Biography for
Olga Kurylenko More at IMDbPro »

Date of Birth

14 November 1979, Berdyansk, Zaporozhye Oblast, Ukrainian SSR, USSR [now Zaporizhia Oblast, Ukraine]

Birth Name

Olga Konstantinovna Kurylenko

Height

5' 9½" (1.77 m)

Mini Biography

Olga Kurylenko, a Ukrainian-born actress and model, went from sharing a cramped flat with her aunt, uncle, grandparents and cousin to starring as a Bond girl opposite Daniel Craig.

She was born Olga Konstantinovna Kurylenko on November 14, 1979, in Berdyansk, Ukraine, Soviet Union. Her mother, Marina Alyabysheva, divorced her father, Konstantin Kurylenko, soon after her birth. After the divorce her mother struggled to survive as an art teacher. Young Olga was brought up by her mother and her grandmother, Raisa. During her youth Olga had the humbling experience of living in poverty; she had no choice but to wear rags and had to darn the holes on her sweater. During her years in Ukraine she studied art and languages and spent seven years at musical school studying piano and went to a ballet studio until 13.

At age 13 Olga and her mother made a trip to Moscow. There she was spotted by an agent, who approached her at a subway station and offered her a job as a model. Initially Olga's mother was suspicious, but she eventually allowed Olga to accept training as a model in Moscow, which turned out to be a good career choice.

By age 16 she was ready for the next step. She moved to Paris, learned French in six months and was signed by the Madison agency. At age 18 she appeared on the cover of Glamour, and in short order graced the covers of Elle, Madame Figaro, Marie Claire, and Vogue. She also became the face of Lejaby lingerie, Bebe clothing, Clarins and Helena Rubinstein cosmetic companies.

In 1999 Olga married French photographer Cedric Van Mol, but divorced him 3-1/2 years later. One day Olga presented herself to an acting agency. Eventually she swapped the catwalk for the movie screen, and her acting career took off. In 2005 she made her film debut as "Iris", a sensual beauty, in The Ring Finger (2005), by director Diane Bertrand.

Olga's cinematic roles have been notably steamy, and her natural beauty and explicit nudity attracted the attention of the male audiences. She appeared opposite Elijah Wood in Paris, je t'aime (2006) and as "Sofia" in The Snake (2006), then co-starred as Russian beauty "Nika Boronina" opposite Timothy Olyphant in Hitman (2007/I). She also appears as "Mina Harud" in the indie surveillance-thriller "Tyranny" (2008) and is billed as "Camille", the Bond girl, in Quantum of Solace (2008), a sequel to Casino Royale (2006).

IMDb Mini Biography By: Steve Shelokhonov (qv's & corrections by A. Nonymous)

Spouse

Damian Gabrielle	(2006 - 2007) (divorced)
Cedric Van Mol	(2000 - 2004) (divorced)

Trivia

Trained as a model in Moscow.

Plays the piano.

Served on the jury at the 2007 Brussels International Film Festival.

Loves to see old movies.

Speaks Russian, English and French fluently.

Originally believed she had failed to impress director and producers of Quantum of Solace (2008) after her audition.

Was told she had got the part of Camille in Quantum of Solace (2008) on Christmas Eve 2007.

Trained as a ballerina in the Soviet Union (Ukrainian SSR) from ages 8 to 12 and Independent Ukraine from ages 12 to 13.

Quantum of Solace (2008) in which she starred, opened worldwide on her 29th birthday (November 14).