Diane Kruger

Diane Kruger
Kruger at Venice Film Festival on September 11, 2009
Born	Diane Heidkrüger 15 July 1976 (1976-07-15) (age 33) Algermissen, Germany
Occupation	Actress
Years active	2002–present
Spouse(s)	Guillaume Canet (ex-husband, 2001-2006)
Domestic partner(s)	Joshua Jackson (2006-present)

Diane Kruger (born 15 July 1976) is a German actress and former fashion model. She gained world-wide recognition by starring in blockbuster films such as Troy, National Treasure and Inglourious Basterds. She won the Cannes Film Festival Chopard Trophy in 2003.

Early life

Kruger was born Diane Heidkrüger in Algermissen, Germany, near Hildesheim. She is the daughter of bank employee Maria-Theresa and computer specialist Hans-Heinrich Heidkrüger.¹ Her father had problems with alcohol and this prompted her not to drink alcohol before she turned 20.² Her mother sent her to student exchange programmes when she was a teenager to perfect her English.³ She was raised in Germany with her younger brother, Stefan born 09.05.1978. As a child, Kruger wanted to become a ballerina and successfully auditioned for the Royal Ballet School in London. After an injury ended her ballet career prematurely, Kruger moved to Paris and turned her energy toward modeling.⁴

In 1992, at the age of 16, Kruger was a finalist in Elite's "Look of the Year" competition.^{citation needed} She returned to Germany and became a successful model in the mid-1990s in Germany and France.^{citation needed}

Acting career

Kruger soon became interested in acting and took lessons at the Cours Florent. She landed some small appearances in several French films. She then shortened her surname to ease her film career.^{citation needed}

She made her onscreen debut in 2002 opposite Dennis Hopper and Christopher Lambert in The Piano Player, a TV-movie by Jean-Pierre Roux. Her first major role was the same year when she starred in her then husband's directorial debut "Mon Idole". She played Julie Wood in 2003's Michel Valliant and Lisa in Wicker Park (2004), alongside Josh Hartnett and Rose Byrne. One of her most notable roles to date is her portrayal of Helen in Wolfgang Petersen's epic Troy. She was ranked Number 50 on the Maxim Hot 100 Women of 2005.⁵

In 2004, Kruger starred with Nicolas Cage and Sean Bean (who co-starred with her in Troy) in the popular film National Treasure, going on to appear in movies such as Joyeux Noël (2005) and Copying Beethoven (2006). She reprised her role as Dr. Abigail Chase in National Treasure: Book of Secrets, released in December 2007.

Kruger was the hostess of the opening and closing ceremonies of the 2007 Cannes Film Festival. She was also a member of the jury of the 59th Berlin International Film Festival in 2008.^{citation needed}

In 2009, she co-starred as a German actress turned saboteur in Quentin Tarantino's film Inglourious Basterds. Kruger stars in 2010 in the Liam Neeson film "Unknown White Male" alongside January Jones.⁶

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.

Endorsements

Kruger is a brand ambassador for watch manufacturer Jaeger-LeCoultre.⁷

In December 2009, she was announced as the global spokesmodel for L'Oréal.⁸

Personal life

After having dated since 1999^{citation needed}, she married French actor and director Guillaume Canet on 1 September 2001. They divorced in 2006, but acted alongside one another in Joyeux Noël.

She has been in a relationship with Joshua Jackson since 2006.⁹

She follows a Catholic religion.

Besides her mother tongue German, Kruger speaks fluent French and English.

Filmography

Awards

• 2003 Cannes Film Festival, Chopard Trophy, Female Revelation - (Won)
• 2004 Bambi Award, Career - (Won)
• 2005 Academy of Science Fiction, Fantasy & Horror Films Nomination, Saturn Award, Best Supporting Actress for National Treasure (2004) - (Nominated)
• 2010 Goldene Kamera Berlin, Beste Internationale Schauspielerin (Won)

References

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Diane Kruger

• Diane Kruger at the Internet Movie Database
• Diane Kruger at Fashion Model Directory
• Diane Kruger at Fascination
• Diane Kruger at AskMen
• Diane Kruger Official website

From Wikipedia, the Free Encyclopedia