Connie Nielsen | |
|---|---|
 Nielsen in 2016 | |
| Born | Connie Inge-Lise Nielsen (1965-07-03)3 July 1965 (age 60) Frederikshavn, Denmark |
| Occupation | Actress |
| Years active | 1984–present |
| Spouse | Fabio Sartor (divorced) |
| Partner | Lars Ulrich (2004–2012) |
| Children | 2 |
Connie Inge-Lise Nielsen (born 3 July 1965)[1][2] is a Danish actress. She has starred asLucilla in the filmsGladiator (2000) andGladiator II (2024) and asQueen Hippolyta in theDC Extended Universe (2017–2021). She has also starred in films such asSoldier (1998),Mission to Mars (2000),One Hour Photo (2002),Basic (2003),The Hunted (2003),The Ice Harvest (2005),Nymphomaniac (2013),3 Days to Kill (2014),Inheritance (2020),Nobody (2021) and its sequelNobody 2 (2025).[3]
She also had roles as New York Police Department Detective Dani Beck, the temporary partner ofChristopher Meloni'sElliot Stabler in theNBC crime drama seriesLaw & Order: Special Victims Unit (2006), theStarz political drama seriesBoss (2011–2012), theFox crime thriller seriesThe Following (2014), and theTNT limited drama seriesI Am the Night (2019), and starred in theChannel 4 drama series.
Nielsen was born inFrederikshavn and grew up in the village ofElling, Denmark.[4] Her father, Bent Nielsen, was a bus driver, and her mother, Laila Inge-lise Matzigkeit (1945–2014), was an insurance clerk, who also acted and wrotemusical reviews.[5][6] She was raised as a member ofthe Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, aMormon.[7]
She began her acting career working alongside her mother on the local revue and variety scene. At 18, she traveled toParis, where she worked as an actress and model, which led to further work and study in Italy—at drama school inRome and in master classes with Lydia Styx, a teacher atPiccolo Teatro di Milano inMilan. She lived in Italy for many years before moving to the United States.[citation needed]
Nielsen's feature-film debut was theJerry Lewis French filmPar où t'es rentré ? On t'a pas vu sortir in 1984, followed by a role in the Italian miniseriesColletti Bianchi in 1988. She appeared in the Italian filmVacanze di Natale '91 (1991) and the French filmLe Paradis Absolument (1993).[8]
She moved to the United States in the mid-1990s, and made her first appearance in a major English-language film in 1997 as Christabella Andreoli inThe Devil's Advocate, starring oppositeAl Pacino andKeanu Reeves. This first minor breakthrough led to roles in the filmsPermanent Midnight (1998),Rushmore (1998), andSoldier (1998).[9] Nielsen later became proud of her roles as exoticfemme fatales inThe Devil's Advocate andRushmore, saying: "I don't believe in afeminism that repressesfemale sexuality, but there's a fine line between expression and exploitation".[10]
In 2000, Nielsen appeared asLucilla inRidley Scott'sGladiator, starring oppositeRussell Crowe andJoaquin Phoenix. Since then, she has starred in American films, includingMission to Mars (2000),One Hour Photo (2002),The Hunted (2003), andBasic (2003), for which she had to cut off most of her hair. She also starred in the French thrillerDemonlover (2002), directed byOlivier Assayas. She played the Irish mother to an orphan inA Shine of Rainbows (2009).[11]
In 2004, Nielsen made her Danish film debut in the drama,Brødre (also known asBrothers), for which she won the Danish Best Actress Award, theBodil,[12][13][14] as well as Best Actress at theSan Sebastian International Film Festival. She was also nominated for Best Actress at theEuropean Film Awards. In 2006, Nielsen appeared in several episodes ofLaw & Order: Special Victims Unit asDetective Dani Beck. She filled in forMariska Hargitay, who was onmaternity leave at the time of filming.[15]
WithCharlotte Gainsbourg,Jamie Bell, andUma Thurman, Nielsen appeared in the 2014Lars Von Trier filmNymphomaniac.[16] She was featured in a series of promotional posters prior to the film's release, a campaignThe Independent described as "shocking", observing, "Connie Nielsen appears somewhat moist in this poster forNymphomaniac".[17]
In 2015, she appeared on theTV-2 albumDet gode liv in which she sang along withSteffen Brandt on the track "Brev til Mona". In September 2018, she appeared in the pilot episode of theCBS dramaFBI withJeremy Sisto andMissy Peregrym.
