Diane Kruger

Diane Kruger (born  Diane Heidkrüger, 15 July 1976) is a German actress and former fashion model. She is known for roles such as  Helen in  Troy, Dr. Abigail Chase in  National Treasureand  its sequel, Bridget von Hammersmark in  Inglourious Basterds, Anna in  Mr. Nobody, and Gina in  Unknown.

Early life
She was born as Diane Heidkrüger in Algermissen, Germany, near Hildesheim, the daughter of computer specialist Hans-Heinrich Heidkrüger, and his wife, Maria-Theresa, a bank employee. She was raised Roman Catholic and attended Catholic school. She has stated that one of her grandmothers was Polish.

She was raised in Germany with her younger brother, Stefan. Her mother sent her to student exchange programs when she was a teenager to improve her English. As a child, Kruger wanted to become a ballerina and successfully auditioned for the Royal Ballet School in London. However, after an injury ended her ballet career prematurely, Kruger moved to Paris and turned her energy toward modeling and learning French.

Modeling
In 1992, Kruger represented Germany in the Elite Model Look and started modeling afterwards. Despite her relatively small frame for a model, she managed to add prestigious bookings such as advertisements from Yves Saint Laurent, Chanel, Salvatore Ferragamo, Giorgio Armani, Jil Sander, Christian Dior, Burberry, and Louis Vuitton; runway shows from Marc Jacobs,D&G, and Sonia Rykiel as well as appearances on the cover of Vogue Paris, Marie Claire and Cosmopolitan to her modeling repertoire. She gradually stopped modeling after deciding to pursue a career in acting.