Renette Pauline Soutendijk (born 21 May 1957), known professionally as Renée Soutendijk (Dutch pronunciation: [rəˌneː ˈsʌutə(n)dɛik]), is a Dutch actress. A gymnast in her youth, Soutendijk began her acting career in the late 1970s. She was a favorite star of director Paul Verhoeven's films, and is perhaps best known for her work in his 1980 release Spetters and 1983's The Fourth Man. Her good looks and striking blond hair secured her status as a Dutch sex symbol in the 1980s.[2][3][4]

Renée Soutendijk
Soutendijk in 1992
Born
Renette Pauline Soutendijk

(1957-05-21) 21 May 1957 (age 67)
The Hague, South Holland, Netherlands
OccupationActress
Years active1978–present
SpouseThed Lenssen[1]
Children2

Soutendijk attempted to establish herself in the United States in the late 1980s, and appeared in the science fiction film Eve of Destruction (1991). Since the 2000s she has played a number of television and stage roles, and appeared as one of the leads in the 2012 RTL 4 television series Moordvrouw. She has also had supporting roles in the American drama A Perfect Man (2013) and in Luca Guadagnino's Suspiria (2018).

Life and career

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Early life

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Soutendijk was born in The Hague, Netherlands, on 21 May 1957.[5][6] In her youth, Soutendijk was a qualifying Olympic gymnast.[7] She studied acting at the Academy for Podium Formation in The Hague.[8]

Television and film beginnings

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Soutendijk made her television debut in the Dutch television series Dagboek van een herdershond (English: Dutch the Shepherd Dog (1979–1980).[8] She began her film career playing the heroines in the Paul Verhoeven-directed cult films Spetters (1980)[9] 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,[10] and The New York Times saw her "stylish performance" of a "compelling character" as a focal point of the movie.[11] In the early 1980s, Soutendijk, Monique van de Ven, and Willeke van Ammelrooy were the three best-known actresses in Dutch cinema, and most Dutch movies featured one of the three.[1] 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.[12] From 1981 to 1989 she played in Zeg 'ns Aaa, one of the longest-running and most popular Dutch sitcoms. In 1983, Soutendijk gave birth to her first child, a daughter named Caro.[8]

 
Soutendijk and Jeroen Krabbé promoting The Fourth Man, 1983

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 (1989).[13] She sought a career in Hollywood and lived in the United States for a year and a half. She played opposite Academy Award nominee Chris Sarandon in the Holocaust-themed movie Forced March (1989), and the title character in Eve of Destruction (1991), in which she portrayed an android opposite Gregory Hines.[14]

In the late 1990s she played in another Dutch film (De Flat).[15] She also acted in German television movies (and series, including Tatort) in which, she said, she was rarely typecast and played more interesting characters.[1] In 1996, she gave birth to her son, Jaïr.[8] The films 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.[1]

2000s and later career

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Soutendijk subsequently played roles in television shows and as a stage actress, playing for instance Queen Juliana (2006)[16] and a woman dying of cancer in Margaret Edson's Wit (2010).[17][18][19] In 2011, Soutendijk was given the Rembrandt Award for her body of work.[20] That same year, news came that Soutendijk was to star in a television series for RTL 4, Moordvrouw, a police drama.[21][22] In 2018, Soutendijk had a supporting role in Luca Guadagnino's Suspiria, a reimagining of the Dario Argento film of the same name.[23]

She appeared in the 2022 photography game show Het perfecte plaatje.[24][25]

In September 2023 Soutendijk was the recipient of Golden Calf for Best Leading Role (the most important Dutch film award) for her main role in the critically acclaimed film Sweet Dreams.[26]

