A popular French actress of Korean descent, Pom Klementieff is best known for her work in the 2013 Hollywood film Oldboy directed by Spike Lee. An alumna of the Corus Florent drama school in Paris made her on screen debut with the French indie film called Apres lui and a few of her other popular films include The Easy Way (2008), Delicacy (2011), and Porn in the Hood (2012).
Early LifeBorn in Quebec City, Quebec, Pom Klementieff was born to a Korean mother and a French-Russian father who worked as a consul with the French government. The actress’ parents chose the name Pom because it has similar pronunciation to the Korean words for both ‘spring’ and ‘tiger’. The actress lived in Canada for one year before her family travelled extensively to several places due to her father’s job; she lived in Japan and the Ivory Coast before eventually settling in France. Klementieff later said that because she travelled so much in her childhood, it gave her a gypsy soul.
Klementieff’s father passed away when she was just five years old and her mother suffered from schizophrenia because of which she was unable to take care Pom and her elder brother who committed suicide on her 25th birthday. Kelmentieff was raised by paternal uncle and aunty. The actress, after her uncle’s death briefly went to law school but she was convinced not to pursue a career in law. While studying law, the actress worked as a waitress and as saleswoman in France to support herself financially. When she was 19, Klementieff quit her law school and wen to Corus Florent Drama School in Paris to study acting and within a few months into her education, she won a theater competition and won free classes for two years with the top teachers at the school.
Movie CareerPom Klementieff made her acting debut with the French indie film Apres lui and the following year she starred in the French heist film The Easy Way directed by Jean-Paul Rouve. Whilst her first few films did not do well at the box office, she appeared in films like Delicacy (2011), Radiostars (2012), before eventually rising to fame with Oldboy (2013). The film, which marked her debut in Hollywood was directed by Spike Lee. It was the remake of the Park Chan-wook’s South Korean film and it features Josh Brolin, Elizabeth Oslen and Sharlto Copley in pivotal roles. Although the film bombed at the box office, it received mostly mixed reviews from both critics and the audience. Her 2017 release includes Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2, an American superhero film, which was based on the Marvel comics superhero team Guardians of the Galaxy. The film directed by James Gunn features Chris Pratt, Zoe Saldana, Dave Bautista, Vin Diesel, Bradley Cooper, Karen Gillan, Michael Rooker, Sylvester Stallone and Kurt Russell.