Olga Kurylenko biography, photos, personal life, height and weight, age 2025

Olga Kurylenko Biography

Olga Konstantinovna Kurylenko is a Franco-Ukrainian model and actress who conquered Hollywood and the world. She's starred alongside Ben Affleck in the drama "To the Wonder," with Daniel Craig in "Quantum of Solace," with Tom Cruise in "Oblivion," with Rowan Atkinson in "Johnny English Strikes Again," with Antonio Banderas in "The Hitman's Bodyguard," with Pierce Brosnan in "The November Man," and with Russell Crowe in "The Water Diviner." And that's far from a complete list of her major film projects partnering with A-list stars.

The stunning Ukrainian has graced the covers of leading magazines including Glamour, Elle, Marie Claire, Madame Figaro, and Vogue, and became the face of Kenzo, Clarins, Bebe, Helena Rubinstein, as well as the Her Secret Temptation fragrance from Antonio Banderas's perfume brand.

She's a Brooklyn Film Festival award winner for her confident debut in the French adaptation of Yoko Ogawa's Japanese novel "The Housekeeper and the Professor," a Boston Society of Film Critics Award recipient for "Seven Psychopaths," and has earned nominations for several film prizes, including the British Empire Award and the American Saturn Award.

Childhood

The future star was born on November 14, 1979, in Berdyansk, a city on the shores of the Sea of Azov in Ukraine, which was then part of the USSR. Her father, Konstantin, was Ukrainian, while her mother, Marina (née Alyabysheva), was a Siberian of Russian-Belarusian descent from the Irkutsk region.

The couple separated when their only daughter was barely 3 years old. The girl stayed with her mother, a school teacher. Initially, her mom taught elementary classes, then art, but earned a modest salary that barely covered their needs. Often, their table only had potatoes and vegetables.

Olga Kurylenko's childhood was extremely busy

They also lived in very cramped conditions, sharing one apartment with grandmother, grandfather, uncle, aunt, and Olya's cousin. That's why the successful actress's life story is often called a real-life Cinderella tale.

Her father, who worked as a dancer and wrote poetry, rarely communicated with his daughter – she saw him for the first time since the divorce when she was 8 years old. They wouldn't meet again until five years later, in 1992.

From an early age, she got used to having her days packed to the limit. Her mother was such a huge art enthusiast that she couldn't help but enroll her daughter in every studio available in the city. Olya attended ballet, art, and music school (piano class), fortunately most activities were free back then.

She started studying English at seven, joined drama club at ten, and wanted to take karate to learn self-defense, but her mother wouldn't allow it, saying "that's not for girls." If not for an unfortunate injury, the talented dancer might have become a ballerina. At one point, she also wanted to become a doctor like her grandmother. But life had other plans.

The Start of Her Modeling Career

As a reward for good grades, Olga's mother would take her to major cities - to wander through museums, see the Hermitage, the Kremlin, and buy beautiful new clothes. At 12, they visited St. Petersburg, and a year later - Moscow. There, at one of the metro stations, an amazing encounter happened that would completely change the young beauty's life.

The first model tests of 15-year-old Olga Kurylenko

She caught the attention of a female scout from an international modeling agency, who offered her a chance to try modeling. However, the test photoshoot had to be postponed when the scout learned that this girl with flawless looks and stunning long hair that reached her waist was only 13 years old.

But she didn't miss her chance - two years later, she moved to Moscow, successfully passed the selection process, and enrolled in modeling school. At 16, the determined small-town girl headed off to work in Paris. It was actually her first time ever on an airplane. Just a year later, in 1996, she landed the coveted contract with the Parisian agency Madison.

The Path to Success

Life wasn't easy for the aspiring model in the French capital - the winds of change were so strong that she not only had to stay on her feet but also learn everything incredibly fast, including the language. At first, she was terribly homesick, cried into her pillow, and kept a diary, but her difficult childhood had toughened her character, and she persevered. Paris would later become her favorite city on Earth.

Olga Kurylenko at the beginning of her career

She worked incredibly hard, practically without days off, didn't waste time on all-night parties, and never turned down even the most challenging photo shoots. For instance, she once participated in a shoot with a boa constrictor while being practically naked. The stylist, who was afraid of snakes, refused to even come near her to touch up her makeup and hair, while the snake handler advised her to scream loudly if the boa started tightening its deadly embrace. Fortunately, everything went fine.