Filmography

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Film

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Year Title Role Notes
1978 Pastorale 1943 Marie Bovenkamp
1978 Deadly Sin [nl] Renée
1979 A Woman Like Eve Sigrid
1980 Spetters Fientje
1981 The Girl with the Red Hair Hannie Schaft
1981 The Forbidden Bacchanal [nl] Corrie
1982 Inside the Third Reich Eva Braun Television film
1982 Hedwig: The Quiet Lakes Hedwig
1983 The Fourth Man Christine Halsslag
1983 An Bloem Loedie
1984 The Cold Room Lili Television film
1984 Out of Order Marion
1985 Private Resistance Trudi
1986 Op hoop van zegen Jo
1986 Motten im Licht
1987 Scoop Ishmaelia - Kätchen
1987 The Second Victory Traudi Holzinger
1987 A Month Later Liesbeth
1987 The Madonna Man [de] Juliane Mundt
1987 Der Fall Boran (a.k.a. Boran – Zeit zum Zielen) Linda Mars
1988 King of the Olympics: The Lives and Loves of Avery Brundage Linnea Dresden Television film
1988 Wherever You Are... [pl] Nina
1989 Murderers Among Us: The Simon Wiesenthal Story Cyla Television film
1989 Forced March Myra
1989 Grave Secrets Iris Norwood
1991 Eve of Destruction Dr. Eve Simmons / Eve VIII
1991 Keeper of the City Vickie Benedetto Television film
1993 The Betrayed Olga Grond Television film
1993 Seventh Heaven Charlyne
1994 De Flat Roos Hartman
1996 The Little Riders Beatrix Hunter
1998 Hauptsache Leben Corinna
1999 Dance of the Dolphins Claire Strauss Television film
2000 Anna Wunder Sophie
2001 With Great Joy [nl] Els
2001 Hochzeit zu viert Susanne Berthold
2001 Hanna - Wo bist Du? Erika Strom Television film
2003 Eine Liebe in Afrika [de] Jane Television film
2008 Radeloos [nl] Vera Scholte
2009 Der Mann aus der Pfalz [de] Hannelore Kohl Television film
2013 A Perfect Man Martha
2018 Redbad Idwina
2018 Suspiria Miss Huller
2023 Sweet Dreams Agathe
2023 Neem Me Mee Nienke

Television

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Year Title Role Notes
1985 The Hitchhiker Sara Kendal Episode: "Murderous Feelings"
1986 Peter the Great Anna Mons Miniseries
1999 Schimanski: Sehnsucht [de] Eva Marsfeldt Episode: "Sehnsucht"
2000–2005 Tatort: Bittere Mandeln [de] Eva Maria Klein / Evelyn 2 episodes
2002 The Enclave Ilse Terhoef Miniseries
2008 S1ngle Edith 5 episodes
2008–2009 Leipzig Homicide Maja Peters 4 episodes
2009 Vienna Crime Squad Wanda Wolf Episode: "Preis der Schönheit"
2009 Ein starkes Team Katarina Kamm Episode: "Geschlechterkrieg"
2012 Van God los Ellen Episode: "D.I.S.C.O."
2012 Moordvrouw Carla Vreeswijk 50 episodes
2016–2017 Centraal Medisch Centrum Emily Zomer 16 episodes

Accolades

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Award ceremony Year Category Nominee Result Ref.
Locarno Film Festival 2023 Pardo for Best Performance Sweet Dreams Won [27]
Netherlands Film Festival 1985 Golden Calf for Best Actress Private Resistance Won [28]
2023 Golden Calf for Best Leading Role Sweet Dreams Won [29]

