Biography
Who is Olga Kurylenko?
Early life and background
Olga Kurylenko Kostyantynivna Kurylenko was born on November 14, 1979, in Berdyansk, which was then part of the Ukrainian SSR in the Soviet Union. Her father, Konstantin Kurylenko, is Ukrainian, while her mother, Marina Alyabusheva, worked as an art teacher and exhibited artist. Her parents divorced when she was three years old, and she grew up in modest conditions with her maternal grandparents. During her childhood, she rarely had contact with her father, meeting him for the first time after the split when she was eight years old.
As a teenager, she moved away from her hometown to pursue new opportunities. At the age of fifteen, she relocated to Moscow, and by the age of sixteen, she moved to Paris. In 1996, she signed a contract with the Paris-based Madison modelling agency, where she met her publicist Valérie Rosen. By the age of eighteen, she had already appeared on the covers of prominent fashion publications like Vogue and Elle, while also supporting her mother back in Ukraine through her earnings.
Transition to acting and career highlights
After spending more than ten years in the fashion industry, Kurylenko quit modelling in 2006 to focus entirely on acting. Her feature film debut took place in the French drama The Ring Finger in 2005. She soon gained wider recognition after starring in the action thriller Hitman alongside Timothy Olyphant in 2007. Her major career breakthrough arrived when she was cast as the Bond girl Camille Montes in the 2008 James Bond film Quantum of Solace, where she acted opposite Daniel Craig.
Following her breakout role in the franchise, she maintained a busy acting schedule across various genres. She appeared in Terrence Malick's romantic drama To the Wonder in 2012, the science fiction film Oblivion with Tom Cruise in 2013, and the political satire The Death of Stalin in 2017. Her later film credits include the Marvel Cinematic Universe superhero films Black Widow and Thunderbolts*, the Netflix spy thriller miniseries Treason, and the action thriller Extraction 2.
Personal life and citizenship
Kurylenko acquired French citizenship in 2001, describing the choice as a practical decision to make traveling easier without a visa compared to using a Ukrainian passport. In 2000, she married French fashion photographer Cédric van Mol, though the couple divorced four years later. She later married American entrepreneur Damian Gabrielle in 2006, but that marriage ended in divorce the following year as well. She eventually moved to London in 2009.
In her personal life, she shares a son with her former partner, English actor and writer Max Benitz, whom she met in 2014. Throughout her career, she has balanced high-profile international film projects with her personal endeavors, maintaining a residence in London while continuing to work globally in television and cinema.
Birthday and age
Olga Kurylenko was born on November 14, 1979, which makes Olga 46 years old today. That birthday falls under the Scorpio sign. Olga shares the date with 26 other famous people.
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