Sylvia Kristel - Biography

Sylvia Kristel was born on September 28, 1952 in Utrecht, Netherlands. She first came to international attention in the early 1970s with Emmanuelle (1974) for director Just Jaeckin. Then two more sequels followed in which she also starred. Included in her credits are a long list of European films including the film Julia et les hommes (1974), in which she played the lead. In 1979, she came to Hollywood, appearing in Airport 80 Concorde (1979) for producer Jennings Lang, who also featured her in the comedy film Le plus secret des agents secrets (1980). However, this was all a prelude to the most successful film in Kristel's career -- Leçons très particulières (1981) -- in which she played the housekeeper who initiates 15-year-old Eric Brown to the wonders of sex. The film grossed over $50,000,000 worldwide. The Dutch actress, who speaks four languages (Dutch, English, Italian and French), now made her home in Amsterdam, Netherlands. Sylvia Kristel died at age 60 of cancer in her sleep on October 18, 2012.