Willy Geertje van Ammelrooij (born 5 April 1944), known as Willeke van Ammelrooy, is a Dutch

actress An actor or actress is a person who portrays a character in a performance. The actor performs "in the flesh" in the traditional medium of the theatre or in modern media such as film, radio, and television. The analogous Greek term is (), li ...

and director.

Life and career

Willeke van Ammelrooy was born in

Amsterdam Amsterdam ( , , , lit. ''The Dam on the River Amstel'') is the capital and most populous city of the Netherlands, with The Hague being the seat of government. It has a population of 907,976 within the city proper, 1,558,755 in the urban ar ...

Netherlands ) , anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau") , image_map = , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands , established_title = Before independence , established_date = Spanish Netherl ...

. She attended

drama school A drama school, stage school or theatre school is an undergraduate and/or graduate school or department at a college or university; or a free-standing institution (such as the Drama section at the Juilliard School); which specializes in the pr ...

. Van Ammelrooy has acted on stage as well as in films. She participated in 27 movies. Her first film was ''

Mira Mira (), designation Omicron Ceti (ο Ceti, abbreviated Omicron Cet, ο Cet), is a red-giant star estimated to be 200–400 light-years from the Sun in the constellation Cetus. ο Ceti is a binary stellar system, consisting of a vari ...

'' in 1971.

Success with ''
Antonia's Line ''Antonia's Line'' (Original title: ''Antonia'') is a 1995 Dutch feminist film written and directed by Marleen Gorris. The film, described as a "feminist fairy tale", tells the story of the independent Antonia (Willeke van Ammelrooy) who, after ...
''

She later starred in the award-winning feminist film ''

Antonia's Line ''Antonia's Line'' (Original title: ''Antonia'') is a 1995 Dutch feminist film written and directed by Marleen Gorris. The film, described as a "feminist fairy tale", tells the story of the independent Antonia (Willeke van Ammelrooy) who, after ...

'', which tells the story of an independent woman who, after returning to the anonymous Dutch village of her birth, establishes and nurtures a close-knit

matriarchal Matriarchy is a social system in which women hold the primary power positions in roles of authority. In a broader sense it can also extend to moral authority, social privilege and control of property. While those definitions apply in general En ...

community. She received positive reviews and the

Golden Calf for Best Actress The following is a list of winners of the Golden Calf for best actor/actress at the Nederlands Film Festival. From 2021 onwards the award became a gender-neutral award. Best Actor (1981–2020) * 1981 - Rutger Hauer - All his works * 1982 - Rijk ...

for her performance and the film enjoyed critical success, including the

Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film The Academy Award for Best International Feature Film (known as Best Foreign Language Film prior to 2020) is one of the Academy Awards handed out annually by the U.S.-based Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS). It is given to a ...

at the

68th Academy Awards The 68th Academy Awards ceremony, organized by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS), honored the best films of 1995 in the United States and took place on March 25, 1996, at the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion in Los Angeles beg ...

. Emanuel Levy, writing for '' The Advocate'', wrote "It's easy to see why" the film was winning awards in festivals, calling it "an enchanting fairy tale that maintains a consistently warm, lighthearted feel," and Willeke van Ammelrooy wonderful.

Janet Maslin Janet R. Maslin (born August 12, 1949) is an American journalist, best known as a film and literary critic for ''The New York Times''. She served as a ''Times'' film critic from 1977 to 1999 and as a book critic from 2000 to 2015. In 2000 Maslin ...

of ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...

'' called it "a work of magical feminism." The film also screened at the

Toronto International Film Festival The Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF, often stylized as tiff) is one of the largest publicly attended film festivals in the world, attracting over 480,000 people annually. Since its founding in 1976, TIFF has grown to become a perman ...

, where it won the People's Choice Award. According to

Box Office Mojo Box Office Mojo is an American website that tracks box-office revenue in a systematic, algorithmic way. The site was founded in 1998 by Brandon Gray, and was bought in 2008 by IMDb, which itself is owned by Amazon. History Brandon Gray be ...

, the film completed its run grossing $4,228,275 in North America, 1,660,901 admissions in the

European Union The European Union (EU) is a supranational union, supranational political union, political and economic union of Member state of the European Union, member states that are located primarily in Europe, Europe. The union has a total area of ...

, and $21,046 in

South Korea South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea (ROK), is a country in East Asia, constituting the southern part of the Korea, Korean Peninsula and sharing a Korean Demilitarized Zone, land border with North Korea. Its western border is formed ...

Other work

In 2017, van Ammelrooy was announced as a member of the film jury for

ShortCutz Amsterdam ShortCutz Amsterdam (ShortCutz AMS) is an annual film festival promoting short films in Amsterdam, Netherlands held the whole year through. Festival ShortCutz Amsterdam is a film festival held the whole year through, promoting Dutch short fi ...

, an annual

film festival A film festival is an organized, extended presentation of films in one or more cinemas or screening venues, usually in a single city or region. Increasingly, film festivals show some films outdoors. Films may be of recent date and, depending upo ...

promoting short films in Amsterdam.Dutch Short Films Are the Focus - Shortcutz Amsterdam
''Go Social Film Magazine''. Retrieved 2 April 2014.

