Renée Soutendijk
Encyclopedia
Renette Pauline Soutendijk, known as Renée Soutendijk, (born May 21, 1957, in The Hague
) is a Dutch
actress. She was a favorite star of director Paul Verhoeven's films and is perhaps best known for her work in his 1980 release Spetters
. Her good looks and striking blond hair secured her status as a Dutch sex symbol
in the 1980s. She has also played a number of television and stage roles, and is one of the leads in the 2012 RTL 4
television series Moordvrouw.
(1980) and The Fourth Man
(1983). Spetters established her as a sex symbol; the movie and its star attracted attention in the United States as well, and The New York Times
saw her "stylish performance" of a "compelling character" as a focal point of the movie. In the early 1980s, Soutendijk, Monique van de Ven
, and Willeke van Ammelrooy
were the three best-known actresses in Dutch cinema, and most movies featured one of the three. The movie that marked her breakthrough as an actress in a major role, though, is considered to be The Girl with the Red Hair
(1981), in which she played Dutch resistance
fighter Hannie Schaft
. From 1981 to 1989 she played in Zeg 'ns Aaa
, one of the longest-running and most popular Dutch sitcoms.
Soutendijk's first English-language role was as Eva Braun
in the made-for-TV movie Inside the Third Reich. Her subsequent TV movie roles included Anna Mons in Peter the Great
(1986) and Mrs. Simon Wiesenthal
in Murderers Among Us (1987). She sought a career in Hollywood and lived in the United States for a year and a half, taking her six-year old daughter Caro with her but leaving her husband in Amsterdam. She played the title character in Eve of Destruction
(1991), her first American film, but returned to the Netherlands, unhappy with the prospects offered her (a seven-year contract for a Star Trek
series, she later said) and with the strain it placed on her marriage.
In the late 1990s, after another Dutch film (De Lift
) flopped, she took a break from Dutch cinema and played in German television movies (and series, including Tatort
) in which, she said, she was rarely typecast and played more interesting characters. Dial 9 and Met grote blijdschap (With Great Joy), which were both released in 2001, marked her return to the Dutch movie-screen after a four-year absence. Since 2001, Soutendijk played roles in television shows and as a stage actress, playing for instance Queen Juliana
(2006) and a woman dying of cancer in Margaret Edson
's Wit
(2010). In 2011, Soutendijk was given the Rembrandt Award
for her body of work. That same year, news came that Soutendijk was to star in a television series for RTL 4
, Moordvrouw, a police drama.
The Hague
The Hague is the capital city of the province of South Holland in the Netherlands. With a population of 500,000 inhabitants , it is the third largest city of the Netherlands, after Amsterdam and Rotterdam...
) is a Dutch
Netherlands
The Netherlands is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located mainly in North-West Europe and with several islands in the Caribbean. Mainland Netherlands borders the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east, and shares maritime borders...
actress. She was a favorite star of director Paul Verhoeven's films and is perhaps best known for her work in his 1980 release Spetters
Spetters
Spetters is a Dutch film released in 1980 directed by Paul Verhoeven.Spetters led to many protests across the board about the caricatural manner in which Verhoeven portrayed gays, Christians, the police, and the press. Although Verhoeven made one more film in the Netherlands, the response to...
. Her good looks and striking blond hair secured her status as a Dutch sex symbol
Sex symbol
A sex symbol is a celebrity of either gender, typically an actor, musician, supermodel, teen idol, or sports star, noted for their sex appeal. The term was first used in the mid 1950s in relation to the popularity of certain Hollywood stars, especially Marilyn Monroe and Brigitte...
in the 1980s. She has also played a number of television and stage roles, and is one of the leads in the 2012 RTL 4
RTL 4
RTL 4 is a commercial television station in the Netherlands. It is the most-watched commercial station in the country, popular especially with those aged between 20 and 49. The station has three sister tv channels: RTL 5, RTL 7 and RTL 8...
television series Moordvrouw.
Biography
A former gymnast, Soutendijk made her television debut in the Dutch television series Dagboek van een herdershond (1979–1980). She began her film career playing sexy blonde heroines in the Paul Verhoeven-directed cult films SpettersSpetters
Spetters is a Dutch film released in 1980 directed by Paul Verhoeven.Spetters led to many protests across the board about the caricatural manner in which Verhoeven portrayed gays, Christians, the police, and the press. Although Verhoeven made one more film in the Netherlands, the response to...
(1980) and The Fourth Man
The Fourth Man
The Fourth Man is a 1983 Dutch suspense film directed by Paul Verhoeven, based on the novel De vierde man by Gerard Reve. The film stars Jeroen Krabbé and Renée Soutendijk in the lead roles.-Plot:...
