Famke (which means "little girl" in Frisian) Beumer was born in 1965, on November 5th in Amsterdam (The Netherlands) to a small family of 2 sisters - Antoinette and Marjolein Beumer. Her sisters are also in show business As well, Antoinette is a semi-successful director and Marjolein is a successful actress. Famke later began her modeling career in Holland, and was almost an immediate success. She wore the luxurious fashions of the 1980s, and her face was the envy of millions. Famke appeared in advertisements For Yves Saint Laurent, Cover Girl cosmetics, Georgio Armoni, Gianfranco Ferre, Hirshleifer's, Jax and many more. In the year 1984 she moved to the United States and it has Remained her home ever since. When work for Chanel brought her to New York City, she stayed and it she has initially settled their. She attended Columbia University where she majored in writing and literature which she soon quit and studied acting with Harold Guskin. After that she headed to Los Angeles, California where she continued studying acting but under Roy London. She appeared in guest roles on TV series such as Star Trek: The Next Generation and in an episode of Fox's campy night-time soap "Melrose Place", Janssen landed her first significant role as Jeff Goldblum's romantic love interest in 1992's Fathers and Sons where she made her feature film debut playing Kyle Christian. When Famke was cast as the new lead, playing the sexy bond girl Xenia Onnatopp in 1996's Goldeneye she was interviewed everywhere and the headline made the front page of the Hollywood Reporter. Before her breakthrough role as the villainous Russian killer who crushes men to death with her thighs in Golden Eye she was the lead action star in the Fox TV-movie Model By Day, A role she wanted to forget. The actress who speaks 4 languages - Dutch, German, English and French also co-starred with Scott Bakula in Clive Barker's Lord of Illusions.

In 1995 shortly after filming The Adventures of Sebastian Cole she wed the director Tod Williams (The Door in the Floor). After that, the dark-haired stunner was careful not to fall into one of the traps so many other models-turned-actresses had. So far she had successfully avoided accepting too many glamorous, pretty, yet unnecessary girlfriend roles in big studio movies, opting instead to tackle a variety of characters that required her to stretch her acting muscles, Not just her lovely smile for the camera. ""I would rather not work than play in a movie that nobody watches." One of the only actresses to escape Bond-girl oblivion (few of James Bond's lead female co-stars have gone on to bigger and better projects), the busy actress appeared in eight releases in 1998, announcing that she was more interested in working with quality directors and actors than Starring in big-budget features. She essayed characters ranging from a bitter alcoholic in The Gingerbread Man to a Russian-born owner of a gambling joint in Rounders to a tough, blue-collar Bostonian in Monument Avenue. Woody Allen cast her as a sophisticated book editor in Celebrity, Re-teaming her with her Gingerbread Man co-star Kenneth Branagh, while Robert Rodriguez tapped her to be a timid high school teacher in The Faculty. Her deft performances prompted critics and co-stars to marvel at her chameleonic versatility and uncanny knack for imitating accents.

In the year 1998 she appeared only, alongside the decent cast of Peter Gallagher, Ali Larter, Taye Diggs, and Geoffrey Rush in the forgettable, and less than acclaimed horror film The House on Haunted Hill. 2000 was one of the best years of Janssen's career, she starred as the romantic lead in Love & Sex. The movie, which premiered at the Sundance Film Festival, was also her first with actor-writer-director Jon Favreau. Then she jumped ships again, playing the telepathic mutant Dr. Jean Grey, holding her own again Ian McKellen, Patrick Stewart, Hugh Jackman and Anna Paquin in movie X-Men, based upon the beloved comic book series. The film went on to gross Over 150 Million dollars in the United States alone! Her personal life wasn't as promising. Her and her husband Tod Williams divorced that year, ending their 5 year marriage. In 2001 she appeared alongside Jon Faverou again in the film Made. The film generated a lot of buzz for the chemistry of the two again. Famke was also seen alongside Michael Douglas and Sean Bean in Don't Say a Word where she played on the vulnerability of bed-ridden Aggie in the kidnapping drama. In 2002 She was seen in I Spy - the big screen version of the 1960s television hit. A year later she reprised Her role as Dr. Jean Grey in the sequel, X2: X-Men United. Jean's role was much larger and she also had the fire red hair known from the comic books. The film set up events which will make her character pivotal to a third outing, and supposedly last X-Men film.