Olga Kurylenko's photo shoot with a boa constrictor

Within a couple of years, thanks to her hard work and determination, the Ukrainian beauty had mastered French and English perfectly, along with the art of stylish dressing. She didn't forget about the most important trend - her inner world: she absorbed culture by reading good books, visiting museums and exhibitions, and increasingly began appearing on the covers of glamorous magazines like Elle and Vogue.

She also became the "face" of several leading fashion brands, worked as a model for Roberto Cavalli and Kenzo, her photos were featured in Victoria's Secret catalogs and even appeared on billboards in New York. In 1998, Olga appeared in a music video for Franco-Algerian singer and actor Fodil Belloufa's song "Tellement Je T'aime."

Film Roles

By 1999, Olga had reached new heights as a successful and in-demand model, but fresh ambitions were stirring. With her 30th birthday approaching, she was all too aware of how fleeting modeling careers can be – how the industry's doors can slam shut overnight when trends shift toward completely different body types or faces in advertising campaigns. So she decided to pivot and try her hand at filmmaking. While making the rounds at auditions, she also started taking acting classes.

After 30, Olga decided to retrain as an actress

In 2001, she landed a small role as Carol in the Canadian series "Largo," and in 2005 played the mysterious beauty Iris in the French film "The Ring Finger." While the movie didn't make much of a splash, her acting debut earned positive recognition at the Brooklyn Film Festival – she took home the award for "Best Actress."

A year later, three film projects featuring Olga were released. These included the anthology film "Paris, je t'aime," where she played a vampire opposite Elijah Wood, known from The Lord of the Rings trilogy, as well as the comedy "The Ring Finger," where her co-stars were Atmen Kelif and Pascal Elbe, and the thriller "The Serpent" with renowned French actor Ivan Attal.

In 2007, the actress landed the lead female role as Russian prostitute Nika in the action film "Hitman," a movie adaptation of the popular video game series about Agent 47 (Timothy Olyphant), hired to assassinate Russian President Belicoff (Ulrich Thomsen). That same year, she appeared as Eva in the French detective miniseries "Dangerous Secrets."

In 2008, the noir-style action film "Max Payne" hit theaters, based on the video game. She played another sultry beauty, drug addict Natasha, while her character's sister, gangster Mona, was portrayed by another Ukrainian-born star Mila Kunis.

That same year, the actress managed to land the role of Agent 007's girl in the iconic film "Quantum of Solace," directed by Marc Forster and featuring Ian Fleming's James Bond character. She was chosen from over 400 candidates for the role, including Israeli star Gal Gadot. In the film, Olga appeared as a Bolivian secret service agent, so she had to learn Spanish, train at the gym until her muscles ached, master numerous stunts, and learn to shoot a rifle without blinking (which is surprisingly difficult).

In 2008 Olga Kurylenko became a Bond girl

After the film's release, the actress instantly became a global movie star. Top Hollywood directors began offering her collaborations. She appeared on the cover of Maxim magazine's December issue in Germany and the US, as well as February's issue in her homeland, then received an invitation to be a guest, along with her mother, of then-First Lady Ekaterina Yushchenko at the Ukrainian president's country house.

Around the same time, the drama "The Ring Finger" and thriller "The Wall" premiered, where she played roles as Russian prostitutes. But a special place among the actress's work from that period belongs to the historical adventure film "Centurion," about events that took place in 117 AD during the Roman conquest of Britain.

She brilliantly performed one of the key roles as Etain, a fearless warrior girl from a Celtic tribe. As a child, she was raped by Romans who cut out her tongue and killed her entire family. She hated the conquerors and led the legendary IX Spanish Legion into a trap set by the Scottish people, where it was completely destroyed. The film's English director Neil Marshall called her character "the embodiment of vengeance for the Romans."

In 2010, Kurylenko's portfolio also included the American TV series "Tyranny" and the epic Chinese 3D film "Deep Sea Empire," where she played the role of a mermaid queen who served as protector of the world's oceans and love interest to a young man. But as of December 2019, the film still hadn't been released.