(1983). Spetters established her as a sex symbol; the movie and its star attracted attention in the United States as well, and The New York Times
The New York Times
The New York Times is an American daily newspaper founded and continuously published in New York City since 1851. The New York Times has won 106 Pulitzer Prizes, the most of any news organization...
saw her "stylish performance" of a "compelling character" as a focal point of the movie. In the early 1980s, Soutendijk, Monique van de Ven
Monique van de Ven
Monica Maria Theresia "Monique" van de Ven is a Dutch actress and director.From 1973 until 1988 she was married to Dutch cinematographer and director Jan de Bont, with whom she lived in Los Angeles for a number of years. She is now married to actor and writer Edwin de Vries.Her film debut as an...
, and Willeke van Ammelrooy
Willeke van Ammelrooy
Willy Geertje van Ammelrooij , better known as Willeke van Ammelrooy, is a Dutch actress and director. She was born in Amsterdam, Netherlands....
were the three best-known actresses in Dutch cinema, and most movies featured one of the three. The movie that marked her breakthrough as an actress in a major role, though, is considered to be The Girl with the Red Hair
The Girl with the Red Hair
The Girl with the Red Hair is a 1981 Dutch drama film directed by Ben Verbong. It was entered into the 32nd Berlin International Film Festival.-Cast:* Renée Soutendijk - Hannie Schaft* Peter Tuinman - Hugo* Loes Luca - An* Johan Leysen - Frans...
(1981), in which she played Dutch resistance
Dutch resistance
Dutch resistance to the Nazi occupation of the Netherlands during World War II can be mainly characterized by its prominent non-violence, summitting in over 300,000 people in hiding in the autumn of 1944, tended to by some 60,000 to 200,000 illegal landlords and caretakers and tolerated knowingly...
fighter Hannie Schaft
Hannie Schaft
Jannetje Johanna Schaft , was a Dutch communist resistance fighter during World War II. She became known as the girl with the red hair...
. From 1981 to 1989 she played in Zeg 'ns Aaa
Zeg 'ns Aaa
Zeg 'ns Aaa was one of the longest running and most popular Dutch sitcoms, situated in the medical practice of a female general practitioner and revolves around herself, her family and her housekeeper....
, one of the longest-running and most popular Dutch sitcoms.
Soutendijk's first English-language role was as Eva Braun
Eva Braun
Eva Anna Paula Hitler was the longtime companion of Adolf Hitler and, for less than 40 hours, his wife. Braun met Hitler in Munich, when she was 17 years old, while working as an assistant and model for his personal photographer and began seeing him often about two years later...
in the made-for-TV movie Inside the Third Reich. Her subsequent TV movie roles included Anna Mons in Peter the Great
Peter the Great (TV Series)
Peter the Great is a 1986 NBC television mini-series starring Maximilian Schell as Russian leader Peter the Great, and based on the biography by Robert K. Massie. It won three Primetime Emmy Awards, including the award for Outstanding Miniseries....
(1986) and Mrs. Simon Wiesenthal
Simon Wiesenthal
Simon Wiesenthal KBE was an Austrian Holocaust survivor who became famous after World War II for his work as a Nazi hunter....
in Murderers Among Us (1987). She sought a career in Hollywood and lived in the United States for a year and a half, taking her six-year old daughter Caro with her but leaving her husband in Amsterdam. She played the title character in Eve of Destruction
Eve of Destruction (film)
Eve of Destruction is a 1991 science fiction film about a cyborg named Eve, designed in secret by the United States military for undercover operations. The film stars Gregory Hines as Colonel Jim McQuade and Dutch actress Renée Soutendijk with the dual roles as the cyborg's creator Dr...
(1991), her first American film, but returned to the Netherlands, unhappy with the prospects offered her (a seven-year contract for a Star Trek
Star Trek
Star Trek is an American science fiction entertainment franchise created by Gene Roddenberry. The core of Star Trek is its six television series: The Original Series, The Animated Series, The Next Generation, Deep Space Nine, Voyager, and Enterprise...
series, she later said) and with the strain it placed on her marriage.
In the late 1990s, after another Dutch film (De Lift
De Lift
De Lift is a 1983 film by the Dutch director Dick Maas about a killer elevator. In 2001, an English language remake, Down, was made and was also directed by Dick Maas....
) flopped, she took a break from Dutch cinema and played in German television movies (and series, including Tatort
Tatort
Tatort is a long-running German/Austrian/Swiss , crime television series set in various parts of these countries. The show is broadcast on the channels of ARD in Germany, ORF 2 in Austria and SF1 in Switzerland...
) in which, she said, she was rarely typecast and played more interesting characters. Dial 9 and Met grote blijdschap (With Great Joy), which were both released in 2001, marked her return to the Dutch movie-screen after a four-year absence. Since 2001, Soutendijk played roles in television shows and as a stage actress, playing for instance Queen Juliana
Juliana of the Netherlands
Juliana was the Queen regnant of the Kingdom of the Netherlands between 1948 and 1980. She was the only child of Queen Wilhelmina and Prince Henry...
