Franka Potente was born on July 22, 1974 in Dülmen, North Rhine-Westphalia. She is a German film actress.

Franka got her first taste of professional work in the made-for-TV movie Nach Funf im Urwald. The film, directed by Franka's then boyfriend Hans Christian Schmid, was well-received and soon made its way into theaters. Franka's performance was critically applauded, and she was awarded the 1995 Bavarian Film Prize for Young Talent.

Franka completed her last year of training in the US, taking instruction at the Lee Strasberg Theater Institute in New York. She returned to Europe in 1997, where she resumed her professional work in both German and French productions. By 1998, Franka's acting resume boasted appearances in 13 film and television productions, although she had yet to break through onto screens outside of Europe.

Run Lola Run was a huge hit in Europe. Won the 1999 Audience Award at the Sundance Film Festival and Best Foreign Film at the 2000 Independent Spirit Awards. It was also nominated for Best Film not in the English Language by BAFTA. Made its North American premiere at the 1998 Toronto Film Festival before hitting the Sundance Festival in 1999. Dubbed by one critic as "Viagra for the eyes," the fast-paced film was an instant critical hit, and Franka's warm performance in it was particularly well-received. Although the doors to the American film industry had been flung open for Franka, she decided to continue working in four German movies, most notably the horror film Anatomie (2000) and the romantic thriller The Princess and the Warrior (2000).

Franka made her English language debut in 2001, as the narrator in Todd Solondz's Storytelling. That same year Franka reached a larger audience with a part alongside Johnny Depp in Blow. Franka's role was relatively short, but it caught the attention of American audiences, and gave Franka an opportunity to demonstrate her grasp of English. Not long afterwards, she was cast as Matt Damon's love interest in the highly-anticipated spy thriller, The Bourne Identity (2002). Two years later Potente re-teamed with Damon for the sequel, The Bourne Supremacy (2004).

Filmography

• Pope Joan (2009)
• Guerrilla (2008)
• The Argentine (2008)
• Eichmann (2007)
• "The Shield" (1 episode, 2007)
• Romulus, My Father (2007)
• Elementarteilchen (2006)
• Creep (2004)
• The Bourne Supremacy (2004)
• The Tulse Luper Suitcases, Part 2: Vaux to the Sea (2004)
• Blueprint (2003)
• I Love Your Work (2003)
• Anatomie 2 (2003)
• Try Seventeen (2002)
• The Bourne Identity (2002)
• Mer, La (2002)
• Storytelling (2001)
• Blow (2001)
• Krieger und die Kaiserin, Der (2000)
• Anatomie (2000)
• Schlaraffenland (1999)
• Südsee, eigene Insel (1999)
• Downhill City (1999)
• ¿Bin ich schön? (1998)
• Run, Lola, Run (1998)
• Rennlauf (1998)
• Opernball (1998)
• Drei Mädels von der Tankstelle, Die (1997)
• Easy Day (1997)
• Coming In (1997)
• Une vie pour une autre (1997)
• "Zwei Brüder" (1 episode, 1996)
• Nach Fünf im Urwald (1995)

Awards

• Audience Award German Actor/Actress of the Year 2000
• Audience Award German Actor/Actress of the Year 1999
• Bambi Film - National "Lola Rennt" 1998
• Bavarian TV Award Opernball 1998
• Bavarian Film Award Best Young Actress "Nach Funf im Urwald" 1996