1964
Janneke Wijngaarden is born in Amsterdam, on the fifth of July.
1980
She enters primary training school in Utrecht, in order to prepare for the Arts Academy. From this time onwards, Janneke is called Jip.
1982
As she leaves Art school, Jip auditions for the title role of Anne Frank in the Dutch theatre production The Diary of Anne Frank, directed by Jeroen Krabbé. She is chosen out of approximately 3,000 girls.
1983
Settles in Amsterdam. She interprets the title role in the film The Diary of Anne Frank.
During the following years, until 1990, she plays in various theatre productions: the title roles in Iphigenia, written by Euripides, Yvonne, written by Gombrowicz, and Cleopatra, written by William Shakespeare, as well as the role of Electra in Mourning Becomes Electra by Eugene O'Neill. As to her film carrier, she plays Rosalie in Bij Nader Inzien (‘Second thoughts'), a television series directed by Frans Weisz; as well as a leading role in the television film Hoogvlieger (‘High Flyer'). Besides, she writes columns for a radio broadcasting company. She is co-founder the theatre group De Zaak (‘The Business'), in which she performs as an actress and sometimes works as a stage and costume designer.
1987
Takes a course at the Vincent van Gogh Museum in drawing from models.
1988
Costume designer and stage designer for the Dutch theatre production Philoctetes.
1989
Plays Sien Hoornik in an American film about the life of Vincent van Gogh, directed by Robert Altman. Part of the film production takes place in France, and it is there that Jip meets her future husband; sound technician Philippe Combes.
1990
Moves to Paris and marries Philippe. While Robert Altman invites her to come to Hollywood, Jip starts to ask serious questions about the meaning of life. Together, she and Philippe search for authenticity, truth and security. Having been touched by the person and message of the Jewish Messiah Yeshua, and having put their faith in him, they turn their backs on the world of glitter and glamour.
1991
Jip is baptized. Trusting in the God of Israel and studying his Word is like a ‘coming home' experience. While she finds her place in the Christian community, she keeps insisting on returning to the Hebrew roots of the Christian faith. Her life is changed profoundly, often through pain and struggle.
1993
Jip and Philippe move to Sergy, a little French border town near Geneva. She writes a theater monologue, based on a letter from a book by Etty Hillesum in which this Jewess relates her experiences in a Dutch concentration camp during the Second World War. A few years later, she performs it in Strasbourg.
1994
Jip is in involved in preparing a documentary about the Shoah, which is partly recorded in Israel.
1995
Plays a minor role in the French film La coline aux milles enfants (‘The Hill of Thousand Children')
1997
Begins studying Hebrew in the Jewish Community Centre in Geneva. Plays a major role in a film for television film, directed by Mark Timmer.
1998
From now on, she takes up painting more seriously. Her first works are inspired by the theme: Israel and the Bible.
1999
Jan Wijngaarden, Jip's beloved father. During his life he was a surgeon.
2002
She takes a course in drawing from a model, at the Geneva' Arts Academy.
2003
In May, an exhibition of works inspired by the Shoah is staged in the former synagogue of Kampen. It is the first time her work receives public attention. The printed catalogue was entitled Boulevard des déportés.
From now on, she no longer uses her actress name Jip, but only her real name, albeit written in the French way: Yanneke.
In November of the same year, there is an exhibition of her work in the Etty Hillesum Centre in Deventer.
2004
In March, a large-scale exhibition is staged in the Great (liberal) Synagogue of Groningen. This is followed by a memorial exhibition in Ermelo, which includes a power point presentation in the local theatre.
In July and August, there is an exhibition in the little (orthodox) Synagogue of Aalten.
2005
Under the title De tijd stond stil (‘Time was standing still'), a large-scale exhibition is staged in the beautiful orthodox Synagogue of Enschede. Some 3,000 visitors signed the register.
2006
Yanneke studies etching techniques in a studio in Rolle, a nearby Swiss town.
She prepares a new series of paintings for an important exhibition at the occasion of the inauguration of a Jewish Historical Museum in the restored Synagogue of Elburg, a beautiful historic Dutch town.
2007
While the preparation for the exhibition in Elburg continues, Yanneke gives presentations of her work in France, Switzerland and Austria.
2008
In June, the exhibition "Your people, My people" is opened in the museum of Elburg, accompanied by a beautiful catalog of all her work. The opening is associated with the Synagoge of Elburg which becomes a Jewish museum.
