Luxembourg on screen
Vicky Krieps: from Hesperange to the heights of world cinema
From her breakthrough opposite Daniel Day-Lewis in Phantom Thread to a prize-winning Empress Elisabeth in Corsage, the actor from Hesperange has become Luxembourg's best-known face in international film.
Vicky Krieps is the rarest of Luxembourg exports: a homegrown actor who commands leading roles in world cinema. Born on 4 October 1983 in Hesperange, on the edge of Luxembourg City, she works across English, German, French and Luxembourgish.
The breakthrough
Krieps became internationally known in 2017 as Alma, the quietly defiant muse opposite Daniel Day-Lewis in Paul Thomas Anderson's Phantom Thread. Critics noted that the relative unknown more than held her own against one of cinema's most formidable actors.
An empress, and a prize
In 2022 she took the title role in Corsage, a revisionist portrait of Empress Elisabeth of Austria. The performance won her the Best Performance prize in Un Certain Regard at Cannes and the European Film Award for Best Actress. Her other credits include A Most Wanted Man, Bergman Island and the German series Das Boot.
A family of note
Krieps carries a piece of Luxembourg history: her grandfather, Robert Krieps, was a member of the wartime Resistance who later served as the country's minister of justice and of culture. She has spoken of choosing demanding, unglamorous roles over conventional stardom.
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