She exudes pin-up beauty with her wide-set eyes and pouty lips, and then she executes the ideal roundhouse kick.
“I want to demonstrate to young boys and girls that being physically feminine is possible. that you can kick ass in a classy, feminine manner while crossing your legs at the dinner table, the 25-year-old told The New York Post. “I want to carry on my father’s legacy of bringing martial arts to the mainstream for my generation.”
It’s a daring declaration for the movie producer and actress. After all, she grew up telling her mother, bodybuilding champion Gladys Portugues, and father, Jean-Claude Van Damme, a.k.a. “the Muscles from Brussels,” that she “hated” martial arts. Imagine biting the hand that provides for you.
Through martial arts action films such as Bloodsport, Kickboxer, and Street Fighter, Jean-Claude made a name for himself in popular culture and gave Bianca and her brother Kristopher (who is now 28 years old) a nice living.
“My parents gave us the freedom to pursue our own interests. For self-discipline, my mother encouraged me to take martial arts when I was younger. I was like, ‘I can’t tolerate it,’ when I was seven,” Bianca says. “I continued to pursue ballet and ice skating.”
The family eventually relocated to Vancouver, British Columbia, from Los Angeles.
“I was obsessed with speed skating as a teenager and wanted to compete in the Olympics,” Bianca recalls.
She was compelled to reevaluate her alternatives due to an injury. She acknowledges, “For a while, I was stuck.” “Skating was my life.” Then suddenly I had to look for something else.”
Alongside her father, Bianca began acting and eventually martial arts training in 2008’s The Shepherd: Border Patrol. She didn’t take the event too seriously even though she enjoyed it. Bianca acknowledges, “I didn’t like what I saw when I watched my first film.” I came to the realization that I had to do this correctly if this was what I was going to do.
With a resolve to work more harder the next time her father granted her a break, she hunkered down. Since then, she has acted in six of Jean-Claude’s films as a co-star and has even produced a few of them. Her dad’s given surname, Bianca Van Varenberg, was initially used to credit her, and later on, she was given the shorter version of her middle name, Brigitte, as Bianca Bree. She had to put herself apart even as she performed with Jean-Claude.
It’s intricate, she states. People frequently approach me and express their love for my dad. Although it’s encouraging to hear, I’m thinking, “What does that have to do with me?”
Bianca, the daughter of Jean-Claude van Damme. AdMedia/Splash News image
Bianca, the daughter of Jean-Claude van Damme. AdMedia/Splash News image
The baggage from growing up with her last name frequently making headlines—not always in a positive way—complicates matters further.
According to Jean-Claude, the actor gradually increased his drug use in the 1990s, eventually reaching a daily intake of 10 grams of cocaine.
There were brawls with photographers, reports of significant debt, and an arrest for DUI. Before he was able to stay clean, he underwent multiple rounds of treatment and was given a bipolar diagnosis.
Following his 1992 divorce from Bianca’s mother and his brief union with model Darcy LaPier (with whom he has a 20-year-old son named Nicholas), Jean-Claude remarried a Portuguese woman in 1999.
When asked how she felt about her father at the time, Bianca responds, “It depends on what year.” Yes, it was somewhat difficult. I’ve never felt like a princess or little daughter to my father.
“We definitely had our ups and downs in our relationship, but we’re cool now,” she continues. We chat and hang out, but I don’t contact him to say, “Hey Dad, let’s grab some food and catch up on life.” We’re going to the gym to kick around.
Bianca has undoubtedly inherited his abilities. She is equally skilled in insane flying kicks, spins, and even a balancing split that resembles Jean Claude’s well-known 2013 Volvo commercial.
One significant indication that the two Van Dammes’ relationship is improving?
Even though Bianca has gone on to do certain films without her father, she is now professionally using his stage name. And now that she’s fully embraced the martial arts family business, competition serves as a bonding force between father and daughter.
“After accepting to meet with him, I’ll be like, ‘Ugh, why am I here?'” He and I both strive for perfection, therefore he constantly corrects my form in small ways,” she says. “Look how high my kick is!,” he’ll say. And I’m thinking, “Dad, you have to be kidding me; I’m clearly superior to you.”