Janssen hit the small screen in the summer of 2004 in the second season of one of the most original and critically acclaimed shows on television. She played a provocative "Life Coach" Ava Moore on several episodes of Nip/Tuck. The show went own to reveal she was having her own relationship with her own teen son, as well as a much more juicer, hidden secret. This has been Famke's best role to date. Later that year she was seen in the widely acclaimed Eulogy. In which one critic claimed "For something witty, funny, and ultimately well-performed you can't go pass it".

In May of 2003 X-Men: The Last Stand premiered at the Cannes Film Festival. The entire cast was in France promoting the film. The film received mixed reviews. Famke's portrayal of Jean Grey and The Phoenix received good acclaim. People said she did an excellent job at balancing the character and making her like a schizophrenic. A week later the movie premiered to audiences worldwide. The numbers were in and it was one of the top grossing films of all time. Currently ranking at #47. Over the next few months the film came to earn over $450,000,000 million dollars worldwide. Due to such high gross numbers it begged the questions is this really The Last Stand. Rumors swirled and although many said it was definitely the last installment, still many fans think (and hope) it won't be. Production will be starting on several spin-off films later this year.

In 2006 Famke filmed a role in The Ten a comedy about Ten stories, each inspired by one of the Ten Commandments. The film will have an all star cast including Jessica Alba, Amanda Peet, Winona Ryder, Oliver Platt and more. It is completed and premiered too much acclaim at the 2007 Sundance Film Festival. She worked with Chris Eigeman in The Treatment, the film had several screenings and was bought by New Yorker Films, and it is slated for release in 2007 in 22 countries. The film received the prize for best narrative in the Tribeca Film Festival's "Made in New York" competition in 2006 and Famke Janssen's work won an acting award at the Hampton's Film Festival. April through May of 2006 Famke spent her time again working with Chris Eigerman, this time in a role that was wrote specifically with her in mind. She will star as Kailey in Turn The River. The film is described not as a plot driven story, but character driven. Although the film is finally completed, it still has no distributor or release date set.

2007 will prove to be one of Famke's biggest & busiest years to date. In January she was announced as top lining a new cop drama for NBC. The show will be created by David Shore, also the creator and executive producer of the current hit show House. The writer of House - Peter Blake will also help develop the project. The show is a light drama with procedural elements that centers on a female cop played by Janssen. The show's rumored title is Winters but no official word as came out. It is scheduled to air in the fall. In February she was cast in Eric Red's 100 Feet. Famke will play Marnie Watson, a woman who is granted early release from her prison sentence for manslaughter on condition she wear an electronic ankle bracelet and remain within her home, effectively under house arrest. But the 100-foot radius her ankle bracelet allows isn’t the worst of her problems. Her dead husband, now a malevolent ghost is still in the house, where he died - intent on savage revenge. Eric Red was quoted saying "With Famke's timeless beauty, she will bring glamour and star power to the role of Marnie, reminiscent of Audrey Hepburn in the classic Wait Until Dark. The film is currently filming and is expected to be in theaters in 2008.

What is it about Famke Janssen we just love? There is no denying she is stunningly beautiful, talented and charismatic. But there is more to Famke than that; she is lover of animals and an activist for them. She is a spokesperson for PETA, bringing awareness to the mistreatment of dogs that were breed in Puppy Mills. As well as helping people educate how to properly take care of a pet. She is a supported of The Humane Society. But Famke doesn't just focus her charity works on animals; she is an avid AIDS/HIV activist. She has spoken in PSA's and campaigns for the foundation Cable Positive. Education is the only vaccine in the fight against HIV/AIDS and the organization makes people aware of how they can learn to protect themselves. As well as the Elizabeth Glaser Pediatric Aids Foundation which creates a future of hope for children and families worldwide who are effect by AIDS. Famke is like no other. She turns forty-two this year and we wish her all the best for her future projects. With much success in independent film as well as 'blockbusters' and television. This then rumored to be "cursed" Bond Girl sure has come far, and her future seems promising.

"Looking back, boy, has there ever been a stigma in being a Bond Girl. That's what my mission in life is, just to prove them wrong. That's why I have such an urge to keep going and proving that. It's so silly. What on earth does the way you look have anything to do with whether you can act or not."