A year later, in the British drama "There Be Dragons," Olga embodied the image of brave Hungarian revolutionary Ildiko, ready to fight for her beliefs even when others disagreed, and also played the title role of Anna in the Franco-Ukrainian film "The Land of Oblivion," which told the story of a difficult woman's fate against the backdrop of the Chernobyl tragedy.

Among the projects featuring the actress that came out in 2012 was the action-packed thriller "The Expatriate" (also known as "Erased"). At the center of its plot is the story of ex-CIA agent Ben (Aaron Eckhart), who discovers that all information about his existence has been destroyed and uncovers a conspiracy involving illegal arms trafficking. Olga's character led the CIA team pursuing him. But after the kidnapping of a former colleague's daughter, she decides to help save her.

Olga Kurylenko in the movie 'The Expatriate'

At the same time, fans of Kurylenko's talent could see her in one of the leading roles in the American dramatic TV series "Magic City," in the criminal black comedy "Seven Psychopaths," which earned an award from Boston film critics in the "Best Ensemble Cast" category, and in the romantic melodrama "To the Wonder." In it, she played the seductive eccentric Marina, a divorced Ukrainian with a 10-year-old daughter. She was met and loved in Paris by American Neil (Ben Affleck), but after moving to the US, their passionate romance cools off.

A shot from the movie 'Seven Psychopaths'

In 2013, Olga played one of the key roles, Julia, wife of astronaut-technician and former marine Jack (Tom Cruise) in Joseph Kosinski's famous sci-fi action film "Oblivion," based on the graphic novel of the same name written by the director himself. Their co-stars on set included such movie stars as Morgan Freeman, Andrea Riseborough, and Nikolaj Coster-Waldau.

'Oblivion': Olga Kurylenko and Tom Cruise

The actress's next film role was as the director of a vampire magic training institution in the horror comedy "Vampire Academy," released in 2014. Her co-stars included Danila Kozlovsky, Zoey Deutch, and Lucy Fry. The film flopped at the box office, earning $15.4 million against a $30 million budget.

But box office receipts from the next film featuring her in the lead female role of Fournier in "The November Man," directed by Roger Donaldson and based on Bill Granger's novel "There Are No Spies," doubled the budget ($33.6 million against a $15 million spend). This time her star partners on set were Pierce Brosnan and Luke Bracey.

'The November Man': Olga Kurylenko as Alice

Russell Crowe entrusted the central role to the Franco-Ukrainian star in his drama "The Water Diviner," which marked his directorial debut (and he cast Kurylenko without an audition). Crowe himself played one of the key roles – an Australian farmer who travels to Turkey shortly after World War I searching for his three sons. He'd received news of their deaths four years earlier, and after his wife (Jacqueline McKenzie) took her own life from grief, he decided to bring their bodies home to bury them beside their mother.

The actress learned Turkish for the role and transformed into Ayshe, the owner of an Istanbul hotel where the farmer stays. She'd also suffered because of the war – losing her husband. Learning about his mission, the woman tries to help the Australian in his search for his children. He manages to find the graves of two sons and free his wounded third son from captivity, who fortunately turns out to be alive. How could Ayshe not fall for such a man?

60 Seconds With...Olga Kurylenko

In 2015, the actress landed another leading role. She played Katya, the former lover of central character Mambrú (Benicio del Toro) in Spanish director Fernando León de Aranoa's comedy-drama "A Perfect Day," based on Paula Farias's novel "Dejarse llover" and screened at the Cannes Film Festival.

That same year, she appeared in the South African-American thriller "Momentum" in the key role of Alex, a thief and former soldier drawn into a bizarre heist. As it turns out, the target isn't diamonds at all, but a flash drive containing secret information. Olga's character, who accidentally steals the drive along with the jewels, becomes a target for assassins.

The actress feels confident in the action movie genre

A year later, in Giuseppe Tornatore's romantic Italian film "The Correspondence," shot in English, the actress played the title role of Amy, a graduate student and part-time stuntwoman who's the lover of astrophysics professor Edward (Jeremy Irons).

In May 2017, Cannes hosted the world premiere of the fantasy comedy "The Man Who Killed Don Quixote," created by director Terry Gilliam based on Miguel de Cervantes's famous work "Don Quixote." The main roles in the film, which spent a record 29 years in development, were played by Michael Palin, Adam Driver, and Olga.

