Top 10 Fascinating Facts about Famke Janssen

Actress Famke Janssen . Picture by Gage Skidmore Wikimedia

Top 10 Fascinating Facts about Famke Janssen

Acting is not the only thing that Famke Janssen is passionate about. The star is an avid painter, environmentalist, and animal advocate too.

Famke Beumer Janssen is a Dutch actress, born on 5 November in 1964 in Amstelveen, the Nerthelands.She first gained recognition as a fashion model for brands like Yves Saint Laurent, Chanel, and Victoria’s Secret.

Janssen later transitioned to acting and landed her first role in the 1992 movie Fathers and  Sons. Although Famke has already established herself in acting, she has some other fascinating facts.

Let’s look at some of her fascinating facts about her;

1. Famke began her career as a fashion model

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 Laurent, Georgio Armani, Chanel, and Victoria’s secret. She starred in a 1988 commercial for the perfume Exclamation by  Coty, Inc.

Her looks are compared to 1940s movie stars like Hedy Lamarr. After retiring from modeling in the early 1990s, Janssen had guest roles on several series, including a starring role in the 1992 Star Trek; The Next Generation episode “The Perfect Mate”, as empathic metamorph Kamala, opposite Patrick Stewart with whom she later starred in the x-men film series.

That same year, Janssen was offered the role of Jadzia Dax but turned it down to pursue film roles. Her first film role was alongside Jeff Goldblum in the 1992 crime drama film Father and Sons.

2. Janssen was an animal Advocate

Famke Janssen’s dog Licorice. Picture By Larry Mike Garmon Wikimedia

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 Crimes at a United Nations anti-corruption conference held in Nusa Dua, Bali.

3. Janssen is a multilingual and studied economics 

The University of Amsterdam. Picture by C messier. Wikimedia

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.”

In the early 1990s, she enrolled at Colombia University of general studies to study creative writing and literature.

4. Janssen was among the Golden Door Film Festival attendees

Famke Jansen Artur Balder at Golden Door International Film Fest 2015. Picture By Meatpacking Productions Wikimedia

The Golden Door Film Festival is a film festival in Jersy City, New Jersey, the United States, which was inaugurated in 2011. The four-day festival takes place in fall and shows features, documentaries, and shorts.

The opening and closing night awards ceremony are located at the 1929 movie palace Loew’s Jersey Theatre at Journal Square with many screenings and other events at various Downtown venues.

The festival was founded by actor, producer, and musician Bill Sorvino. There are competitive awards for features, shorts, documentaries, student works, LBGT-themed films, and the Women in Cinema-Alice Guy-Brache Award for female directors.

5. She has been awarded best actress at Hamptons

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 Showtimes 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.

6. Janssen failed relationships and marriage

Anson Mount EX-Husband to Janssen. Picture By Gage Skidmore from Peoria, Wikimedia

Famke Janssen is currently in a relationship with American actor Cole Frates. They have been together since 2006.

She was married to director and producer Todd Williams, from 1995 to 2000. Before she got married, she was in a deep relationship with the popular American actor Anson Mount for almost ten years.

She doesn’t have any children and has stated that she is not planning to have them anytime soon.

7. Janssen has massive followers on her social media accounts

Famke is currently active on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter. She has more than thirty-one thousand followers on Facebook. Besides these, she has more than fifteen thousand followers on Instagram and around three thousand on Twitter.

8. Janssen performed plastic surgery on her face

A new recognized Famke Jassen’s face. By Greg2600 Wikimedia

Aging is a very natural process. While some celebrities go along with it, some decide to make a few tweaks to retain their youthful looks. One such actress who had plastic surgery to show no signs of aging is Famke Janssen.

Famke Janssen had botox to remove the laugh lines from her face. Post-surgery, she looked different, and Famke Janssen’s fans were not really happy about the altercation.

However, it’s her personal choice, and we should be glad that the actress is true to her fans.

9. She has an estimated net worth of $20 million

Starting with a career in modeling, Dutch actress Famke Janssen rose to fame as an actress for acting in the Bond film, GoldenEye, the X-Men movies, and the Taken trilogy. With Famke Janssen having a busy and lucrative career, her estimated net worth is$20 million in 2022.

10. Janssen made her directorial debut in 2011

In 2011, Janssen made her directorial début with the drama Bringing Up Bobby. She also wrote the screenplay for the film, which stars Milla Jovovich, Bill Pullman, and Marcia Cross.

She reprised her role as Lenore Mills in Taken 2 (2012) and starred as the main villain Muriel in Hansel and Gretel: Witch Hunters (2013).

Janssen starred in the series Hemlock Grove (2013) where she plays the role of Olivia Godfrey. 

Janssen has kept records of being a nominee for various awards and finally being a Winner in Best supporting actress in X-men. More so she has kept the Netherlands in the frame through acting.