Diane Kruger (German: [diˈaːnə ˈkʁuːɡɐ], née Heidkrüger; born 15 July 1976) is a German actress. She is a former model-turned-actress who, early in her film career, gained worldwide recognition and received the Trophée Chopard from the Cannes Film Festival. Kruger was born in Algermissen, West Germany. She was trained from a young age to become a ballerina and studied at the Royal Academy in Hanover and the Royal Ballet School in London. She won the 1992 Elite Model Look national contest and signed with Elite Model Management, working in Paris and then New York. In the late 1990s, she left modelling and transitioned to acting. Kruger became known for her roles in films such as Helen in the epic war film Troy (2004), Dr. Abigail Chase in the heist film National Treasure (2004) and its 2007 sequel, Bridget von Hammersmark in Quentin Tarantino's war film Inglourious Basterds (2009), and Gina in the psychological thriller film Unknown (2011). She also starred as Detective Sonya Cross in the FX crime drama series The Bridge (2013–14). In 2017, she made her German-language debut in Fatih Akin's In the Fade, for which she won the Cannes Film Festival Award for Best Actress. In 2019, Kruger starred in the spy-thriller The Operative with Martin Freeman.