Franka Potente facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Franka Potente
Potente in 2019
Born	(1974-07-22) 22 July 1974 (age 50) Münster, North Rhine-Westphalia, West Germany
Occupation	Actress
Years active	1995–present
Spouse(s)	Derek Richardson ​ (m. 2012)​
Children	2

Franka Potente (born 22 July 1974) is a famous German actress. She started her acting career in 1995 with the comedy film After Five in the Forest Primeval. For this role, she won an award for Best Young Actress.

She became very well-known in 1998. This was when she starred in the exciting action movie Run Lola Run. This role earned her a special award for Best Actress. Franka Potente also received praise for her acting in the TV film Opernball in the same year.

After acting in many successful German movies, Franka Potente moved to Hollywood. She appeared in the crime film Blow (2001). She gained even more fame for her roles in The Bourne Identity (2002) and The Bourne Supremacy (2004). She played Tamara Bunke, a revolutionary, in Che (2008). Later, she was Anita Gregory, a psychologist, in The Conjuring 2 (2016). Some of her other notable films include Anatomy (2000) and The Princess and the Warrior (2000).

Franka Potente has also starred in many TV shows. These include Copper (2012–2013), Taboo (2017), Claws, Titans, and Echo 3. She also had important roles in American Horror Story (2012) and The Bridge (2014).

Early life and beginnings

Franka Potente was born in Münster, West Germany. She grew up in a town nearby called Dülmen. She is the older of two children. Her mother was a medical assistant, and her father was a teacher. Her last name, Potente, comes from her great-grandfather. He was from Sicily and moved to Germany in the 1800s.

When Franka was 17, she went to Humble, Texas, in the United States. She lived there for a few months as an exchange student.

Acting career highlights

Starting out in the 1990s

After finishing high school in Germany, Franka Potente studied acting. She went to the Otto Falckenberg School of Performing Arts in Munich. While still studying, she started taking acting jobs. Her first movie was a student film called Aufbruch in 1995.

A casting agent then noticed her. She got a role in the film Nach Fünf im Urwald (After Five in the Forest Primeval). She played a 17-year-old girl named Anna. Anna runs away from home looking for freedom in the city. For this role, Franka won the 1996 Bavarian Film Award for Young Talent. After this, she finished her acting training in Manhattan, New York.

Potente then returned to Europe. She worked in German and French films. Her big break came in 1998 with Lola rennt (Run Lola Run). She met the director, Tom Tykwer, in a café. He wrote the role of Lola especially for her. In the movie, Lola has to find 100,000 Deutsche Mark in just twenty minutes. She needs it to save her boyfriend's life. This movie was a huge success around the world. Critics praised her performance, calling it "heroic" and "vulnerable." After this success, she acted in Downhill City (1999) and Bin ich schön? (1999).

Success in the 2000s

Potente (left) at the 2005 Frankfurt Book Fair

In 2000, Franka Potente starred in the German horror film Anatomy. She played a medical student who discovers a secret group at a medical school. The film was very popular in Germany. Critics liked her "gutsy performance."

Also in 2000, she had the main role in The Princess and the Warrior. This movie was also directed by Tom Tykwer. She played a nurse who falls in love with a troubled former soldier. Critics liked this film too, and said Franka showed her skills as an actress. She was nominated for awards for this role.

Franka Potente became even more famous for her role in The Bourne Identity (2002). She starred alongside Matt Damon. She played Marie Kreutz, a woman who helps a man with memory loss. This film was a big hit worldwide. She later returned for the sequel, The Bourne Supremacy (2004), which was also very successful.

In 2004, she starred in the British-German horror film Creep. She played a woman trapped in the London Underground who is hunted by a killer. Her acting was praised, with one review noting she avoided typical "scream queen" roles.

In 2007, she acted in the Australian drama Romulus, My Father. This film was about a couple trying to raise their son. Franka was nominated for an award for her acting in this movie. She also appeared in the TV show The Shield and the film Eichmann (2007).

In 2008, Franka Potente played Tamara Bunke in Che. This was a movie about the revolutionary Che Guevara. She described the film as "epic" and "emotional." In 2009, she appeared in two episodes of the TV series House.

Recent roles in the 2010s and 2020s

In 2010, Franka Potente filmed Shanghai, a spy movie set in the 1940s. In 2011, she had a main role in the TV drama The Sinking of the Laconia.

In 2012, she joined the TV show American Horror Story: Asylum. She played a woman who claimed to be Anne Frank. From 2012 to 2013, she starred in the TV series Copper. In 2014, she had a role in the TV series The Bridge.

In 2016, Franka Potente appeared in the horror sequel The Conjuring 2. She played Anita Gregory, a real-life expert who investigated a famous ghost case. This film became her most-watched movie worldwide. In 2017, she had a supporting role in the BBC drama series Taboo, starring Tom Hardy.

In 2020, Franka Potente directed her first full-length movie, Home. She also wrote the story for it. In 2022, she joined the cast of Titans for its fourth season. She played the character of Mother Mayhem. In 2023, she started a voice role in the animated series Castlevania: Nocturne.

Personal life

Franka Potente married American actor Derek Richardson in 2012. They live in Los Angeles. They have two daughters, who were born in 2011 and 2013.

Filmography

Film

Television

Video games

Awards and nominations

See also

In Spanish: Franka Potente para niños