Nielsen is known asQueen Hippolyta inDC Extended Universe franchise, appearing in four films beginning withWonder Woman (2017). She also starred in the action movieNobody (2021) and its sequelNobody 2 (2025).
From 2004 to 2012, Nielsen datedMetallica drummer and fellowDane,Lars Ulrich.[18] They have one son together.[19] Nielsen had a son from a previous marriage to fellow actorFabio Sartor.[20]
Nielsen is fluent in her native Danish, English, French, German, Italian, Norwegian and Swedish. She also knows some Spanish.[21]
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1984 | Par où t'es rentré ? On t'a pas vu sortir | Eva | Credited as Connie Nielson |
| 1991 | Vacanze di Natale '91 | Brunilde / Vanessa | |
| 1997 | The Devil's Advocate | Christabella Andreoli | |
| 1998 | Permanent Midnight | Dagmar | |
| Rushmore | Mrs. Calloway | ||
| Soldier | Sandra | ||
| 2000 | Innocents | Megan Denright | |
| Mission to Mars | Terri Fisher | ||
| Gladiator | Lucilla | ||
| 2002 | One Hour Photo | Nina Yorkin | |
| Demonlover | Diane de Monx | ||
| 2003 | The Hunted | Abby Durrell | |
| Basic | Osborne | ||
| 2004 | Brødre | Sarah | |
| Return to Sender | Charlotte Cory | ||
| 2005 | The Great Raid | Margaret Utinsky | |
| The Ice Harvest | Renata Crest | ||
| 2006 | The Situation | Anna Molyneux | |
| 2007 | Battle in Seattle | Jean | |
| 2009 | A Shine of Rainbows | Maire | |
| 2010 | Kidnappet | Susanne | |
| 2011 | Perfect Sense | Jenny | |
| 2013 | Nymphomaniac | Joe's Mother | |
| The Galapagos Affair: Satan Came to Eden | Baroness Von Wagner | Voice | |
| 2014 | 3 Days to Kill | Christine Renner | |
| Return to Zero | Dr. Claire Holden | ||
| All Relative | Maren | ||
| 2015 | The Runner | Deborah Price | |
| 2016 | Ali and Nino | Duchess Kipiani | |
| The 11th | Katrine Firth | ||
| Løvekvinnen | Mrs Grjothornet | ||
| The Confessions | Claire Seth | ||
| 2017 | Stratton | Sumner | |
| Wonder Woman | Queen Hippolyta | ||
| Justice League | |||
| 2018 | The Catcher Was a Spy | Koranda | |
| 2019 | I'll Find You | Lena | |
| Sea Fever | Freya | ||
| 2020 | Inheritance | Catherine Monroe | |
| Wonder Woman 1984 | Queen Hippolyta | ||
| 2021 | Zack Snyder's Justice League | ||
| Nobody | Becca Mansell | ||
| 2022 | A Week in Paradise | Fiona | |
| 2023 | Origin | Sabine | |
| Ocean Deep | Mara | ||
| 2024 | Role Play | Gwen Carver | |
| Gladiator II | Lucilla | ||
| 2025 | Nobody 2 | Becca Mansell |
| Year | Title | Role |
|---|---|---|
| 1993 | Voyage | Ronnie Freeland |
| 1994 | Le paradis absolument | Sarah |
| 2008 | Danny Fricke | Danny Fricke |
| 2015 | Unveiled | Joan McAllen |
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1988 | Colletti bianchi | Marilù Bacchetta | Television Series; 12 Episodes |
| 1994 | Okavango – The Wild Frontier | Lena | Television Series; 16 Episodes |
| 2006 | Law & Order: Special Victims Unit | Detective Dani Beck | 6 episodes |
| 2011–2012 | Boss | Meredith Rutledge Kane | 16 episodes |
| 2014 | The Following | Lily Gray | 10 episodes |
| 2014–2015 | The Good Wife | Ramona Lytton | 4 episodes |
| 2018 | FBI | Ellen Solberg | Episode: "Pilot" |
| Liberty | Katrina | 5 episodes | |
| 2019 | I Am the Night | Corinna Hodel | 6 episodes |
| 2021 | Close to Me | Jo Harding | |
| 2022 | The Dreamer – Becoming Karen Blixen[22] | Karen Blixen | |
| 2025 | Robin Hood | Eleanor of Aquitaine |
| Year | Artist | Title | Role |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1985 | Arcadia | Election Day | Girl dance |
