Diane Kruger
Diane Kruger at Cannes Film Festival, 2010
Born	Diane Heidkrüger (1976-07-15) 15 July 1976 (age 35) Algermissen, Germany
Occupation	Actress and Model
Years active	2001–present
Spouse	Guillaume Canet (m. 2001–06; divorced)
Partner	Joshua Jackson (2006-present)

Diane Kruger (born 15 July 1976) is a German actress and former fashion model. She is known for roles such as Helen in Troy, Dr. Abigail Chase in National Treasure and its sequel, Bridget von Hammersmark in Inglourious Basterds, Anna in Mr. Nobody, and Gina in Unknown.

Early life

She was born as Diane Heidkrüger in Algermissen, Germany, near Hildesheim, the daughter of a computer specialist Hans-Heinrich Heidkrüger, and his wife, Maria-Theresa, a bank employee.¹ She was raised Roman Catholic² and attended Catholic school.³

She was raised in Germany with her younger brother, Stefan. Her mother sent her to student exchange programs when she was a teenager to improve her English.⁴ As a child, Kruger wanted to become a ballerina and successfully auditioned for the Royal Ballet School in London. However, after an injury ended her ballet career prematurely, Kruger moved to Paris and turned her energy toward modeling and learning French.

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 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 more high-profile roles to date is her portrayal of Helen of Sparta in Wolfgang Petersen's epic Troy. She was ranked 50th 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 film National Treasure, going on to appear in movies 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 at the 2009 Venice Film Festival

Kruger was the hostess of the opening and closing ceremonies of the 2007 Cannes Film Festival.⁶

Kruger at the 2012 Berlin Film Festival

Kruger was a jury member of the 58th Berlin International Film Festival in 2008. The festival is chaired by Costa Gavras.

In 2009, she co-starred as a German actress turned Axis saboteur in Quentin Tarantino's film Inglourious Basterds. Kruger starred in 2011 in the Liam Neeson film Unknown alongside January Jones.⁷

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.⁸

Kruger played Anna in Jaco Van Dormael's Mr. Nobody, which was mostly funded through European financiers, and was given limited release in certain countries in 2010.⁹ Critical response has praised the film's artistry and Kruger's acting.¹⁰ She was nominated the Volpi Cup for Best Actress at the 66th Venice International Film Festival for her performance.^{citation needed}

Kruger made a cameo appearance in an April 2010 episode of the Fox show Fringe, in which her boyfriend, actor Joshua Jackson is a star. In 2010, Kruger also appeared in Mark Ronson's music video for "Somebody to Love Me", where she plays Boy George. In 2011, it was announced that she had replaced Eva Green in the role of Marie Antoinette in the French-language film, Les Adieux à la Reine.¹¹

In 2012, she was named as a member of the Jury for the Main Competition at the 2012 Cannes Film Festival.¹²

Endorsements

Kruger is a brand ambassador for watch manufacturer Jaeger-LeCoultre.¹³ In December 2009, she was announced as the global spokesmodel for L'Oréal.¹⁴

It was announced in May 2010 that she would become the latest face for Calvin Klein's newest fragrance line, Beauty.¹⁵

Personal life

She married French actor and director Guillaume Canet on 1 September 2001. They acted together in 2005's Joyeux Noël, but divorced in 2006. She has been in a relationship with Joshua Jackson since 2006.¹⁶ During an interview with magazine Glamour, she said, "Without sounding pessimistic, I learned that I don't believe in marriage. I believe in a commitment that you make in your heart. There's no paper that will make you stay. A guy friend of mine said, and it made a lot of sense, that people should get married at the end of the road, not the beginning."¹⁷

Besides German, Kruger speaks English and French fluently. She is a friend of fashion designer Karl Lagerfeld.¹⁸ Kruger divides her time between Paris and Vancouver.

Filmography

Awards

• 2003: Cannes Film Festival, Chopard Trophy for Female Revelation – Won
• 2004: Bambi Award for Career – Won
• 2005: Academy of Science Fiction, Fantasy & Horror Films, Saturn Award for Best Supporting Actress for National Treasure – Nominated
• 2010: Golden Camera for Best International Actress for Inglourious Basterds – Won

References

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Diane Kruger

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