Maria Louise Clara Albertine (Marlous) Fluitsma (born 12 December 1946 in Zutphen) is a Dutch

Netherlands

The Netherlands is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located mainly in North-West Europe and with several islands in the Caribbean. Mainland Netherlands borders the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east, and shares maritime borders...

 actress, known for her roles in Dutch films and on television in various Dutch language series. She was also well-known to Europeans outside the Netherlands for hosting the Eurovision Song Contest 1980

Eurovision Song Contest 1980

The Eurovision Song Contest 1980 was the 25th Eurovision Song Contest and was held on 19 April 1980 in The Hague. The presenter was Marlous Fluitsma, although each song was introduced by a presenter from the nation represented...

, held in The Hague

The Hague

The Hague is the capital city of the province of South Holland in the Netherlands. With a population of 500,000 inhabitants , it is the third largest city of the Netherlands, after Amsterdam and Rotterdam...

.

Early life

Fluitsma grew up in Nijmegen where her father was a teacher. After her studies at the Stage Acting Academy in Maastricht

Maastricht

Maastricht is situated on both sides of the Meuse river in the south-eastern part of the Netherlands, on the Belgian border and near the German border...

, she played for the Groot Limburgs Toneel (the largest acting group in Limburg

Limburg (Netherlands)

Limburg is the southernmost of the twelve provinces of the Netherlands. It is located in the southeastern part of the country and bordered by the province of Gelderland to the north, Germany to the east, Belgium to the south and part of the west, andthe Dutch province of North Brabant partly to...

 province) and for the Haagse Comedie (The Hague

The Hague

The Hague is the capital city of the province of South Holland in the Netherlands. With a population of 500,000 inhabitants , it is the third largest city of the Netherlands, after Amsterdam and Rotterdam...

 Comedy Group).

Career credits

She became more well known when she played the lead role in a play written by Herman van Veen

Herman van Veen

Hermannus Jantinus "Herman" van Veen is a Dutch stage performer, actor, musician and singer/songwriter and author. He is most famous as the creator of the Dutch-Japanese cartoon Alfred J...

: De Spinse (1973). She also played in the movies Uit elkaar (1979) and Ik ben Joep Meloen (1981), as well as the television series Pommetje Horlepiep (1976) and De Fabriek (1981). On 19 April 1980, Fluitsma presented the Eurovision Song Contest

Eurovision Song Contest

The Eurovision Song Contest is an annual competition held among active member countries of the European Broadcasting Union .Each member country submits a song to be performed on live television and then casts votes for the other countries' songs to determine the most popular song in the competition...

 in the Congresgebouw in The Hague

The Hague

The Hague is the capital city of the province of South Holland in the Netherlands. With a population of 500,000 inhabitants , it is the third largest city of the Netherlands, after Amsterdam and Rotterdam...

.

From 1990 until the end of 1991, Fluitsma played the role of Helen Helmink in the soap opera Goede tijden, slechte tijden. When she indicated she wanted to spend more time with her family, she was replaced by Bruni Heinke. It was the first time a recast had ever happened in Dutch soap opera. While on Goede tijden, slechte tijden, Fluitsma also played Eliza Zadelhof in the drama series Diamant (1990).

Fluitsma also played in the television series Ernstige Delicten, and is also active as a trainer in presentation and communication skills.

From her previous marriage to Herman van Veen she has two children, Merlijn and Anne. Fluitsma currently lives in Soest.

External links