Biography
Though an acclaimed actress in Europe, Vicky Krieps was largely unknown to American audiences until her star-making turn in Paul Thomas Anderson's "Phantom Thread" (2017), which helped to launch her international film career. Born October 4, 1983 in Luxembourg's capital, Luxembourg City, she was the daughter of German and Luxembourgish parents, and the granddaughter of World War II Resistance fighter Robert Krieps. She was trained in acting at schools in Luxembourg and Switzerland, including the Conservatoire of Luxembourg City and Zurich University of the Arts, and began appearing in stage productions at the Schauspielhaus Zurich (Zurich Playhouse). Kriepes made her screen acting debut in Eileen Byrne's short film "La nuit passée" (2008), and worked steadily in Luxembourgish and European films for the next few years until making her American film debut in Joe Wright's thriller "Hanna" (2011), which was quickly followed by a supporting role in Roland Emmerich's "Anonymous," about the alleged real author of William Shakespeare's plays. After winning the Young Newcomer Award from the Luxembourg Filmprais, Krieps appeared in a slew of international features, including "Two Lives" (2012), which was the German entry for Best Foreign Film at the 86th Academy Awards, and Anton Corbjin's "A Most Wanted Man" (2014), which marked the final screen performance of Philip Seymour Hoffman. Krieps also landed her first leading role in a feature when she played the title role in "The Chambermaid Lynn" (2014), about a maid (Krieps) who becomes involved with a sex worker whom she accidentally observes in mid-session. She continued with more high-profile projects, including the thriller "Colonia" (2015), with Emma Watson as a woman searching for her missing boyfriend during the Chilean military coup in 1973, and "The Young Karl Marx" (2015), which cast her as the wife of the philosopher and socialist (played by August Diehl). Though an acclaimed actress in Europe, Krieps was a relative unknown in the United States until Paul Thomas Anderson cast her in "Phantom Thread" after seeing her performance in "The Chambermaid Lynn." As an independent-minded waitress who becomes the muse of a demanding fashion designer (played by Daniel Day-Lewis), Krieps received widespread critical acclaim, as well as best actress nominations from such critical groups as the Chicago Film Critics Association. The following year, Krieps was announced as among the cast of "The Girl in the Spider's Web," the first film in Sony's revamp of the popular "Millennium" franchise of crime thrillers, based on the novels by David Langercrantz; this was quickly followed by her casting in "Lyrebird," a drama about Dutch folk hero Han Van Meegeren, who sold forgeries of paintings by Vermeer to the Nazis, for producer Ridley Scott.
