Gwendoline Starr

> "Well, there is no way to say this that will make it sound not insane, and so I’m simply just going to say it: I am an internationally-wanted jewelry thief, and I belong to a crew that executes international bank heists."
>
> Gwendoline Starr, *Army of Thieves*

**Gwendoline Starr** was a mysterious young woman who planned a series of heists targeting the masterpiece safes of Hans Wagner. She led a crew on this endeavor. Gwen was portrayed by Nathalie Emmanuel in *Army of Thieves* and was arrested at the end of the film, sacrificing herself to let Sebastian escape.

## Biography

***An extended biography for Gwendoline Starr can be found here.***

Gwendoline grew interested in thievery at a young age, then later left home by the time she reached adulthood and earned her Red Notice. She joined a group of other rich kids who had left their homes, where she met Brad Cage and eventually formed her own little criminal organization with him. They were already among Interpol's most wanted criminals by the time they set their sights on the masterpiece safes of Hans Wagner.

Finding Sebastian Schlencht-Wöhnert's YouTube videos, Gwen contacted him to test his skills. He turned out to be as skilled as she'd hoped, so she met with him to invite him to join her crew. Despite his initial reluctance to get into crime, he joined and the team committed two bank heists before Brad abandoned Sebastian in the street. The heist crew was rattled by this, with Korina joining Gwen to go back for Sebastian to perform the third and final heist, while Brad and Rolph preferred to quit while they were ahead.

Gwen, Korina, and Sebastian continued on with the final heist, that of the Siegfried, while Brad, Rolph, and Interpol all tried to head them off. Noticing Brad's phone in the vicinity, Korina got distracted and ended up captured by Interpol, then ultimately gave up Gwen's escape plan while Gwen and Sebastian made away with the money. Meanwhile, Brad and Rolph followed close behind and ended up being tricked by Gwen, then caught by Interpol. Vincent Delacroix of Interpol continued on, however, and caught up to Gwen and Sebastian. Gwen convinced Delacroix to let Sebastian go, turning herself in.

## Abilities

* **Sleight of hand**: Gwen was an excellent pickpocket, notably swiping a wristwatch, wedding ring, and concealed firearm from three different Kommer patrons within a few minutes.
* **Hand-to-hand combat**: Gwen was able to defeat two armed guards at once on two separate occasions using only her hand-to-hand fighting techniques.
* **Leadership**: While Brad Cage fancied himself the leader of the gang, Gwen was the one making the decisions. Whether he consciously recognized it, he followed her lead until the point that he felt their relationship was in jeopardy, as did the rest of the team.
	+ **Plan-making**: Gwen was the mastermind behind three major heists of incredible difficulty that, for the most part, worked out very well for her team. The only major errors in the execution of the plans were caused by members deviating from the plans.
		- **Detection**: Gwen was effectively able to scout the three targets of her international heist plans to determine how to deal with the security in place at each location.
	+ **Communication**: Gwen was an excellent communicator, conveying both her genuine plans and the lies she hoped others would accept confidently and effectively.
		- **Multilingualism**: Gwen was fluent in both English and French.

## Equipment

* **Tatra T**: Gwendoline hijacked a Tatra T transport truck to pick up the Siegfried safe that was scheduled for transport to Geneva.

## Relationships

### Allies

* Gwendoline's heist crew
	+ Sebastian Schlencht-Wöhnert - love interest
	+ Korina Dominguez

### Enemies

* Interpol
	+ Vincent Delacroix
* Gwendoline's heist crew - allies turned enemies
	+ Brad Cage
	+ Rolph
* Joe

## Trivia

* She's the namesake for Gwendoline's Safe & Lock Co.
* Gwendoline is mentioned indirectly in *Criminal Support Group*, wherein Ludwig Dieter mentions being close to someone with a Red Notice.

## References

1. ↑ Vincent Delacroix's presentation on Gwen in *Army of Thieves* included a bullet point stating she's had a Red Notice since 2007. Sebastian also mentions that she's had a Red Notice since she was 17, making her 17 in 2007 and giving her a birth year of 1989 or 1990.
Shay Hatten (writer) & Matthias Schweighöfer (director) (October 29, 2021). *Army of Thieves*.