It's worth noting that the famous movie star dazzled on the festival's red carpet in an incredibly striking semi-transparent outfit with embroidery and stones from Lebanese fashion designer Elie Saab's new collection. The 37-year-old young mother (who perfectly restored her ideal figure after giving birth to her son) completed her look with soft curls, striking earrings, and nude-style makeup – emphasizing the main trends of naturalness and authenticity.

Around the same time, according to a Sleep Cupid company survey, Kurylenko was named the most attractive and desirable woman for European men (the British gave top honors to Kate Middleton, Americans to Kim Kardashian).

That September, British comedy-action film "Gun Shy" by Simon West hit theaters. Kurylenko played the central role of supermodel Sheila, wife of former rock star Henry (Antonio Banderas). According to the plot, when the couple arrives for a vacation in Chile, her character gets kidnapped. Her husband intends to save his beloved by paying the criminals' demanded ransom of one million dollars. However, local police unexpectedly forbid him from doing so. Armed with skills proven during his glory days, he then devises a plan to outsmart the police.

During the same period, the satirical film "The Death of Stalin" by Scottish director Armando Iannucci had its premiere screening at the Toronto Film Festival. The film focused on events during the final days of the USSR leader's life and immediately after his death, particularly the power struggle involving Lavrentiy Beria, Georgy Zhukov, Vyacheslav Molotov, Georgy Malenkov, Nikita Khrushchev, and Lazar Kaganovich.

Olga Kurylenko in the film The Death of Stalin

Kurylenko played the role of Yudina, the "Father of the Nation's" favorite pianist, who sent him a note wishing for his death along with a gramophone record. After reading it, he became paralyzed and died several days later. Key roles, besides Olga's, were performed by Steve Buscemi, Rupert Friend, Simon Russell Beale, and Jason Isaacs.

The film earned recognition from the International Federation of Film Critics as the best work presented at the Turin Film Festival in 2017, and also won the 2018 European Film Academy Award for "best comedy." But in Russia, some cultural figures saw the movie as part of a "planned provocation" aimed at discrediting the leader, and spotted signs of extremism in it. As a result, the distribution certificate initially issued by Russia's Ministry of Culture was revoked. However, the Moscow cinema "Pioneer" went ahead with the premiere anyway, and was fined 280,000 rubles by court order.

The talented actress proved she could master completely different roles: tragic, dramatic, and comedic. In 2018, the American supernatural thriller "Mara" was released. Olga appeared as criminal psychologist Kate, who was stalked by a demon that killed people in their sleep, played by horror star Javier Botet.

Then she just as convincingly played a femme fatale in the British comedy "Johnny English Strikes Again," which, like the first two installments, was a parody of spy films. Now (10 years after the action movie "Quantum of Solace," where she was a "Bond girl") her character catches the eye of secret agent English (Rowan Atkinson), both the pride and headache of British intelligence. In interviews, the actress gushed about her co-star and admitted that after filming her scenes, she didn't leave the set as usual but stayed to watch him work.

In 2018, the Fantasia International Film Festival hosted the premiere of the Canadian-French thriller "The Room." The star played Anna, who tries with her husband Matthew (Romain Duris) to protect their daughter from a cloud of toxic fog that engulfs the French capital after an earthquake.

A frame from the movie 'The Emperor of Paris'

Around the same time, the movie star joined the cast of the crime drama "The Emperor of Paris," transforming into Baroness Roxane de Giverny. Her filming partner this time was Vincent Cassel, who played the historical figure – the legendary Eugène François Vidocq, a former thief and con man who became a first-rate detective during Napoleon's reign.

In January 2019, the Franco-Belgian drama "15 Minutes of War" by Fred Grivois premiered, based on real events that occurred in 1976 in the African Republic of Djibouti, when a group of terrorists hijacked a school bus. The rescue operation for the child hostages was conducted by snipers from France's National Gendarmerie intervention group GIGN. The actress played the lead role of Jane Andersen.

In April, at the Brussels International Fantastic Film Festival (Belgium), the mystical thriller "The Room" by French director Christian Volckman was presented, where the artist took the central role of Kate. Together with her lover Matt (actor Kevin Janssens), the young woman discovered a magical room in their new house that grants any wish like in a fairy tale. But as we know, one should be wary of their own desires. As soon as Olga's character decides to ask for her dream of having a child instead of material things, the fairy tale ends.

