Ellen ten Damme (born 7 October 1967) is a Dutch actress, singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist. Ten Damme both sings and acts in four languages (Dutch, English, French and German), and plays piano and keyboards, guitar and violin. During her school years Ellen was an enthusiastic

gymnast Gymnastics is a group of sport that includes physical exercises requiring balance, strength, flexibility, agility, coordination, artistry and endurance. The movements involved in gymnastics contribute to the development of the arms, legs, sh ...

, and incorporating some gymnastic tricks or even circus acts into her shows has become a trademark. Ten Damme grew up in the rural village of

Roden Roden is a name of Germanic origin, originally meaning "red valley" or an anglicization of the Gaelic name "O'Rodain". It may refer to: Places *Roden, Bavaria, a town in the Main-Spessart district of Bavaria, Germany *Roden, Netherlands, a town ...

, close to the university town

Groningen Groningen ( , ; ; or ) is the capital city and main municipality of Groningen (province), Groningen province in the Netherlands. Dubbed the "capital of the north", Groningen is the largest place as well as the economic and cultural centre of ...

, where she studied Dutch for a while. However she switched to the Amsterdam Theatre School for stage, film, cabaret and musical actors. After spending a great deal of time in Germany, Ten Damme returned to

Amsterdam Amsterdam ( , ; ; ) is the capital of the Netherlands, capital and Municipalities of the Netherlands, largest city of the Kingdom of the Netherlands. It has a population of 933,680 in June 2024 within the city proper, 1,457,018 in the City Re ...

, where she lives on a

houseboat A houseboat is a boat that has been designed or modified to be used primarily for regular dwelling. Most houseboats are not motorized, as they are usually moored or kept stationary, fixed at a Berth (moorings), berth, and often tethered to ...

Acting

After a few small Dutch TV roles, Ten Damme made her film debut starring in the 1991 short film ''The Tears of Maria Machita'' by director Paul Ruven, and was nominated for a

Golden Calf According to the Torah, the Bible, and the Quran, the golden calf () was a cult image made by the Israelites when Moses went up to Mount Sinai (bible), Mount Sinai. In Hebrew, the incident is known as "the sin of the calf" (). It is first mentio ...

movie award. Since then Ten Damme has consistently worked in TV and film – mostly in Dutch and German, and mostly in supporting roles and guest parts. Examples are recurring parts in Dutch comedy series '' We zijn weer thuis'' (1993) and ''Jiskefet'' (1995–1997), and appearing in 25 episodes of lawyer drama ''Pleidooi'' (1993–1995). Further movie parts included '' The Little Blonde, Dead'' (1993), '' No Trains No Planes'' (1999), '' Full Moon Party'' (2002) and ''

Interview An interview is a structured conversation where one participant asks questions, and the other provides answers.Merriam Webster DictionaryInterview Dictionary definition, Retrieved February 16, 2016 In common parlance, the word "interview" re ...

'' (2003), directed by Theo van Gogh. In 2000 Ten Damme played an English language leading role in Irish film drama ''Conamara''. In 2013 she featured in the

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

theatre comedy ''To Be or Not to Be'', based on the

Ernst Lubitsch Ernst Lubitsch (; ; January 29, 1892November 30, 1947) was a German-born American film director, producer, writer, and actor. His urbane comedies of manners gave him the reputation of being Hollywood's most elegant and sophisticated director; a ...

film of the same name alongside Waldemar Torenstra, Raoul Heertje, Frank Lammers and others.

Music and artistry

Ellen ten Damme has released five studio albums and one live CD. The first three: ''Kill Your Darlings'' (1995), ''I Am Here'' (2001) and ''Impossible Girl'' (2007) are in English. The next two albums: ''Durf jij'' (2011) and ''Het Regende Zon'' (2012) are in Dutch. Her latest CD, ''Berlin'' (2014) is a live cut of a German language concert at the Royal Dutch

Concertgebouw Concertgebouw may refer to one of the following concert halls: * Concertgebouw, Amsterdam, Netherlands * Concertgebouw, Bruges, Belgium * Concertgebouw de Vereeniging, Netherlands {{disambiguation Buildings and structures disambiguation pages ...

. In 1996–1997, ten Damme joined new wave band Soviet Sex which featured painter/photographer Peter Klashorst. In 2003–2004, she accompanied German rock musician Udo Lindenberg on the tour for his album ''Atlantic Affairs''. In 2005, she competed to represent Germany in the annual

Eurovision Song Contest The Eurovision Song Contest (), often known simply as Eurovision, is an international Music competition, song competition organised annually by the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) among its members since 1956. Each participating broadcaster ...

, singing "Plattgefickt", a provocative anti-war protest song written by Lindenberg. Guitarist (who has played with Sam Lapides and Shannon Lyon) has recorded and performed with her for many years. She has recorded songs that appear on movie soundtracks such as '' Casper: A Spirited Beginning'' and '' Turbo: A Power Rangers Movie''. Dutch

avant garde In the arts and literature, the term ''avant-garde'' ( meaning or ) identifies an experimental genre or work of art, and the artist who created it, which usually is aesthetically innovative, whilst initially being ideologically unacceptable ...

filmmaker Cyrus Frisch directed her music video "Stay".

Notes

References

External links

*
Ellen ten Damme biography
(in Dutch) at muziekencyclopedie.nl {{DEFAULTSORT:Damme, Ellen ten 1967 births Living people People from Warnsveld Dutch film actresses Dutch women singers 20th-century Dutch actresses 21st-century Dutch actresses