Diane Kruger Biography

Diane Kruger (born Diane Heidkrüger; 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, West Germany, near Hildesheim, the daughter of computer specialist Hans-Heinrich Heidkrüger, and his wife, Maria-Theresa, a bank employee. She was raised Roman Catholic and attended Catholic school. She has stated that one of her grandmothers was Polish.

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. 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.

Modeling

In 1992, Kruger represented Germany in the Elite Model Look and started modeling afterwards. Despite her relatively small frame for a model, she managed to add prestigious 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 as well as appearances on the cover of Vogue Paris, Marie Claire and Cosmopolitan to her modeling repertoire. She gradually stopped modeling after deciding to pursue a career in acting.

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. 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 was the hostess of the opening and closing ceremonies of the 2007 Cannes 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 Allied spy in Quentin Tarantino's film Inglourious Basterds. Kruger starred in 2011 in the Liam Neeson film Unknown alongside January Jones.

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.

Kruger played Anna in Jaco Van Dormael's Mr. Nobody. Critical response has praised the film's artistry and Kruger's acting.

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.

In 2012, she was named as a member of the Jury for the Main Competition at the 2012 Cannes Film Festival. She starred in the film adaptation of Stephenie Meyer's novel The Host, which was released in March, 2013.

Endorsements

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

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

Personal life

In 1999, she began dating French actor and director Guillaume Canet. They were married on 1 September 2001. They acted together in 2005's Joyeux Noël, but divorced in 2006, though they remain friends. Kruger later said that the marriage was not successful because their careers had kept them occupied in different parts of the world.

She has been in a relationship with Joshua Jackson since 2006. 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."

Besides German, Kruger speaks English and French fluently. She is a friend of fashion designer Karl Lagerfeld. Kruger divides her time between Paris and Vancouver. As of May 2013, she has been living in Los Angeles for her role in The Bridge.

Kruger holds a U.S. green card.

Filmography

Year	Title	Role	Notes
2001	Point de lendemain		Short subject
2002	Duelles	Sabine	TV episode, Mauvaise conduite
	The Piano Player	Erika
	Ni pour ni contre (bien au contraire)	The call-girl	Not for, or against (quite the contrary)
	Mon Idole	Clara Broustal	Whatever You Say
2003	Michel Vaillant	Julie Wood
2004	Troy	Helen
	Wicker Park	Lisa
	Narco	La fille du night-club
	National Treasure	Abigail Chase	Nominated"?Saturn Award for Best Supporting Actress
2005	Joyeux Noël	Anna Sörensen
	Frankie	Frankie
2006	Les Brigades du Tigre	Constance Radetsky	The Tiger Brigades
	Copying Beethoven	Anna Holtz
2007	Goodbye Bafana	Gloria Gregory
	Days of Darkness	Véronica Star	L'"?ge des ténèbres
	The Hunting Party	Mirjana
	National Treasure: Book of Secrets	Abigail Chase	Nominated"?Teen Choice Award for Choice Movie Actress " Action, Adventure
2008	Anything for Her	Lisa
2009	Inglourious Basterds	Bridget von Hammersmark	Broadcast Film Critics Association Award for Best Cast Golden Camera for Best International Actress Phoenix Film Critics Society Award for Best Cast San Diego Film Critics Society Award for Best Cast Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture Nominated"?Italian Online Movie Award for Best Supporting Actress Nominated"?Saturn Award for Best Supporting Actress Nominated"?Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Supporting Role Nominated"?Online Film Critics Society Award for Best Supporting Actress
2010	Mr. Nobody	Anna	Nominated"?Stockholm Film Festival Award for Best Actress Nominated"?Volpi Cup for Best Actress
	Inhale	Diane Stanton
	Fringe	Miranda Green	TV episode"?Olivia. In the Lab. With the Revolver.
	Lily Sometimes	Clara	Pieds nus sur les limaces
2011	Unknown	Gina
	Forces spéciales	Elsa	Special forces
2012	Farewell, My Queen	Queen Marie Antoinette
	Un plan parfait	Isabelle	A perfect plan
2013	The Host	The Seeker
	Me Myself and Mum
	The Green Blade Rises	Sarah Bush Lincoln
	The Bridge	Detective Sonya Cross	TV series"?13 episodes
2014	Midnight Sun	Actress

Awards

Year	Award	Category	Work	Result
2003	Cannes Film Festival	Chopard Trophy for Female Revelation
2004	Bambi Award	Career
	Saturn Award	Best Supporting Actress	National Treasure
2010	SAG Award	Best Cast	Inglourious Basterds
	SAG Award	Best Supporting Actress	Inglourious Basterds
	Goldene Kamera	Best International Actress	Inglourious Basterds