Connie Nielsen

jopie33 · May 31, 2008

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

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 in a somewhat "revealing" role. This 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.

Since fall of 2003 she has been dating Metallica drummer and fellow-Dane Lars Ulrich. On May 21, 2007, Lars and Connie had a son named Bryce Thadeus Ulrich-Nielsen. Nielsen also has a son, Sebastian (b. 1991), from a previous relationship.

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

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.