A European Union of Actresses
by sabercro | created - 15 Jan 2011 | updated - 20 Jun 2020 | PublicOne actress from each of the 27 countries in the European Union. The UK, previously represented by Jenny Agutter, has now been removed.
1. Hedy Lamarr
Actress | Samson and Delilah
Hedy Lamarr, the woman many critics and fans alike regard as the most beautiful ever to appear in films, was born Hedwig Eva Maria Kiesler in Vienna, Austria. She was the daughter of Gertrud (Lichtwitz), from Budapest, and Emil Kiesler, a banker from Lemberg (now known as Lviv). Her parents were ...
Austria. Honourable mentions to Romy Schneider and Sybil Danning (who is actually American, but born in Austria).
2. Cécile de France
Actress | L'auberge espagnole
Cecile de France was born in Namur in Belgium in 1975 and discovered her vocation at the early age of six. As soon as she was seventeen, she was off to Paris with the ambition of beginning a career on the stage. She studied drama with Jean-Paul Denizon, actor and assistant to Peter Brook, before ...
Belgium. Honourable mention to Natacha Amal.
3. Nina Dobrev
Actress | The Perks of Being a Wallflower
Nina Dobrev is a Bulgarian-born Canadian actress. Her best-known television roles are Mia Jones in Degrassi: The Next Generation (2001) and Elena Gilbert and Katherine Pierce on The Vampire Diaries (2009). Her film work includes The Perks of Being a Wallflower (2012), Let's Be Cops (2014), The ...
Bulgaria.
4. Mira Furlan
Actress | Babylon 5
A leading actress of theatre, film and TV in the former Yugoslavia, Mira Furlan emigrated to the U.S. with her husband, Goran Gajic, in November 1991, due to the intolerable political circumstances in her homeland. Ms. Furlan starred in the Warner Brothers TV series Babylon 5 (1993) as "Ambassador ...
Croatia
5. Karolina Kurkova
Actress | G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra
Karolina Kurkova is a supermodel best known for her work as a Victoria's Secrets lingerie model. She has appeared in nine Victoria's Secret Fashion shows between 2000 and 2010 and was named a Victoria's Secret Angel in 2005. She has graced the covers of such notable fashion magazines as Vogue, Elle...
Czech Republic.
6. Melinda McGraw
Actress | Mad Men
Melinda McGraw is a classically trained actress known for her range, playing a wide variety of roles in comedy and drama alike. Ms. McGraw grew up in the Boston area and was a member of the Boston Children's Theater. She attended Bennington College briefly until she was accepted at the Royal ...
Cyprus.
7. Connie Nielsen
Actress | Gladiator
Connie Nielsen is set to begin production on Ridley Scott's "Gladiator 2," where she will star alongside Paul Mescal and Denzel Washington, reprising her iconic role of 'Lucilla' from the Academy Award-winning film "Gladiator." She appears in Ava Duvernay's feature, "Origin," based on the book by ...
Denmark. Honourable mentions to Brigitte Nielsen and Emilie Ullerup.
8. Helena-Reet Ennet
Self | Expedition Robinson
Helena-Reet Ennet was born on August 20, 1978 in Tallinn, Estonian SSR, USSR [now Estonia].
Estonia
9. Maila Nurmi
Actress | Vampira
The original glamour ghoul herself, "Vampira", of late night 1950s television, was actually born Maila Syrjäniemi (later changed to the easier surname Nurmi) on December 11, 1922 in Gloucester, Massachusetts (not Finland as she often claimed). Her uncle was the multiple Olympic medal runner Paavo ...
Finland. Honourable mention to Anna Easteden.
10. Sophie Marceau
Actress | La boum
Sophie Marceau was born Sophie Danièle Sylvie Maupu in Paris, France, to Simone (Morisset), a shop assistant, and Benoît Maupu, a truck driver. She grew up far from the studio spotlights. When she was 14 she was living in the Paris suburb of Gentilly with her father. She learned from friends that ...
France. Honourable mentions to Carole Bouquet, Catherine Deneuve, Mélanie Laurent, Isabelle Adjani, Virginie Ledoyen, Hélène de Fougerolles and Géraldine Pailhas amongst many others.
11. Nastassja Kinski
Actress | Tess
Nastassja Kinski was born Nastassja Aglaia Nakszynski on January 24, 1961 in Berlin, Germany, the daughter of German actor Klaus Kinski. In 1976, she met director Roman Polanski, who urged her to study method acting with Lee Strasberg in the United States. Kinski starred in the Italian romantic ...
Germany. Honourable mentions to Simone Signoret , Diane Kruger, Franka Potente, Elke Sommer and Marlene Dietrich.
12. Melina Mercouri
Actress | Pote tin Kyriaki
Melina Mercouri was born in Athens, Greece on October 18, 1920. An early woman activist, she was elected to the Greek Parliament in 1977. Later Miss Mercouri was to become the first woman to hold a Senior cabinet post "Minister of Culture" in the Greek government. In 1971 she wrote her ...
Greece.
13. Zsa Zsa Gabor
Actress | A Nightmare on Elm Street 3: Dream Warriors
Undoubtedly the woman who had come to epitomize what we recognize today as "celebrity," Zsa Zsa Gabor, is better known for her many marriages, personal appearances, her "dahlink" catchphrase, her actions, gossip, and quotations on men, rather than her film career.
