Famke Janssen

Famke Janssen , pronounced as "Fahm-Kuh Yan-Sun", is the Dutch actress who played Kamala in the fifth season episode . This was one of her first notable roles, and her first television appearance.
Janssen filmed her scenes between Friday and Wednesday and Friday and Tuesday on Paramount Stage 8, 9, and 16.
She was one of many actresses considered for the role of Jadzia Dax in . However, Janssen wanted to work primarily as a film actress, so she turned down the role. ()
Outside of Star Trek, Janssen is perhaps best known for her portrayal of Doctor Jean Grey in the X-Men films, acting alongside her Next Generation co-star Patrick Stewart, who played Professor Charles Xavier (or "Professor X"). She is also known for her role as James Bond villainess Xenia Onatopp in the 1995 film GoldenEye and for her recurring role as Ava Moore on . She later starred in .
== Early life and career ==
Janssen was born in Amstelveen, a city south of Amsterdam, part of the Amsterdam Metropolitan Area, Noord-Holland, The Netherlands. Her name Famke means "little girl" in West Frisian. She moved to the United States in 1984, at age 19, and began her career in show business as a fashion model. She also studied writing and literature at Columbia University in New York before heading to Los Angeles to pursue an acting career.
After making her television debut on Next Generation, she made her film debut with a supporting role in the 1992 thriller Fathers & Sons. This was followed by a guest spot on Melrose Place with fellow Next Generation guest performer Stanley Kamel in 1994. That same year, she played the lead role in the 1994 TV movie Model by Day and co-starred in the film Relentless IV: Ashes to Ashes, with Christopher Pettiet.
In 1995, Janssen co-starred with actor Scott Bakula in , and featured fellow Next Generation guest actor Vincent Schiavelli. 
Janssen's breakthrough role came when she played the villainess Xenia Onatopp in the 1995 blockbuster James Bond film Goldeneye. She is one of only three Star Trek alumni to portray Bond girls; the others were fellow Next Generation guest actress Teri Hatcher and Discovery actress Michelle Yeoh, who both appeared in the subsequent Bond film, Tomorrow Never Dies. (Barbara Bouchet also appeared as a Bond girl in the 1967 unofficial spoof film Casino Royale.) Interestingly, Janssen and Hatcher both appeared together in (1996, featuring Seymour Cassel and Amanda Plummer).
Janssen co-starred with Colm Meaney in (1998). That same year, Janssen appeared in two films with fellow Next Generation guest actress Bebe Neuwirth: (1998, starring Winona Ryder) and (co-starring Christopher McDonald and Bebe Neuwirth). Janssen was seen in many other films that year, including The Gingerbread Man, Deep Rising, and Rounders. 
Both Janssen and Jeffrey Combs appeared in (1999). Janssen then had the starring role in (2000, with Ann Magnuson and Robert Knepper). This was followed by (2000, with Tommy "Tiny" Lister, Jr.).
== Famke Janssen in the X-Men films ==
Between 2000 and 2006, Janssen appeared as Dr. Jean Grey in (2000), (2003), and (2006). In a somewhat interesting coincidence, Janssen's Next Generation character Kamala referred to herself as a mutant while explaining to Captain Picard the concept of an empathic metamorph.
In addition to working with Patrick Stewart and Rebecca Romijn on all three X-Men films, Janssen acted with Bruce Davison in the first two and with Kelsey Grammer in the last one. John Pyper-Ferguson and comics writer Chris Claremont also appeared in The Last Stand. The first two X-Men films were directed by Bryan Singer, while all three were co-produced by Ralph Winter. 
Shortly after completing her work on the first X-Men film in 2000, Janssen returned to television with the first of two appearances as Jamie on the TV series Ally McBeal. The episode, "The Man with the Bag," also guest-starred Christopher Neiman, Jack Shearer, and William Windom.
Janssen had a recurring role as trans woman Ava Moore on during the show's second season in 2004. She also appeared in an episode of the third season in 2005, through the use of deleted scenes from the previous season. Janssen reprised her role in two episodes of the series' sixth season in 2010. Among the performers she worked with on this series were Andrew Borba, Jane Daly, Billy Mayo, Barbara J. Tarbuck, Julie Warner, and Ruth Williamson.
Outside of the X-Men films, Janssen's film credits have included (2001)
, (2001), (2002, with Malcolm McDowell and Gary Cole), (2004, with René Auberjonois, Sherman Howard, and Eric Pierpoint), (2001), (2001), (2008), (2009), (2012, with Leland Orser) and (2014).
Her more recent credits include (2011), the mystery film In the Woods (2012), (2013, with Derek Mears), (2017), and (2019). She reprised her role as Jean Grey in (2013) and (2014). The latter film was again directed by Bryan Singer and starred Patrick Stewart as Professor Xavier.
Between 2013 and 2015, she starred as the vampire matriarch Olivia Godfrey in , where Penelope Mitchell played the character's daughter in the show's first season. She had a recurring role as Susan Hargrave in (2016-18) and (2017), and as Eve Rothio in (2015-20).
== External links ==
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* – former official fan site
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Category:Performers
Category:TNG performers