References

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  1. ^ a b c d Ockhuysen, Ronald (24 August 2008). "Het meisje voorbij". de Volkskrant. Retrieved 29 June 2011.
  2. ^ Sweeney, Louise (30 September 1985). "European festival splices diplomacy, fine films". Christian Science Monitor. pp. 25–26.
  3. ^ "What's On: Out of Order". The Age. 6 November 1987. Retrieved 29 June 2011. Soutendijk repris[es] her stock blonde sexpot schtick...
  4. ^ Grant, Lee (15 July 1981). "Spetters: Sexuality and Reality". Los Angeles Times. p. I1.
  5. ^ Erickson, Hal. "Renée Soutendijk Biography". Fandango. Archived from the original on 19 November 2018.
  6. ^ Skin 2004, p. 520.
  7. ^ Seattle Post-Intelligencer Staff (18 April 2004). "The Insider: It's a revival of those cool Rainier Beer ads". Seattle Post-Intelligencer. Seattle, Washington. Archived from the original on 19 November 2018.
  8. ^ a b c d Powilleit, Inga (18 June 2018). "'Ik dacht: alles heeft een reden. Totdat mijn levenslustige, sportieve zoon ineens ernstig ziek bleek te zijn'". Jan (in Dutch). Archived from the original on 19 November 2018.
  9. ^ Thomson 2008, p. 2838.
  10. ^ Kleiner, Dick (3 September 1981). "Fresh from Holland: Renee Soutendijk". Sarasota Journal. Sarasota, FL. p. 10. Retrieved 29 June 2011.
  11. ^ Forsberg, Myra (9 August 1987). "Home Video; Movies". The New York Times. Retrieved 29 June 2011.
  12. ^ Veraart, Karin (17 July 2001). "Impressies van 20 jaar film". De Volkskrant. Retrieved 29 June 2011.
  13. ^ "Murderers Among Us". Los Angeles Times. 23 April 1989. p. 7. Archived from the original on November 7, 2012. Retrieved 29 June 2011.
  14. ^ "Movies: Eve of Destruction". New York. Vol. 24, no. 3. New York Media, LLC. 21 January 1991. p. 82. ISSN 0028-7369.
  15. ^ Beerekamp, Hans (7 February 2001). "De Sterren: Reneé Soutendijk". NRC Handelsblad. Retrieved 16 April 2013.
  16. ^ Janssen, Hein (27 April 2006). "Wuivende hand op een stokje". de Volkskrant. Retrieved 29 June 2011.
  17. ^ Embrechts, Annette (20 April 2010). "Joods meisje heeft verrassend scherpzinnige kijk op het leven". de Volkskrant. Retrieved 29 June 2011.
  18. ^ "Podiumkunsten". de Volkskrant. 4 March 2010. Retrieved 29 June 2011.
  19. ^ Embrechts, Annette (10 March 2010). "Sterven zonder ontroering". de Volkskrant. Retrieved 29 June 2011.
  20. ^ "New Kids wint Rembrandt Award beste film". de Volkskrant. 28 March 2011. Retrieved 29 June 2011.
  21. ^ "Wendy van Dijk en Renée Soutendijk in nieuwe politieserie". Televizier. 27 June 2011. Archived from the original on 30 June 2011. Retrieved 29 June 2011.
  22. ^ Bakker, Arjen (28 June 2011). "Politieserie is beter dan sponsor-reisshow". Friesch Dagblad. Retrieved 29 June 2011.
  23. ^ Van Zwol, Coen (2 September 2018). "Heksenfilm 'Suspiria' is een matriarchale nachtmerrie". NRC Handelsblad (in Dutch). Archived from the original on 27 October 2018.
  24. ^ "Babette van Veen en Thomas Berge in nieuw seizoen Het Perfecte Plaatje". NU.nl (in Dutch). 20 April 2022. Retrieved 20 April 2022.
  25. ^ "Het Perfecte Plaatje maakt kandidaten zomerseizoen bekend". Televizier (in Dutch). 20 April 2022. Retrieved 20 April 2022.
  26. ^ "Sweet Dreams equals record number of Golden Calves, Soutendijk Best Leading Role". NOS. 29 September 2023. Retrieved 12 October 2023.
  27. ^ Ntim, Zac (12 August 2023). "Locarno Film Festival Winners: 'Critical Zone' By Persecuted Iranian Filmmaker Ali Ahmadzadeh Takes Top Prize". Deadline. Retrieved October 9, 2023.
  28. ^ "Renée Soutendijk wins the Golden Calf for the third time, Sweet Dreams big winner". Paudal. 29 September 2023. Retrieved October 10, 2023.
  29. ^ "Winnaars Gouden Kalveren 2023" [43rd edition of the Dutch Film Festival: Winners of the Golden Calves 2023]. Dutch Film Festival (in Dutch). 29 September 2023. Retrieved October 10, 2023.

Sources

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