Personal life

Willeke van Ammelrooy en Marco Bakker, Bestanddeelnr 932-9144

Van Ammelrooy is married to the Dutch

opera singer Opera is a form of theatre in which music is a fundamental component and dramatic roles are taken by singers. Such a "work" (the literal translation of the Italian word "opera") is typically a collaboration between a composer and a libretti ...

Marco Bakker.

Filmography

Film

*''

'' (1971) - Mira *''Louisa, een woord van liefde'' (1972) - Louisa *'' The Burglar'' (1972) - Fanny *''

The Killer Is on the Phone ''The Killer Is on the Phone'' ( it, L'assassino... è al telefono) is a 1972 ''giallo'' film directed by Alberto De Martino. It was released in the U.S. in July, 1975. The film is set in Bruges, Belgium, and stars Telly Savalas and Anne Heywo ...

'' (1972) - Dorothy *''

Frank en Eva ''Frank en Eva'' (English release title: ''Living Apart Together'') is a 1973 Dutch film which features the debut performance of Sylvia Kristel Sylvia Maria Kristel (28 September 1952 17 October 2012) was a Dutch actress and model who appeare ...

'' (1973) *''Dakota'' (1974) *''

Help! The Doctor Is Drowning ''Help! The Doctor Is Drowning'' ( nl, Help, de dokter verzuipt!) is a 1974 Dutch comedy film directed by Nikolai van der Heyde. It was the most popular Dutch film of the year and one of the most popular of all time. Cast * Jules Croiset as ...

'' (1974) *'' Alicia'' (1974) *''O.Q Corral'' (1975) *'' Mijn nachten met Susan, Olga, Julie, Piet en Sandra'' (1975) *''L'amour au trousses'' (1975) *'' Het Jaar van de Kreeft'' (1975) *''L'arrière train sifflera trois fois'' (1975) *''La Donneuse'' (1975) *''

Wan Pipel ''Wan Pipel'' (English: ''One People'') is a 1976 Surinamese- Dutch drama film directed by Pim de la Parra. The screenplay was written by Rudi Kross and Lou Lichtveld. The leading roles are played by Borger Breeveld, Diana Gangaram Panday, and Wi ...

'' (1976) *''

De Mantel der Liefde '' De Mantel der Liefde '' is a 1978 Dutch satirical anthology film, directed by Adriaan Ditvoorst. It is a black comedy based on the Ten Commandments and mankind's failure to live up to them. Plot The film starts off with Jesus Christ and Mos ...

'' (1978) *''

Grijpstra & De Gier ''Grijpstra & De Gier'' is a 1979 Dutch crime film directed by Wim Verstappen. It is based on the eponymous novel series by Jan Willem van de Wetering (although his name is usually styled Janwillem van de Wetering), specifically ''Het lijk in d ...

'' (1979) *''Een vlucht regenwulpen'' (1981) *'' On Top of the Whale'' (1982) *''

De Lift ''The Lift'' (Dutch: ''De Lift'') is a 1983 Dutch science-fiction horror film directed and written by Dick Maas. The plot concerns an elevator that mysteriously begins to function intelligently on its own, where victims who go near the elevator ...

'' (1983) *''Herenstraat 10'' (1983) *''

Ciske de Rat ''Ciske de Rat'' ("Ciske the Rat") is the first part of a trilogy by Dutch author Piet Bakker. It is part of the Ciske trilogy which was written between 1941 (publication was however delayed by paper shortages until 1942) and 1946. The book was p ...

'' (1984) *''

Andre Handles Them All ''Andre Handles Them All'' (German: ''André schafft sie alle'') is a 1985 West German comedy film directed by Peter Fratzscher and starring Franco Nero, Ingrid Steeger and Maja Maranow.Schneider p.313 It was shot in Vienna and West Berlin. The ...

'' (1985) *''

Op hoop van zegen '' The Good Hope (''from Dutch: ''Op Hoop van Zegen''; more literally: ''Hoping for the best)'' is a Dutch play written by Herman Heijermans in 1900/1901. It takes place in a fishing village, with the conflict between the fishermen and their em ...

'' (1986) *''Koko Flanel'' (1990) *''Alleen maar vrienden'' (1992) *''

'' (1995) (Oscar for best foreign movie) *'' Lijmen/Het Been'' (2001) *''De Schippers van de Kameleon'' (2003) *' (2004) *'' The Lake House'' (2006) *''

Bride Flight ''Bride Flight'' is a 2008 romantic drama film about three women and one man from the Netherlands, who all start new lives in New Zealand. It starts with the victory of the KLM flight in the 1953 London to Christchurch air race. It was directed ...

'' (2008) *'' The Hell of '63'' (2009) *''Bride Flight'' (2011) *'' Life Is Wonderful'' (2018)

Television

*''Het Glazen Huis'' (2004–2005)

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Ammelrooy, Willeke van 1944 births Living people Dutch expatriates in the United States Dutch film actresses Dutch television actresses Actresses from Amsterdam Golden Calf winners 20th-century Dutch actresses 21st-century Dutch actresses