Joke Bruijs
{{Short description|Dutch actress, singer and cabaret artist}}
{{Infobox person
| name = Joke Bruijs
| image = Joke Bruijs, Bestanddeelnr 927-9255 (sq cropped).jpg
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| caption = Bruijs singing in 1975
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| birth_date = {{b-da|14 January 1952}}
| birth_place = Rotterdam
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| occupation = Actress, singer, comedian
| spouse = Gerard Cox, Boris Beyer
| partner = Frits Landesbergen
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| nationality = Kingdom of the Netherlands
}}
Joke Bruijs (born 14 January 1952) is a Dutch actress, singer and cabaret artist. She has performed with big bands, recorded songs, and appeared in films and Dutch TV series. She has been called the "First Lady of Rotterdam".
Early life, family and education
Bruijs was born in Rotterdam in 1952 into a musical family.{{Cite web |date=2017-01-05 |title=Joke Bruijs viert 50-jarig jubileum met gala-concert in De Doelen |url=https://www.rijnmond.nl/nieuws/150378/joke-bruijs-viert-50-jarig-jubileum-met-gala-concert-in-de-doelen |access-date=2022-07-31 |website= rijnmond.nl |language=nl}}
Career
In 1966, Bruijs joined a pop group, The Spitfires, who were based in Rotterdam. She performed in cabaret shows with Mini & Maxi and the Dutch comedian André van Duin.{{cite web| url= http://www.jokebruijs.nl/biografie.html| title= Biografie| website= jokebruijs.nl| publisher= Joke Bruijs|archiveurl= https://web.archive.org/web/20140829143306/http://www.jokebruijs.nl/biografie.html| archivedate= 2014-08-29| url-status= unfit| access-date= 2025-06-10}}
In 1970, she competed in the National Song Contest, performing the song "Okido" and placing fourth.{{Cite web |title=Nationaal Songfestival 1970: Joke Bruijs - 'Okido' |url=https://eurovisionworld.com/national/netherlands/nationaal-songfestival-1970/joke-bruijs-okido |access-date=2022-07-31 |website= eurovisionworld.com |language=en-gb}}
She worked with singer and actor Gerard Cox, and they married. They performed as husband and wife in two Dutch sitcoms: Vreemde praktijken (1989–1993; Strange Practices), followed the next year with the long-running series Toen was geluk heel gewoon (1994–2009; When Happiness Was Very Common). They worked together later, after they were no longer married, in the feature film Casa Coco (2022).{{cite web| url= https://www.rijnmond.nl/nieuws/1571950/nieuwe-rotterdamse-film-casa-coco-met-gerard-cox-en-joke-bruijs-hoopt-succes-van-de-marathon-te-evenaren| website= rihnmond.nl| title= Nieuwe Rotterdamse film Casa Coco met Gerard Cox en Joke Bruijs hoopt succes van De Marathon te evenaren | trans-title= New Rotterdam film Casa Coco with Gerard Cox and Joke Bruijs hopes to match the success of The Marathon | language= nl| date= November 2, 2022| access-date= 2025-06-10}}
In 2009, she began appearing in the long-running Dutch soap opera Goede tijden, slechte tijden. She returned to perform on the show in 2010 and 2011. On screen she plays the mother of characters Rik and Danny de Jong before her character left for Canada. Her character returned to the story in 2018.{{Cite web| last = de Wit| first = Jorien| title = Joke Bruijs keert terug in Goede Tijden, Slechte Tijden| work = Algemeen Dagblad| access-date = 2023-11-06| date = 2018-08-26| url = https://www.ad.nl/rotterdam/joke-bruijs-keert-terug-in-goede-tijden-slechte-tijden~a80a1b4d/| language = nl}}
She sang on tour{{when|date= June 2025}} with The Ramblers. The performed together in the 1960s on Dutch radio.{{Cite web |title= The Ramblers & Joke Bruijs |publisher= Peter Boone Music Productions | website= peterboonemusicproductions.nl |url= https://www.peterboonemusicproductions.nl/the-ramblers-joke-bruijs/ |language=en |access-date=2022-07-31}}
Honors and awards
In 2003, Rotterdam presented her an Erasmus Pin.
After fifty years as a performer, Bruijs was celebrated with a concert at De Doelen on May 7, 2017, that featured North Sea Symphonic Bigbad Orchestra.
Personal life
She was married to the singer Gerard Cox; they have remained good friends.
Since about 2003 she has been in a relationship with the musician Frits Landesbergen. They made an album together as his marriage was ending, and her marriage to Boris Beyer had ended. Landesbergen is younger by eleven years. They have a second home on the Dutch Caribbean island of Bonaire.{{Cite web |date=2020-08-14 |title= De relatiegeheimen van Joke Bruijs en Frits Landesbergen |trans-title= The relationship secrets of Joke Bruijs and Frits Landesbergen |url=https://www.nouveau.nl/artikel/personality/de-relatiegeheimen-van-joke-bruijs-en-frits-landesbergen |access-date=2022-07-31 |website=Nouveau |language=nl}}
References
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Category:Actresses from Rotterdam
Category:20th-century Dutch comedians
Category:21st-century Dutch comedians