Diane Kruger

Modelling

Kruger, then 15 years old, entered the Elite Model Look national competition in 1992 in Hamburg and won first prize,^[5][16] the Look of the Year Modelling Award.^[1][17][18] The reward was an "entry ticket" into professional modelling from Elite Model Management, as well as a Vespa.^[5] She then represented Germany^[11] at the Elite's Look of the Year competition, held in New York that same year and hosted by Donald Trump.^[19] Kruger moved to Paris, France, on her own at the age of 15.^[1][9] At Elite Model Management, she requested to have her test shoots done based on what she had seen in a magazine.^[5] She signed with Elite modelling agency.^[1]

Despite her relatively short stature for a model,^[11] Kruger rapidly made a name for herself,^[1] being hired for advertisements by 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; and appearances on the cover of Vogue Paris, Marie Claire, and Cosmopolitan to her modelling repertoire.^[20] In the 1990s, Kruger lived near the Tuileries in Paris, in a building intended for models, rented by the agency.^[1] She went "from photo shoots to fashion shows and from cocktails to parties, from the Bains Douches to Queens" during a period that was "joyful".^[1] She met German fashion designer Karl Lagerfeld during a photo shoot for Elle magazine at her apartment on rue de l'Université in Paris.^[5] Kruger became and remained close to Lagerfeld.^[1][21]

Kruger subsequently moved to the United States and settled in New York.^[9] In 1997, at the age of 21, she felt bored after five years of modelling and, in conjunction with a romantic disappointment with the man she was dating, left New York.^[9] She returned to Paris and gave up her apartment while she was "at the height of her modelling career", wrote Noam Friedlander of The Daily Telegraph.^[9] As she gradually stepped away from modelling in the late 1990s, a new era began, saying: "You had to be very thin, the dresses were dreary".^[1]

Acting

Kruger was 17 years old and not yet fluent in French when filmmaker Luc Besson auditioned her for a role in The Fifth Element. Although she was not selected for a role, Besson nonetheless advised her to enrol at the Cours Florent drama school.^[13][22]

Back in Paris,^[9] Kruger met French actor Guillaume Canet in 1999, who encouraged her to take a theatre course to assess her abilities as a potential actress, she later said.^[23] She then enrolled at the Cours Florent drama school,^[22][23] where she would remain for the next two years.^[9] Kruger discovered her calling at the Cours Florent.^[23] Being an actress was the next apparent step, allowing her to do more concrete and tangible work than modelling while continuing to travel.^[6]

She made her film debut in 2002, opposite Dennis Hopper and Christopher Lambert in The Piano Player, a TV film by Jean-Pierre Roux. The same year, she also starred in her then-husband's directorial debut, Mon Idole.^[6][24]

She played Julie Wood in 2003's Michel Vaillant 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. 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 films Joyeux Noël (2005) and Copying Beethoven (2006).^{[citation needed]} She reprised her role as Dr. Abigail Chase in National Treasure: Book of Secrets, released in December 2007.^{[citation needed]}

In 2009, Kruger co-starred as a German actress turned Allied spy in Quentin Tarantino's film Inglourious Basterds. 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.^[25]

Kruger played Anna in Jaco Van Dormael's Mr. Nobody. Critical response has praised the film's artistry and Kruger's acting.^[26] Kruger made a cameo appearance in an April 2010 episode of the Fox show Fringe, in which her former boyfriend, actor Joshua Jackson, starred. In 2010, Kruger also appeared in Mark Ronson's music video for "Somebody to Love Me", where she plays Boy George.^[27]

In the 2011 film Unknown, Kruger starred as Gina, a Bosnian undocumented immigrant, and key character alongside leading actor Liam Neeson.^[28] It was also announced in 2011 that Kruger had replaced Eva Green in the role of Marie Antoinette in the French-language film, Les Adieux à la Reine.^[29]

She starred in the film adaptation of Stephenie Meyer's novel The Host, which was released in March 2013.^[30] Kruger also portrayed El Paso, Texas, police officer Sonya Cross on FX's The Bridge, which aired in 2013.^[31] In 2016, she co-starred in The Infiltrator with Bryan Cranston and John Leguizamo.^{[citation needed]}

In 2017, Kruger made a rare film appearance in Germany in the thriller In the Fade by Fatih Akin, for which she won several awards. In 2019, Kruger replaced Marion Cotillard in the spy movie The 355,^[32] playing a BND agent.^[33]

In 2019, Kruger starred in the spy-thriller The Operative with Martin Freeman.^[34]

In 2022, Kruger starred in the thriller Out of the Blue, opposite Ray Nicholson, son of Jack. The following year, she joined the cast of David Cronenberg's The Shrouds, replacing Léa Seydoux, portraying three different characters in the film.^[35]

Other activities

Kruger was the hostess of the opening and closing ceremonies of the 2007 Cannes Film Festival.^[36][37] She was a member of the jury for the main competition at the 58th Berlin International Film Festival in 2008, chaired by Costa Gavras;^[38] the 2012 Cannes Film Festival, chaired by Nanni Moretti;^[39] and the 2015 Venice Film Festival, chaired by Alfonso Cuaron.^[40] In 2025, she served as president of the jury at the 18th Angoulême Francophone Film Festival (FFA).^[41]

Film

Television