Celebrity Online NewsOnline Celebrity Gossip and News

This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding reliable references. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (June 2007)

Connie Nielsen
Born	Connie Inge-Lise Nielsen July 3, 1965 (1965-07-03) (age 43) Frederikshavn, Denmark
Years active	1984 - present
Domestic partner(s)	Lars Ulrich (2003-present)

Connie Inge-Lise Nielsen (born July 3, 1965) is a Danish actress.

Biography

Early life

Nielsen was born in Frederikshavn, Denmark to an insurance clerk mother and a bus driver father ¹. She was raised in a small seaside village named Elling. She began her acting career working alongside her mother on the local revue and variety scene. At 18 she travelled to Paris, France where she worked as an actress and model, which led to further work and study in Italy — at drama school in Rome and in master classes with Lydia Styx, a teacher at il Piccolo Teatro di Milano in Milan. She lived in Italy for many years, before moving to the United States, where she still resides.

Personal life

Nielsen also has a son, Sebastian (2 Jun 90), from a previous relationship.

Since fall of 2003 she has been dating Metallica drummer and fellow-Dane Lars Ulrich. Ulrich is the father of sons Myles, 8, and Layne, 5, also from a previous marriage.

She speaks seven languages: Danish, English, French, German, Italian, Norwegian and Swedish ².

Her favorite bands include The Clash and she is a fan of the work of, among others, fellow Danes film directors Lars von Trier and Thomas Vinterberg (the latter filmed a music video for Metallica's song "The Day That Never Comes").

Career

Nielsen's feature film debut was the Jerry Lewis French film, Par Où T'es Rentré? On T'a Pas Vu Sortir in 1984, followed by a role in the Italian mini-series Colletti Bianchi in 1988. She appeared in the 1991 Italian Vacanze di Natale '91 and the French film Le Paradis Absolument in 1993.

She moved to the United States in 1996 and made her first appearance in a major English-language film in 1997 as Christabella Andreoli in The Devil's Advocate, starring opposite Al Pacino and Keanu Reeves. This first minor breakthrough led to roles in films as Permanent Midnight (1998), Rushmore (1998) and Soldier (1998).

In 2000, Nielsen became known to worldwide audiences as Lucilla in Ridley Scott's internationally acclaimed Academy Award-winning epic Gladiator, where she starred opposite Russell Crowe and Joaquin Phoenix. She has since then starred in some notable American films, including Mission to Mars (2000), One Hour Photo (2002), The Hunted (2003) and Basic (2003). She also starred in the acclaimed French thriller Demonlover (2002), directed by Olivier Assayas.

In 2004, Nielsen made her Danish film debut in the drama, Brødre (aka Brothers) for which she won the Danish Best Actress Award, The Bodil, as well as Best Actress at the San Sebastian International Film Festival. She was also nominated for Best Actress at the European Film Awards. In 2006, Nielsen appeared in several episodes of Law & Order: Special Victims Unit as Det. Dani Beck. She filled in for Mariska Hargitay who was on maternity leave at the time of filming.

Filmography

• Par Où T'es Rentré? On T'a Pas Vu Sortir (1984) - Eva
• Colletti bianchi (1988) (mini) TV Series - Marilù
• Vacanze di Natale '91 (1991) - Brunilde/Vanessa
• Voyage (1993) (TV) - Ronnie Freeland
• Paradis absolument, Le (1993) (TV) - Sarah
• The Devil's Advocate (1997) - Christabella Andreoli
• Permanent Midnight (1998) - Dagmar
• Rushmore (1998) - Mrs. Calloway
• Soldier (1998) - Sandra
• Dark Summer (1999) - Megan Denright
• Mission to Mars (2000) - Terri Fisher
• Gladiator (2000) - Lucilla
• One Hour Photo (2002) - Nina Yorkin
• Demonlover (2002) - Diane de Monx
• The Hunted (2003) - Abby Durrell
• Basic (2003) - Osborne
• Brothers (Brødre) (2004) - Sarah
• Return to Sender (aka Convicted) (2004) - Charlotte Cory
• The Ice Harvest (2005) - Renata
• The Great Raid (2005) - Margaret Utinsky
• The Situation (2007) - Anna Molyneux
• Battle in Seattle (2007) - Jean
• Tonight at Noon (2008) - Laura

Television

• Law & Order: Special Victims Unit (2006) - Det. Dani Beck

References

External links

• Connie Nielsen at the Internet Movie Database