Pom Klementieff

Pom Klementieff (born 3 May 1986) is a French actress. She was a student at the Cours Florent drama academy in Paris. Her roles include Loup (2009) as well as Sleepless Night (2011). She portrays the role of Mantis, in the Marvel Cinematic Universe films Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 (2017), Avengers: Infinity War (2018), and Avengers: Endgame (1999). Pom Klementieff was born in Quebec City, Canada, to an Korean mother and French-Russian father who was employed as a consul in the French government. Eugene Klementieff was her grandfather. Because it sounded similar to the Korean words for "spring" or "tiger" Her parents gave their daughter the name Pom. Klementieff was a citizen of Canada for one year. Her family traveled extensively due to her father's job. Before moving to France, they lived in Japan and also on the Ivory Coast. The father of Klementieff died from cancer when she was 5 and her mother suffered from schizophrenia and was unable to care for children which is why Klementieff was cared for by her aunt and uncle who were paternal. Her uncle, who she described as "like [her] father" died when she was 18 years old. Her older brother, who committed suicide seven years later, was her aunt. Following the death of her uncle, Klementieff was a law student for a brief time to impress her aunt. However, she didn't find the career path appealing. In France she was employed as a waitresse and saleswoman. In the Cours Florent drama academy in Paris, she began acting when she was 19. After a few months of studies, she won an award for theater that granted the opportunity to take classes for free for two years with some of the best teachers. Klementieff's first professional acting job was in the French independent film Apres lui (2007), acting as the stepdaughter in the film of the lead character, played by Catherine Deneuve. Three days were spent on filming her scenes. In one scene, Klementieff was to be pushed down the stairs but fell down the stairs herself and director Gael Morel filmed that scene in the final film. Her first role as a lead actor was in Loup (2009), a French film about a tribe of reindeer herders located in the Siberian mountains. The filming took place in a camp, hours away from the nearest village where temperatures dropped below freezing.