(2006) and a woman dying of cancer in Margaret Edson
Margaret Edson
Margaret Edson is an American playwright. She graduated with a B.A. in Renaissance History from Smith College, and received a master's in English literature from Georgetown University...
's Wit
Wit (play)
Wit is a play written by American playwright Margaret Edson. Edson used her work experience in a hospital as part of the inspiration for her play. Wit received its world premiere at South Coast Repertory, Costa Mesa, California, in 1995...
(2010). In 2011, Soutendijk was given the Rembrandt Award
Rembrandt Award
The Rembrandt Award is a Dutch film award. Initially created in 1993, it was not awarded between 1999 and 2006, but was recreated in 2007 by René Mioch. The Film Committee and Jury of the Rembrandt Awards Foundation nominates films and actors in various categories, and the Dutch public votes online...
for her body of work. That same year, news came that Soutendijk was to star in a television series for RTL 4
RTL 4
RTL 4 is a commercial television station in the Netherlands. It is the most-watched commercial station in the country, popular especially with those aged between 20 and 49. The station has three sister tv channels: RTL 5, RTL 7 and RTL 8...
, Moordvrouw, a police drama.
Filmography
- Pastorale 1943 (1978)
- Deadly Sin (1978)
- A Woman Like EveA Woman Like EveA Woman Like Eve is a 1979 Dutch film centered around a woman who leaves her husband for a lesbian relationship. The film was directed by Nouchka van Brakel; Monique van de Ven stars in the title role of Eve, with Peter Faber as her husband Ad and Maria Schneider as Liliane, who becomes Eve's lover...
(1979) - SpettersSpettersSpetters is a Dutch film released in 1980 directed by Paul Verhoeven.Spetters led to many protests across the board about the caricatural manner in which Verhoeven portrayed gays, Christians, the police, and the press. Although Verhoeven made one more film in the Netherlands, the response to...
(1980) - The Girl with the Red HairThe Girl with the Red HairThe Girl with the Red Hair is a 1981 Dutch drama film directed by Ben Verbong. It was entered into the 32nd Berlin International Film Festival.-Cast:* Renée Soutendijk - Hannie Schaft* Peter Tuinman - Hugo* Loes Luca - An* Johan Leysen - Frans...
(1981) - The Forbidden Bacchanal (1981)
- Hedwig: The Quiet Lakes (1982)
- The Fourth ManThe Fourth ManThe Fourth Man is a 1983 Dutch suspense film directed by Paul Verhoeven, based on the novel De vierde man by Gerard Reve. The film stars Jeroen Krabbé and Renée Soutendijk in the lead roles.-Plot:...
(1983) - An BloemAn BloemAn Bloem is a 1983 Dutch film directed by Peter Oosthoek....
(1983) - Out of Order (1984)
- Private Resistance (1985)
- Boran - Zeit zum Zielen (1986)
- The Second VictoryThe Second VictoryThe Second Victory is a 1986 British drama film directed by Gerald Thomas and starring Anthony Andrews, Helmut Griem and Max von Sydow....
(1986) - Op hoop van zegenOp Hoop van ZegenOp Hoop van Zegen , is a 1900 Dutch play, taking place in a fishing village, with the conflict between the fishermen and their employer ending in tragedy with the unsound boat setting out to sea and sinking with all hands and the owner pocketing the insurance money...
(1986) - Motten im Licht (1987)
- Der Madonna-Mann (1987)
- A Month Later (1987)
- Wherever You Are... (1988)
- Grave Secrets (1989)
- Forced March (1989)
- Eve of DestructionEve of Destruction (film)Eve of Destruction is a 1991 science fiction film about a cyborg named Eve, designed in secret by the United States military for undercover operations. The film stars Gregory Hines as Colonel Jim McQuade and Dutch actress Renée Soutendijk with the dual roles as the cyborg's creator Dr...
(1991) - Seventh HeavenSeventh Heaven (1993 film)Seventh Heaven or De zevende zemel is a 1993 Belgian-Dutch romantic comedy film directed by Jean-Paul Lilienfeld, based on a script by the Flemish cabaretier Urbanus. The film was a commercial failure.-Cast:*Urbanus ... Samuel...
(1993) - House Call (1994)
- De FlatDe FlatDe Flat is a 1994 Dutch mystery film directed by Ben Verbong.De Flat is a R-Rated film for nudity and strong sexuality scenes.-Plot summary:...
(1994) - Anna Wunder (2000)
- Dial 9 for Love (2001)
- With Great Joy (2001)
- De Scheepsjongens van BontekoeDe Scheepsjongens van BontekoeDe Scheepsjongens van Bontekoe is a 2007 Dutch family film, directed by Steven de Jong.The film received a Golden Film for .The film is based on the book De Scheepsjongens van Bontekoe....
(2006)