Franka Potente (born on July 22, 1974) is a German film actress. She began her career in the comedy It's a Jungle Out There (1995) and gained critical recognition in the action thriller Run Lola Run (1998). After half a decade of critically acclaimed roles in German films, Potente gained Hollywood's attention by playing the role of Barbara Buckley in Blow (2001) and the female lead opposite Matt Damon in The Bourne Identity (2002). An accomplished dramatic actress, Potente received Germany's highest film and television awards for her performances in Run Lola Run and Opernball. Potente performs predominantly in supporting roles in a variety of low-budget and major studio films, ranging from romantic comedies and drama to science fiction and action thrillers.

Franka Potente was born on 22 July 1974 in the German town of Dülmen. After her graduation in 1994, she went to the Otto-Falckenberg-Schule, a drama school in Munich, but soon broke off to study at the Lee Strasberg Theatre Institute in New York. After a notable debut in Nach Fünf im Urwald (1995), the role of the heroine in Lola rennt (1998), directed by her then longtime companion Tom Tykwer was her national breakthrough. After some other successful movies in Germany, she starred in several Hollywood productions, most prominently Bourne Identity, The (2002) and Bourne Supremacy, The (2004) and lived one year in Los Angeles. After her return to Berlin, she continues working with German and international directors.