Diane Kruger
Template:Short description Template:Use dmy dates Template:Infobox person Diane Kruger (Template:IPA,<ref>Template:Cite video</ref> Template:Née; born 15 July 1976) is a German actress. Early in her career, she gained worldwide recognition and received the Trophée Chopard from the Cannes Film Festival.
Kruger became known for her roles in films such as Helen in the epic war film Troy (2004), Dr. Abigail Chase in the heist film National Treasure (2004) and its 2007 sequel, Bridget von Hammersmark in Quentin Tarantino's war film Inglourious Basterds (2009), and Gina in the psychological thriller film Unknown (2011). She also starred as Detective Sonya Cross in the FX crime drama series The Bridge (2013–14). In 2017, she made her German-language debut in Fatih Akin's In the Fade, for which she won the Cannes Film Festival Award for Best Actress. In 2019, Kruger starred in the spy-thriller The Operative with Martin Freeman.
Early life and education
Diane Heidkrüger<ref name="FMD"/> was born on 15 July 1976.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref> in Algermissen, Lower Saxony, West Germany.<ref name=sternde>Template:Cite magazine</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref> She grew up in a deeply Catholic German family,<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> and attended Catholic school.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> One of her grandmothers was Polish.<ref>Template:Cite webTemplate:Cbignore</ref>
She was brought up in West Germany with her younger brother, Stefan. Her mother sent her to student exchange programs when she was a teenager to improve her English.<ref name="friedlander1">Template:Cite news</ref> As a child, Kruger wanted to become a ballerina<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> and successfully auditioned for the Royal Ballet School in London, but a knee injury cut short her ballet career. Later, Kruger moved to Paris, attending drama school and working as a model and began learning and speaking fluent French.<ref name=":0" /><ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
Career
Modeling
In 1993, Kruger represented Germany in the Elite Model Look<ref>Template:Usurped pageantopolis. Retrieved 16 April 2012.</ref> and started modelling afterwards. Despite her relatively short stature for a model, she managed to land bookings such as advertisements from Yves Saint Laurent, Chanel, Salvatore Ferragamo, Giorgio Armani, Jil Sander, Christian Dior, Burberry and Louis Vuitton; runway shows from Marc Jacobs, D&G, and Sonia Rykiel; and appearances on the cover of Vogue Paris, Marie Claire, and Cosmopolitan to her modelling repertoire.<ref name="FMD">Template:Cite web</ref> She gradually stopped modelling after deciding to pursue a career in acting.Template:Cn
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Acting
Kruger became interested in acting and took lessons at the Cours Florent. She made her film debut in 2002, opposite Dennis Hopper and Christopher Lambert in The Piano Player, a TV film by Jean-Pierre Roux. The same year, she also starred in her then husband's directorial début Mon Idole.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref name=vintage />
She played Julie Wood in 2003's Michel Vaillant and Lisa in Wicker Park (2004), alongside Josh Hartnett and Rose Byrne. One of her more high-profile roles to date is her portrayal of Helen of Sparta in Wolfgang Petersen's epic Troy. In 2004, Kruger starred with Nicolas Cage and Sean Bean (who co-starred with her in Troy) in the film National Treasure, going on to appear in films Joyeux Noël (2005) and Copying Beethoven (2006).Template:Cn She reprised her role as Dr. Abigail Chase in National Treasure: Book of Secrets, released in December 2007.Template:Cn
In 2009, Kruger co-starred as a German actress turned Allied spy in Quentin Tarantino's film Inglourious Basterds. In December 2009, she announced the nominations of the 67th Golden Globe Awards and also picked up nominations from the Screen Actors' Guild for Best Supporting Actress and Outstanding Performance by a Cast of a Motion Picture for her role in Inglourious Basterds.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
Kruger played Anna in Jaco Van Dormael's Mr. Nobody. Critical response has praised the film's artistry and Kruger's acting.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Kruger made a cameo appearance in an April 2010 episode of the Fox show Fringe, in which her former boyfriend, actor Joshua Jackson, starred. In 2010, Kruger also appeared in Mark Ronson's music video for "Somebody to Love Me", where she plays Boy George.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