Zsa Zsa was born as Sári Gabor on ...
Hungary
14. Maureen O'Hara
Actress | The Quiet Man
In America, the early performing arts accomplishments of young Maureen FitzSimons (who we know as Maureen O'Hara) would definitely have put her in the child prodigy category. However, for a child of Irish heritage surrounded by gifted parents and family, these were very natural traits. Maureen made...
Ireland. Honourable mentions to Dervla Kirwan, Maureen O'Sullivan and Alison Doody.
15. Monica Bellucci
Actress | Malèna
Monica Anna Maria Bellucci was born on September 30, 1964 in the Italian village of Città di Castello, Umbria, the only child of Brunella Briganti and Pasquale Bellucci. She originally pursued a career in the legal profession. While attending the University of Perugia, she modeled on the side to ...
Italy. Honourable mentions to Sophia Loren, Asia Argento, Isabella Rossellini, Ornella Muti and Greta Scacchi.
16. Ksenia Solo
Actress | Black Swan
Ksenia Solo is a Latvian-Canadian actress. She was born in Riga, Latvia in to an artistic family. She is a recipient of many prestigious Canadian awards, including 3 Gemini Awards and a nominee of the first ever Canadian Screen Awards. Ksenia was the youngest actor in Canadian television history to...
Latvia.
17. Agnia Ditkovskyte
Actress | Zhara
Agnia Ditkovskyte was born on May 11, 1988 in Vilnius, Lithuanian SSR, USSR. She is an actress, known for Zhara (2006), Hooked (2009) and Rejection (2009). She was previously married to Aleksey Chadov.
Lithuania.
18. Désirée Nosbusch
Actress | Bad Banks
Désirée Nosbusch has been a successful and internationally acclaimed actress and television host for over 30 years. Born in Luxembourg, she started her career hosting a radio show for Radio Luxembourg at the age of 12. At the age of 14 she became the first youth television host in German television...
Luxembourg
19. Roberta Angelica
Actress | The Boondock Saints
Roberta Angelica was born in Malta. She is known for The Boondock Saints (1999), Cypher (2002) and Repo! The Genetic Opera (2008).
Malta.
20. Carice van Houten
Actress | Game of Thrones
One of Europe's most celebrated actresses, Carice van Houten is perhaps best known as 'Melisandre' in the iconic TV show Game of Thrones, a performance for which she has been recognized with an Emmy Award nomination in 2019. Other projects include Paul Verhoeven's award-winning Black Book and Bryan...
Netherlands. Honourable mentions to Famke Janssen and Sylvia Kristel.
21. Joanna Pacula
Actress | Tombstone
Joanna Pacula was born on December 30, 1957 in Tomaszów Lubelski, Lubelskie, Poland. She is an actress, known for Tombstone (1993), Gorky Park (1983) and The Kiss (1988).
Poland. Honourable mentions to Izabella Scorupco and Izabella Miko.
22. Maria de Medeiros
Actress | Pulp Fiction
Maria de Medeiros is the oldest of three daughters by the pianist, maestro and composer António Vitorino D'Almeida and Maria Armanda Esteves. Her sisters are Inês de Medeiros, stage actress and film and stage director and Ana Medeiros, violinist, composer, and music teacher.
Studied at Lycée ...
Portugal. Honourable mention to Carmen Miranda.
23. Alexandra Maria Lara
Actress | Der Untergang
Born on 12 November 1978 in Bucharest, Romania, Alexandra Maria Lara fled to Germany with her parents when she was four and half years old. After graduating at the French High School, she studied acting at the Theaterwerkstatt Charlottenburg from 1997 and 2000, but had already played leading ...
Romania. Honourable mention to Medeea Marinescu.
24. Barbora Bobulova
Actress | Cuore sacro
Born in Martin, Czechoslovakia (now Slovakia) in 1974, Barbora Bobulova graduated from the Academy of Dramatic Arts of Bratislava and briefly studied in New York before moving to Italy in the mid-1990s. Her first major role was in Marco Bellocchio's The Prince of Homburg (1997) but her breakthrough...
Slovakia.
25. Tina Mayer
Actress | Gangster Squad
Tina Mayer was born on March 25, 1975 in Ljubljana, Slovenia. She is an actress, known for Gangster Squad (2013), L.A. Noire (2011) and Tango Changes Everything (2014).
Slovenia.
26. Penélope Cruz
Actress | Vicky Cristina Barcelona
Known outside her native country as the "Spanish enchantress", Penélope Cruz Sánchez was born in Madrid to Eduardo Cruz, a retailer, and Encarna Sánchez, a hairdresser. As a toddler, she was already a compulsive performer, re-enacting TV commercials for her family's amusement, but she decided to ...
Spain. Honourable mention to Elsa Pataky.
27. Ingrid Bergman
Actress | Casablanca
Ingrid Bergman was one of the greatest actresses from Hollywood's lamented Golden Era. Her natural and unpretentious beauty and her immense acting talent made her one of the most celebrated figures in the history of American cinema. Bergman is also one of the most Oscar-awarded actresses, tied with ...
Sweden. Honourable mentions to Maud Adams, Britt Ekland , Greta Garbo, Lena Olin and Ann-Margret.
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