Olga Kurylenko Biography

OLGA KURYLENKO

Date of Birth: November 14, 1979

Born into poverty in the Ukraine, Olga Kurylenko was brought up by her mother and grandfather. Her parents had divorced when she was a baby, and her father had left. During a trip to Moscow when she was 13, Olga and her mother were approached by a modeling agent. By the time she was 16, Olga moved to Paris and became a successful model, gracing the covers of Elle, Marie Claire and Vogue.

She eventually signed with an acting agent and made her film debut with a starring role in Diane Bertrand's L'annulaire (2005). She won the Certificate of Excellence for Best Actress at the Brooklyn International Film Festival for her work in the movie. This was followed by another lead role in Paris je t'aime (2006), a high-profile independent film in which a cooperative of acclaimed international directors told their own short stories about each district of Paris.

Also in 2006, Olga played "Sofia" in Eric Barbier's acclaimed thriller Le serpent (2006). This soon led to her first English-language role in Xavier Gens' Hitman (2007), produced by Luc Besson, in which she played opposite Timothy Olyphant and Dougray Scott.

In Max Payne (2008), she played "Natasha" opposite Mark Wahlberg. Her highest profile role to date came when she was cast as Bond girl Camille in Quantum of Solace (2008), starring Daniel Craig. She told Tribute TV that when her agent called her to tell her she'd been cast in the role, she thought he was joking and told him he wasn't funny. She went on to appear in Seven Psychopaths (2012) and Erased (2013) and more recently, played the role of Maria Veniaminovna Yudina in the dark comedy The Death of Stalin (2018), alongside Steve Buscemi. That same year, she returned to theatres in the comedy satire film Johnny English Strikes Again(2018) where she appeared alongside Rowan Atkinson.

Olga, who is twice divorced, loves old movies and served on the jury at the 2007 Brussels International Film Festival. She and former partner Max Benitz have one son, Alexander, born in 2015. She currently lives in London with Alexander and her bofriend, actor Ben Cura.

Filmography:

Johnny English Strikes Again (2018)
Mara (2018)
The Man Who Killed Don Quixote (2018)
Just a Breath Away (2018)
Gun Shy (2017)
The Death of Stalin (2018)
The Water Diviner (2014)
The November Man (2014)
Vampire Academy (2014)
Oblivion (2013)
Seven Psychopaths (2012)
To the Wonder (2012)
There Be Dragons (2011)
Centurion (2010)
Kirot (2009)
Tyranny (2008)
Quantum of Solace (2008)
Max Payne (2008)
Hitman (2007)
Le serpent (2006)
Paris, je t'aime (2006)
L'annulaire (2005)