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In the 2011 film Unknown, Kruger starred as Gina, a Bosnian undocumented immigrant, and key character alongside leading actor Liam Neeson.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> It was also announced in 2011 that Kruger had replaced Eva Green in the role of Marie Antoinette in the French-language film, Les Adieux à la Reine.<ref name="BBC">Template:Cite web</ref>
She starred in the film adaptation of Stephenie Meyer's novel The Host, which was released in March 2013.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> Kruger also portrayed El Paso, Texas, police officer Sonya Cross on FX's The Bridge, which aired in 2013.<ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref> In 2016, she co-starred in The Infiltrator with Bryan Cranston and John Leguizamo.Template:Cn
In 2017, Kruger made a rare film appearance in Germany in the thriller In the Fade by Fatih Akin, for which she won several awards. In 2019, Kruger replaced Marion Cotillard in the spy movie The 355,<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> playing a BND agent.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
In 2019, Kruger starred in the spy-thriller The Operative with Martin Freeman.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
In 2022, Kruger starred in the thriller Out of the Blue, opposite Ray Nicholson, son of Jack. The following year, she joined the cast of David Cronenberg's The Shrouds, replacing Léa Seydoux,<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> portraying three different characters in the film.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
Other activities
Kruger was the hostess of the opening and closing ceremonies of the 2007 Cannes Film Festival.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> She was a member of the jury for the main competition at the 58th Berlin International Film Festival in 2008, chaired by Costa Gavras;<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> the 2012 Cannes Film Festival, chaired by Nanni Moretti;<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> and the 2015 Venice Film Festival, chaired by Alfonso Cuaron.<ref>Ariston Anderson (27 July 2015), Venice Film Festival: Elizabeth Banks, Diane Kruger Join Main Jury The Hollywood Reporter.</ref> In 2025, she served as president of the jury at the 18th Angoulême Francophone Film Festival (FFA).<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
Public image
Kruger was included in PeopleTemplate:'s "50 Most Beautiful People in the World" 2004 issue. She appeared on MaximTemplate:'s "Hot 100" list twice, ranking at No. 50 in 2005 and No. 88 in 2009.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref> She also ranked at No. 83 on AskMenTemplate:'s "Top 99 Women" list in 2010.
Kruger is a brand ambassador for Swiss watch manufacturer Jaeger-LeCoultre.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Since 2009, she has been a global "spokesmodel" of L'Oréal.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> In 2010, she became the face for Calvin Klein's Beauty fragrance line.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
Personal life
Kruger is fluent in German, English and French.<ref name="toomey">Template:Cite web</ref> Additionally, she studied Latin in school for eight years, though she does not speak it.<ref name=":0">Template:Cite news</ref> Kruger has stated that she has a fear of horses and will not take part in any films that require her to ride or interact with horses, revealing that she has given up roles in the past because of this. Her fear stems from having been previously thrown off the animals by accident.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
In 1999, she began dating French actor and director Guillaume Canet.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> They were married on 1 September 2001.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> They acted together in Joyeux Noël (2005) and divorced in 2006.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> Kruger said that the marriage was unsuccessful because their careers had kept them in different parts of the world.<ref name=vintage>Template:Cite web</ref>
From 2006 to 2016, she was in a relationship with actor Joshua Jackson.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
In 2015, Kruger met actor Norman Reedus on the set of Sky.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> The two were first seen together as a couple in July 2016.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> In November 2018, Kruger gave birth to their daughter, her first and his second child.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
Kruger is a US green card holder but has not naturalized.<ref name=sternde />
