Marleen Mathews

Marleen Maathuis was born in Purmerend, The Netherlands, to Marijke de Jong, an artist, and Harry Maathuis, a professor in criminal law. Maathuis moved with her parents to Tilburg at the age of 1,5 where she grew up. At a young age she suffered from mild atychiphobia; fear of failure. To make her more confident, her parents decided to train her in music and arts. Maathuis began acting in secondary school, when she landed a lead role in that years school musical. At age 19, she went to De Acteursschool Amsterdam, one of the top private theater school in The Netherlands. Maathuis decided on pursuing an acting career in film when she repeatedly heard from her teachers that her acting was too ''small'' for stage.