Carice van Houten facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Carice van Houten
Van Houten in 2015
Born	Carice Anouk van Houten (1976-09-05) 5 September 1976 (age 48) Leiderdorp, Netherlands
Occupation	Actress
Years active	1997–present
Partner(s)	Sebastian Koch (2005–2009) Guy Pearce (2015–2025)
Children	1
Parent(s)	Theodore van Houten Margje Stasse
Relatives	Jelka van Houten (sister)

Carice Anouk van Houten (born on September 5, 1976) is a famous actress from the Netherlands. She first became well-known for her main role in the TV movie Suzy Q in 1999. For this role, she won an award called the Golden Calf. Two years later, she won another Golden Calf for Best Actress for her role in Miss Minoes (2001).

She became even more famous for her acting in Black Book (2006). This movie was the most successful Dutch film at the time. She won her second Golden Calf for Best Actress for this film. She also received nominations from other important film groups. She was nominated for a Saturn Award for her role in Valkyrie (2008). She won two more Golden Calf Awards for Best Actress for The Happy Housewife (2010) and Black Butterflies (2011).

Carice van Houten also acted in several English-language movies. These include Repo Men (2010), Black Death (2010), and Brimstone (2016). She gained international fame for playing Melisandre in the TV show Game of Thrones (2012–2019). For this role, she was nominated for two Screen Actors Guild Awards and a Primetime Emmy Award.

Early Life and Education

Carice van Houten was born in Leiderdorp, a town in the Netherlands. When she was growing up, she enjoyed watching silent films. She once said she liked acting in scenes without talking. Carice has a younger sister named Jelka van Houten, who is also an actress. Her grandmother on her father's side was Scottish.

Carice went to high school at St. Bonifatiuscollege in Utrecht. There, she played the main character in a play called Tijl Uilenspieghel. She then studied acting for a short time at the Maastricht Academy of Dramatic Arts. After one year, she continued her acting training at the Kleinkunstacademie in Amsterdam.

Acting Career Highlights

Carice van Houten in 2013

Carice van Houten got her first main role in a TV movie called Suzy Q. She won a Golden Calf award for her acting in this film. She also won other awards for her stage performances. She received another Golden Calf for her role in Miss Minoes (2001). In this movie, she played a kitten that turns into a woman. Her first movie shown in U.S. cinemas was AmnesiA (2001).

In 2006, Carice won a Golden Calf for her role as Rachel Stein in Black Book. The director of Black Book, Paul Verhoeven, praised her acting skills. He said he had never worked with such a talented actress. The international news also spoke highly of her performance in the movie.

In 2008, she acted in a short film called Zingen in het donker (Singing in the dark). This film was about domestic violence. She also appeared in Vanity Fair magazine in March 2008. She had a role in the movie Body of Lies with Leonardo DiCaprio, but her scenes were not in the final movie.

In 2009, it was announced that Carice would star in Black Death. This film was directed by Christopher Smith. She also acted in the Dutch film Komt een vrouw bij de dokter (Stricken). She also appeared in the science fiction movie Repo Men.

International Recognition

In 2011, Carice van Houten was chosen to play Melisandre in Game of Thrones. This is a popular fantasy TV series from HBO. Her acting in this role earned her much praise. She was nominated for a Primetime Emmy Award in 2019 for her final performance as Melisandre. She also received three nominations for the Screen Actors Guild Award. These nominations were for her excellent performance as part of the show's cast.

In 2012, Carice appeared in a music video for Antony and the Johnsons. The video was called "Cut the world." It also featured actors Willem Dafoe and Marina Abramović.

In 2019, Carice van Houten starred in the movie Instinct. In this film, she played a prison therapist. The movie was shown at the Locarno Film Festival and won an award. It was also chosen as the Dutch entry for the Best International Feature Film at the Academy Awards. Critics said her performance was "electrifying."

She also narrated the Dutch version of Steve McQueen's 2023 film De Bezette Stad (Occupied City).

Personal Life and Interests

Carice van Houten was in a relationship with Australian actor Guy Pearce. They met while working on the movie Brimstone in 2015. In August 2016, they had a son named Monte Pearce. In 2025, Carice shared that she and Guy Pearce had not been a couple for several years. Before Guy Pearce, she dated German actor Sebastian Koch. They met on the set of the 2006 film Black Book.

Carice van Houten can speak several languages. She speaks Dutch, English, German, and French.

She has said that she does not want to live in Hollywood. She prefers to stay in Europe. She mentioned that if Hollywood offers her a great role, she would take it. However, she does not wish to live there permanently.

Carice has been good friends with fellow Dutch actress Halina Reijn since 1994. They have worked together in movies like Black Book and Valkyrie. In 2013, they wrote a book together called Anti Glamour. This book was a fun look at their friendship and the less glamorous parts of their lives as actresses.

Carice van Houten is a big fan of the comedy duo Laurel and Hardy. In 2016, she even called into a radio show to talk about how much she loved them.

In 2023, she was arrested during climate protests in The Hague, Netherlands. She was protesting with a group called Extinction Rebellion. She was later released. She supports making "ecocide" a crime. This means harming the environment in a big way should be against the law. She believes we need to protect Earth's ecosystems.

In August 2023, Carice supported "Operation Identify Me." This project helps identify unknown females found in Western Europe. Many of these women were victims of violent crimes.

Filmography

Television Roles

Carice van Houten in 2019

Music and Discography

Carice van Houten has also shown her talent in music.

• Black Book (soundtrack) (2007) - She sang on four songs for this movie.
• See You on the Ice (2012) - This is her full music album. It was produced by JB Meijers.
• "Fear Not" (2015) - This was a single song she released with Michael Prins.
• Once Upon a Time in Shaolin (2015) - She was part of this album by the Wu-Tang Clan.
• Bobbie Gentry's The Delta Sweete Revisited (2019) - She sang on the song "Parchman Farm" for this album by Mercury Rev.

Awards and Nominations

See also

In Spanish: Carice van Houten para niños