Filmography
Film
| Year | Title | Role | Language | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2001 | Point de lendemain | Agnes | French | Short subject |
| 2002 | Duelles | Sabine | Episode: "Mauvaise conduite" | |
| The Piano Player | Erika Nile | English | American title: The Target<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref> | |
| Not For, or Against | A call girl | French | French title: Ni pour, ni contre (bien au contraire) | |
| Mon Idole | Clara Broustal | English title: Whatever You Say | ||
| 2003 | Michel Vaillant | Julie Wood | ||
| 2004 | Troy | Helen | English | |
| Wicker Park | Lisa | |||
| Narco | La fille du night-club | French | ||
| National Treasure | Abigail Chase | English | ||
| 2005 | Joyeux Noël | Anna Sørensen | French, English, German | |
| Frankie | Frankie | French | ||
| 2006 | Les Brigades du Tigre | Constance Radetsky | English title: The Tiger Brigades | |
| Copying Beethoven | Anna Holtz | English | ||
| 2007 | Goodbye Bafana | Gloria Gregory | ||
| Days of Darkness | Véronica Star | French | French title: L'Âge des ténèbres | |
| The Hunting Party | Mirjana | English | ||
| National Treasure: Book of Secrets | Abigail Chase | |||
| 2008 | Anything for Her | Lisa | French | |
| 2009 | Inglourious Basterds | Bridget von Hammersmark | English, French, German | |
| Mr. Nobody | Anna | English | ||
| Farewell | Femme jogging | French | French title: L'Affaire Farewell | |
| 2010 | Inhale | Diane Stanton | English | |
| Lily Sometimes | Clara | French | French title: Pieds nus sur les limaces | |
| 2011 | Unknown | Gina | English | |
| Forces spéciales | Elsa | French | English title: Special Forces | |
| 2012 | Farewell, My Queen | Queen Marie Antoinette | French title: Les adieux à la Reine | |
| Un plan parfait | Isabelle | English title: A Perfect Plan / Fly Me to the Moon | ||
| 2013 | The Host | The Seeker/Lacey | English | |
| Me, Myself and Mum | Ingeborg | French | French title: Les Garçons et Guillaume, à table! | |
| The Galapagos Affair: Satan Came to Eden | Margret Wittmer | English | Narration/Voice | |
| 2014 | The Better Angels | Sarah Bush Lincoln | ||
| 2015 | Fathers and Daughters | Elizabeth | ||
| Disorder | Jessie | French | ||
| Sky | Romy | English | ||
| 2016 | The Infiltrator | Kathy Ertz | ||
| 2017 | In the Fade | Katja Sekerci | German | German title: Aus dem Nichts |
| All That Divides Us | Julia Keller | French | ||
| 2018 | JT LeRoy | Eva | English | |
| Welcome to Marwen | Deja Thoris | |||
| 2019 | The Operative | Rachel | ||
| QT8: The First Eight | Herself | Documentary film<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> | ||
| 2022 | The 355 | Marie Schmidt | ||
| Out of the Blue | Marilyn | |||
| Marlowe | Clare Cavendish | |||
| 2023 | Visions | Estelle | French | |
| Joika | Tatiyana Volkova | English | Biopic drama<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> | |
| 2024 | The Shrouds | Three roles<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> | ||
| Longing | Alice | |||
| Saint-Exupéry | French | Adventure biopic drama<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> | ||
| 2025 | Amrum | Tessa Bendixen | German | |
| TBA | A.M.I. | Ami | English | Filming |
Television
| Year | Title | Role | Language | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2010 | Fringe | Miranda Greene | English | Episode: "Olivia. In the Lab. With the Revolver" |
| 2013–2014 | The Bridge | Detective Sonya Cross | Main role | |
| 2020 | Robot Chicken | Caroline Flack (voice) | Episode: "Callie Greenhouse in: Fun. Sad. Epic. Tragic." | |
| 2022 | Swimming with Sharks | Joyce Holt | Main role | |
| 2025 | Little Disasters | Jess | Main role<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> | |
| 2025 | The Seduction | Madame de Rosemonde | French | Main role |
| 2025 | Marlene | Marlene Dietrich | Template:TBA |
Awards and nominations
Honors
- File:Ordre des Arts et des Lettres Officier ribbon.svg Officer of the Ordre des Arts et des Lettres (22 September 2014).<ref name="CultureComm">Template:Cite web</ref>
Notes
References
External links
- Pages with broken file links
- 1976 births
- 21st-century German actresses
- Living people
- People educated at the Royal Ballet School
- Actresses from Lower Saxony
- Cannes Film Festival Award for Best Actress winners
- Chopard Trophy for Female Revelation winners
- Cours Florent alumni
- Former Roman Catholics
- German emigrants to the United States
- German expatriates in Canada
- Expatriate actresses in Canada
- German expatriates in France
- German female models
- German film actresses
- German television actresses
- Officiers of the Ordre des Arts et des Lettres
- People from Hildesheim (district)