Brigitte Nielsen
Brigitte Nielsen (Danish pronunciation: [pʁiˈkitə ˈne̝lsn̩]; born Gitte Nielsen; 15 July 1963) is a Danish actress, model, and singer. She began her career modelling for Greg Gorman and Helmut Newton. She subsequently acted in the 1985 films Red Sonja and Rocky IV, later returning to the Rocky series in Creed II (2018). Nielsen married Sylvester Stallone, with whom she starred in the 1986 film Cobra. She played a villain in Beverly Hills Cop II (1987) and starred as the Black Witch in the 1990s Italian film series Fantaghirò. She later built a career starring in B-movies, hosting TV shows, and appearing on reality shows.
Not to be confused with Birgit Nilsson.
Brigitte Nielsen
- Actress
- model
- singer
1984–present
185 cm (6 ft 1 in)
-
Kasper Winding(m. 1983; div. 1984)
-
Raoul Meyer(m. 1993; div. 2005)
-
Mattia Dessì(m. 2006)
Mark Gastineau (1988–1990)
5
Early life[edit]
Brigitte Nielsen was born Gitte Nielsen in Rødovre, Denmark. She is the daughter of Hanne, a librarian, and Svend Nielsen, an engineer,[1] and the ex-sister-in-law of film director Nicolas Winding Refn.
Career[edit]
Modelling[edit]
Standing 1.85 m (6 ft 1 in), at the beginning of the 1980s, Nielsen did some modelling work, and was photographed by Greg Gorman[2] and Helmut Newton.[3] Nielsen posed for Playboy magazine multiple times, garnering the cover in December 1987.[4][5] In the late 1980s, Marvel Comics approached Nielsen to pose for photographs dressed as the comic book character She-Hulk.[6] Nielsen's exploits were well-covered in the entertainment media in the 1980s, and the world press started referring to her as an "Amazon"[7][8][9] because of her tall stature.
Acting[edit]
In 1985, Nielsen began her acting career in the fantasy film Red Sonja alongside Arnold Schwarzenegger. That same year, she married Sylvester Stallone; the couple acted in two films together (Rocky IV and Cobra) before divorcing in 1987.
In 1987, Nielsen played Karla Fry in the film Beverly Hills Cop II (1987), alongside Eddie Murphy. In 1991, she was cast as Jennifer Walters/She-Hulk in a planned but never-produced film based on She-Hulk. She posed for photos dressed both as Jennifer Walters and her alter-ego, She-Hulk, before the film was cancelled.
Subsequently, she starred in 976-Evil II, The Double 0 Kid (1992), Chained Heat II (1993), Galaxis (1995), and Snowboard Academy (1997). She starred as the villainess of the Italian TV fantasy film Fantaghirò 2[10] and its sequels (1992–1996); her character was supposed to be killed off in the first of these films, but was then brought back due to popular demand.[11]
In 2011, Nielsen voice acted for the Danish animated comedy film Ronal the Barbarian.[12] In 2012, she played in the horror movie Eldorado. In 2013, she has featured in the short art film The Key alongside Ray Stevenson. In 2014, she starred in the science-fiction film Exodus,[13] in the TV series Raising Hope, and in the action film Mercenaries. In 2018, she reprised her role of Ludmilla Drago from Rocky IV in Creed II. In 2022, she joined the cast of TV Series The Guardians of Justice, when she played Anubis Queen.
Music and writing[edit]
Nielsen started a music career in 1987. She released her debut album Every Body Tells a Story in that year and recorded a duet with Austrian pop star Falco, Giorgio Moroder's penned "Body Next to Body" which went to No. 22 in Germany and No. 6 in Austria.[14] She released a follow-up album, I'm the One... Nobody Else, in 1991.
Nielsen released a few songs under the pseudonym "Gitta" because producers wanted to see if she could succeed as a singer without her name on the cover. The first song "No More Turning Back" peaked at No. 54 on the British Single Charts,[15] No. 63 on the Dutch Single Charts[16] and even reached the Top 10 in Spain.[17] Other tracks recorded as Gitta were 2001's "Tic Toc" and 2002's "You're No Lady", a collaboration with Ru Paul.
Nielsen appeared in Michael Jackson's "Liberian Girl" music video in 1989 and in metal band Korn's music video for the single "Make Me Bad" in 2000. In 2008, German record label Edel Music re-released her 1991 album I'm the One... Nobody Else and the 1987 Every Body Tells a Story under the title Brigitte Nielsen.[18] In 2012, she performed (as Gitte Nielsen) on the song "Misery" with Spleen United, from the album School of Euphoria.