Marleen Mathews
- Actress
Marleen Mathews, born Marleen Maathuis, is a film actress from The Netherlands. Raised in Tilburg, Marleen's artistic talents were nurtured by her parents, artist Marijke de Jong and criminal law professor Harry Maathuis. Encouraged to explore music and the arts to overcome her mild fear of failure, Marleen's passion for acting was ignited in secondary school with a lead role in a musical.
At 19, she enrolled at De Acteursschool Amsterdam, where her subtle acting style found its true home in film. Marleen then expanded her horizons by studying fine arts at St. Joost Art School in Breda. Her mother's unexpected passing in 2012 inspired her graduation project, "The DNA Modulator," a bio-data installation translating her mother's DNA sequence into sound, which led to a number of notable nominations as well as numerous global exhibitions and a TED talk in 2014.
In early 2015, Marleen moved to London, driven by her passion for English films. Despite initial challenges being a foreign actress, she was accepted into the prestigious Identity School of Acting (IDSA) in 2016 and later on earned a Master's degree in dramatic arts from the world renowned drama school East 15, two years later.
Marleen's breakout role came in Paul Verhoeven's "The Entertainment Experience Project," where her portrayal of Merel earned her significant media attention in the Netherlands. This project led to the feature film "Lotgenoten" (2013), earning her a nomination for Best Actress at the Go Short Nijmegen film festival in 2014.
Her international acclaim grew with her role in the Turkish blockbuster "Turkish Ice Cream" (2018), expanding her fan base in Turkey and Central Asia. In 2020, she was nominated for Best Supporting Actress at the Izmir International Film Festival, finishing as a runner-up.
At 19, she enrolled at De Acteursschool Amsterdam, where her subtle acting style found its true home in film. Marleen then expanded her horizons by studying fine arts at St. Joost Art School in Breda. Her mother's unexpected passing in 2012 inspired her graduation project, "The DNA Modulator," a bio-data installation translating her mother's DNA sequence into sound, which led to a number of notable nominations as well as numerous global exhibitions and a TED talk in 2014.
In early 2015, Marleen moved to London, driven by her passion for English films. Despite initial challenges being a foreign actress, she was accepted into the prestigious Identity School of Acting (IDSA) in 2016 and later on earned a Master's degree in dramatic arts from the world renowned drama school East 15, two years later.
Marleen's breakout role came in Paul Verhoeven's "The Entertainment Experience Project," where her portrayal of Merel earned her significant media attention in the Netherlands. This project led to the feature film "Lotgenoten" (2013), earning her a nomination for Best Actress at the Go Short Nijmegen film festival in 2014.
Her international acclaim grew with her role in the Turkish blockbuster "Turkish Ice Cream" (2018), expanding her fan base in Turkey and Central Asia. In 2020, she was nominated for Best Supporting Actress at the Izmir International Film Festival, finishing as a runner-up.
