followed, such as Woody Allen's "Celebrity."

Janssen reached another career height when she played Jean Grey in the Marvel Studios adaptation of 'X-Men.' This led to numerous other appearances as the character, most recently in the 2014 "X-Men: Days of Future Past."

Since the X-Men films in the early 2000s, Famke has focused on television work such as some failed pilots. Recently, she appeared in the Netflix series "Hemlock Grove" and in "The Blacklist: Redemption." She continues to do independent films such as "Louisiana Caviar" (2018) and "Caviar" (2017).

According to Famke, her days in the X-Men movies are over. She stated at the July 2017 Denver Comic-Con that the original X-Men cast will not be returning to the series:

I think we’re done, but it was really great while it lasted and it lasted for a long time. It’s been nothing but a pleasure working not just as Jean Grey, which was such an honor because comics were so fantastic already, but then the entire cast who I got to play with, all my fellow actors, thespians who are so talented. It was just a wonderful experience. I’m very grateful.

Jean Grey is now played by Sophie Turner in the X-Men series.

These days, aside from her full acting slate, Famke devotes a lot of time to her work as a Goodwill Ambassador for Integrity for the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime.

2017