In 2021, audiences finally saw "Black Widow," and in it – a familiar face. Behind the villain Taskmaster's mask was Antonia Dreykov, the main villain's daughter, turned by her father into a ruthless killing machine. The fact that Olga Kurylenko was cast in the role was kept secret until the very end. Even not all crew members knew about it.

At the same time, an unusual Franco-Korean detective story "Anatomy of a Murder" hit screens. Olga transformed into forensic expert Alice, unraveling the mystery of an unidentified corpse.

2022 brought a handful of new projects: the action film "White Elephant," where she was joined by Bruce Willis and John Malkovich, the action comedy "The Chef," the action film "The Princess," and the political thriller "Treason."

2023 brought an encounter with the Netflix project "Extraction 2" alongside Chris Hemsworth. Filming in Czech locations was memorable for harsh weather: frost, snowstorms, but the team managed. That same year saw the release of "Boudica: Queen of War" — a historical action film that critics received coolly. Kurylenko's performance as the famous Celtic queen took particular heat.

Olga Kurylenko in Celtic queen makeup and costume — A shot from the movie Boudica: Queen of War

In 2024, "The Doorman" with Aaron Eckhart was released, another action film with a predictable plot. Audiences could guess all the twists in advance.

Olga Kurylenko's Personal Life

The Ukrainian beauty who captured millions of hearts and entered the super league of global cinema elite is famously private about her personal life. Olga first married French fashion photographer Cedric van Mol in 2000 – he was 9 years her senior – and received French citizenship a year later, making it easier for her to travel abroad for photo shoots. But their love hit the rocks in 2004, and they split.

Kurylenko tied the knot for the second time in 2006 with American entrepreneur Damian Gabriel, who was in the mobile phone business. Their marriage was short-lived, ending in divorce by late 2007. The main reason for the split was his jealousy over her booming career.

Living in the US just didn't work for her, Olga admitted. But making it as a serious actress without doing English-language films is nearly impossible. So in 2009, despite her love for Paris, she moved to London, where American casting agents typically scout for talent.

In 2011, news broke about the movie star's engagement to a mysterious Mexican businessman. But a year later, while filming "Magic City," Olga found herself a new boyfriend – millionaire actor from a Hollywood dynasty, 50-year-old Danny Huston, who played a gangster nicknamed "The Butcher" in the same American series. Before meeting Olga, he'd been married twice and was raising his 10-year-old daughter Stella.

They seemed like the perfect couple – vacationing together, hitting red carpet events, and Olga even bonded with his daughter. But it later came out that he was "emotionally draining" the actress, and after two and a half years, their relationship came to a painful end. Then in 2014, the star announced she'd broken off her engagement to that Mexican fiancé, whose name was never revealed.

Soon after, the press started buzzing about Kurylenko's romance with British journalist, writer, and former actor Max Benitz, who's 6 years younger than her. In 2015, they welcomed a son with the triple name Alexander Mark Horatio. According to his mom, the boy's been trilingual since age three, speaking Russian, English, and French (Olga herself also knows Ukrainian and Spanish).

Olga Kurylenko doesn't show her son's face

In 2017, while filming "The Death of Stalin," British-Argentine actor and director Ben Cura entered Olga's life – he's 9 years her junior. They also appeared together in the 2019 war drama "The Fifteen Minute War." They called it quits in 2020.

Charity work remains a crucial part of the actress's life. She helps her hometown of Berdyansk – thanks to Kurylenko, the local hospital received new equipment.

Olga Kurylenko Now

The biggest event of 2025 in Kurylenko's career was her return to Marvel. The blockbuster "Thunderbolts" brought together an entire team of antiheroes. Unfortunately, Kurylenko's character died too early and didn't make it into the new Avengers team. So when "Avengers: Doomsday" was announced, Taskmaster wasn't among the confirmed characters.

Olga Kurylenko in a white mask completely covering her face and a hood — Olga Kurylenko in "Thunderbolts"

Originally, her character was supposed to survive until the end and become part of the Avengers. But because of the writers' strike that hit during script development, the story changed dramatically. "Everything became different. It's a shame. It was a cool character," Olga lamented.

Besides filming the new Marvel movie, 2025 brought the actress the horror film "The Other" from French director David Moreau. Olga speaks warmly about the collaboration.

Photos: Olga Kurylenko