Carice van Houten

Carice Anouk van Houten (Dutch pronunciation: [kaˈris ˈanuk fɑn ˈhʌutɛn]; born 5 September 1976) is a Dutch stage and film actress. She won three Golden Calves for her roles in Suzy Q (1999), Undercover Kitty (2001), and Black Book (2006). Her role in Black Book launched her international career. She acted in the American films Valkyrie (2008), and Repo Men (2010).
Early life

Van Houten was born on 5 September 1976 in Leiderdorp, the Netherlands. Her mother Margje Stasse is on the board of Dutch educational TV and her father Theodore van Houten is a writer and broadcaster. She has a younger sister, Jelka van Houten, who is also an actress. She went to the St. Bonifatiuscollege (high school) in Utrecht, where she played the leading role in Hugo Claus' Tijl Uilenspieghel, directed by Ad Migchielsen. Van Houten studied at the Kleinkunstacademie in Amsterdam.
Acting career

Carice van Houten played her first leading role in Martin Koolhoven's TV film Suzy Q. Van Houten won a Golden Calf for her part as Suzy. She also won the Pisuisse Award and the Top Naeff Award for her stage acting and another Golden Calf for her part as the kitten that becomes a girl in Undercover Kitty (2001). The first time she could be seen in cinemas in the USA was when Martin Koolhoven's AmnesiA (2001) got a small theatrical release.
Van Houten won a Golden Calf for her performance as Rachel Stein in the 2006 film Black Book at the Netherlands Film Festival. Black Book's director Paul Verhoeven says about her in a television interview: "Never in my life I have worked with an actress this talented." and when he is asked to compare her with Sharon Stone he says: "Carice can really act".The international press is also enthusiastic about her role in Black Book.Dick Schümer writes in his review of the film in the Frankfurter Allgemeine that Carice van Houten is "not only more beautiful, but also a better actress than Scarlett Johansson".
In December 2006, Van Houten withdrew from a theatre production of Alex van Warmerdam due to personal reasons. According to a theatre spokesman it was because of a work overload.
Carice's first English spoken movie was Dorothy from French director Agnès Merlet.
Her performance in Black Book led to roles opposite Tom Cruise in Valkyrie and Jude Law and Forest Whitaker in Repo Men. She has acted in three movies directed by Dutch director Martin Koolhoven.
In 2008, she starred in the non-commercial short movie Zingen in het Donker, a drama on domestic violence. In January 2008, Van Houten was named Woman of the Year by New York Magazine.She appeared in the magazine Vanity Fair in the issue for March 2008, photographed by Wayne Maser.
On 4 October 2008 filming began on From Time To Time, directed by Julian Fellowes. It is based on the children’s literature classic The Chimneys of Green Knowe by Lucy M. Boston. Van Houten is attached to star as Maria Oldknow.
In April 2009 it was announced that Van Houten would star in Black Death by UK director Christopher Smith and in the highly anticipated Dutch film Love Life (Komt een vrouw bij de dokter), based on the celebrated novel of the same name by Ray Kluun. She also starred in the Science-Fiction thriller Repo Men.

She was in a relationship with actor Sebastian Koch, her co-star in Black Book.The couple announced they were separating in August 2009.
Carice has stated that Hollywood makes her unhappy: "I have seen Hollywood, and although I have nothing against it, it's not my kind of life. My agent is shocked that I want to stay in Europe", she says. "If Hollywood offers me a great part, of course I'll take it, but I just don't want to live there."

Filmography

Year Film Role Notes
1997 3 ronden Emily
1998 Ivory Guardians unknown
1999 Suzy Q Suzy Golden Calf for Best Acting in a Television Drama
2001 Storm In Mijn Hoofd Erwtenbloesem/Titania
AmnesiA Sandra
Undercover Kitty Minoes Golden Calf for Best Actress
2002 The Wild Boar Pandora
2003 Father's Affair Monika
2005 Black Swans Marleen Nominated — Golden Calf for Best Actress
Lepel Juffrouw Broer
Knetter Lis
2006 Ik Omhels Je Met 1000 Armen Samarinde
Black Book Rachel Stein/Ellis De Vries Golden Calf for Best Actress
Rembrandt Award for Best Actress
Nominated — European Film Award for Best Actress
Nominated — Saturn Award for Best Actress
Nominated — German Film Award for Best Actress
Nominated — Chicago Film Critics Association Award for Best Actress
Nominated — Online Film Critics Society Award for Best Actress
2007 Alles is Liefde Kiki Jollema Rembrandt Award for Best Actress
2008 Dorothy Mills Jane Van Dopp
Valkyrie Nina Schenk Gräfin von Stauffenberg Nominated — Saturn Award for Best Supporting Actress
2009 Komt een vrouw bij de dokter Carmen Rembrandt Award for Best Actress
From Time to Time Maria Oldknow
2010 Repo Men Carol
De Gelukkige Huisvrouw Lea
Black Death Langiva
Satisfaction pre-production
2011 Intruders
Black Butterflies Ingrid Jonker
Vivaldi Julietta

Discography

Black Book (2006)
Awards

Film Awards
Golden Calf 1999: Best TV Actress – Suzy Q
Camério (2002): Best Actress – Undercover Kitty
Golden Calf 2002: Best Actress – Undercover Kitty
Artek (2005): Best Actress – Undercover Kitty
Golden Calf 2006: Best Actress – Black Book
Rembrandt Award 2007: Best Actress – Komt een vrouw bij de dokter
Theatre Awards
Pisuisse Prize (1999)
Top Naeff Prize (2000)
Other Awards
ELLE Personal Style Award 2006