Carice van Houten is a person.
Carice Anouk van Houten ( [ kaːˈris ɑˈnuk vɑn ˈɦʌu̯tə ( n ) ] ; born 5 September 1976 ) is a Dutch actress and singer . Born in Leiderdorp , a town in the western Netherlands , she was brought up by writer and theatre-radio producer Theodore van Houten . Her younger sister Jelka is also an actress . She was nominated for a Saturn Award for Best Supporting Actress for Valkyrie ( 2008 ) , and won her fourth and fifth Golden Calf Awards for Best Actress for The Happy Housewife ( 2010 ) and Black Butterflies ( 2011 ) . Since 2012 , Van Houten has received international recognition for her role as Melisandre on the HBO fantasy drama television series Game of Thrones ( 2012 -- present ) , for which she has been nominated for two Screen Actors Guild Awards for Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Drama Series .