Connie Nielsen
Birthdate: Jul 3, 1965
Birthplace: Elling, Frederikshavn, Denmark
Connie Nielsen (birthname: Connie Inge-Lise Nielsen) is the rare Danish-born actor to have achieved their success almost entirely inside the American movie system, and the rare female actor to have a balanced profile of action roles as well as roles with major filmmakers. Nielsen’s early movie acting years were spent in Europe, first in the Jerry Lewis-starring French comedy by director/writer/co-star Philippe Clair, Par ou t’es rentre? On t’a pas vu sortir (1984), produced and released by Gaumont (a Lewis movie which has never been released in the U.S.).
Nielsen entered Hollywood thirteen years later with a major supporting role in The Devil’s Advocate (1997), co-starring Keanu Reeves, Al Pacino (as The Devil) and Charlize Theron under Taylor Hackford’s direction, grossing $153 million for Warner Bros, and then Nielsen appeared in the Jerry Stahl adaptation of Permanent Midnight (1998) with Ben Stiller and Elizabeth Hurley; in Wes Anderson’s acclaimed second film, Rushmore (1998), with Jason Schwartzman, Olivia Williams and Bill Murray; in her first action movie, Paul W.S. Anderson’s striking sci-fi Soldier (1998), starring Kurt Russell; and in another sci-fi action movie with an auteur director, Brian De Palma’s Mission to Mars (2000), with Gar Sinise, Don Cheadle, Jerry O’Connell, Kim Delaney and Tim Robbins.
Nielsen continued with world-class directors and had her most notable role to date in Ridley Scott’s Best Picture and Best Actor-winning hit, Gladiator (2000), starring Russell Crowe, Joaquin Phoenix, Oliver Reed, Derek Jacobi, Djimon Hounsou, and Richard Harris, winning five Oscars and earning $465.5 million for DreamWorks and Universal Pictures International.
Connie Nielsen began to amass a roster of strong performances in several films, including director/writer Mark Romanek’s psychodrama, One Hour Photo (2002), starring Robin Williams; a starring role in Olivier Assayas’s brilliant French film, Demonlover (2002), with Charles Berling, Chloe Sevigny and Gina Gershon; co-starring under William Friedkin’s direction with Tommy Lee Jones and Benicio del Toro in the action thriller, The Hunted (2003); and co-starring opposite John Travolta and Samuel L. Jackson in the crime thriller, Basic (2003), directed by John McTiernan.
Nielsen made a rare return to her native Denmark for a co-starring role in director/co-writer Susanne Bier’s exceptional Danish drama, Brothers (2004), with Ulrich Thomsen and Nikolaj Lie Kaas, and then starred in the Danish-backed English-language prison drama directed by Bille August, Return to Sender (2004), followed by the WWII drama directed by John Dahl, The Great Raid (2005), with Benjamin Bratt and James Franco; followed by Nielsen’s co-starring role with John Cusack and Billy Bob Thornton in Focus Features’ black comedy, The Ice Harvest (2005), directed by Harold Ramis and co-written by Richard Russo and Robert Benton; a fine starring role in the Philip Haas Iraq War drama, The Situation (2006), with Damian Lewis; and as part of the large ensemble of director/writer/producer Stuart Townsend’s docu-drama, Battle in Seattle (2007), with Andre Benjamin, Woody Harrelson, Martin Henderson, Ray Liotta, Channing Tatum, Michelle Rodriguez and Charlize Theron.
Nielsen returned to Denmark for another striking performance in director/writer Lars von Trier’s erotic epic, Nymphomaniac (2014), with the stellar cast of Charlotte Gainsbourg, Stellan Skarsgard, Stacy Martin, Shia LaBeouf, Christian Slater, Jamie Bell, Uma Thurman, Willem Dafoe, Mia Goth and Udo Kier, and then returned to Hollywood for a co-starring role opposite Kevin Costner and Hailee Steinfeld in writer/producer Luc Besson’s thriller, 3 Days to Kill (2014), directed by McG; followed by a starring role in director/writer/editor/producer J.C. Khoury’s comedy-drama, All Relative (2014); a co-star spot with Nicolas Cage, Peter Fonda and Sarah Paulson in director/writer Austin Stark’s political drama, The Runner (2015); in a supporting role in director Asif Kapadia’s and writer Christopher Hampton’s British-Azerbaijani war films, Ali and Nino (2016); co-starring with Toni Servillo, Daniel Auteuil, Pierfrancesco Favino, Moritz Bleibtreu, Marie-Josee Croze and Lambert Wilson in the Italian-French co-production directed and written by Roberto Ando, The Confessions (2016); and a supporting turn in the Simon West-directed international action movie, Stratton (2017), with Dominic Cooper and Gemma Chan.
Nielsen had the recurring role of Queen Hippolyta in a string DC Universe movies for Warner Bros., including Wonder Woman (2017), starring Gal Gadot and directed by Patty Jenkins; Justice League (2017), co-starring Ben Affleck, Jason Momoa, Henry Cavill, Ezra Miller, Gadot, Amy Adams, Jeremy Irons and J.K. Simmons under Zack Snyder’s direction; re-appearing in the director’s cut titled Zack Snyder’s Justice League (2021); and director/writer Jenkins’ sequel again starring Gadot, Wonder Woman 1984 (2020), which bombed for Warners with a mere $170 million return on a $200 million budget.
Connie Nielsen had a life away from the DC Comics movie world, with roles in the indie WWII drama, The Catcher Was a Spy (2018), starring Paul Rudd, Mark Strong, Sienna Miller and Jeff Daniels; another WWII period drama, I’ll Find You (2019), directed by Martha Coolidge and co-written by David S. Ward; and the thriller starring Lily Collins and Simon Pegg, Inheritance (2020), directed by Vaughn Stein. Nielsen enjoyed a hit after a string of box-office duds with her co-starring role opposite Bob Odenkirk in the action movie, Nobody (2021), directed by Ilya Naishuller and grossing a solid $57.5 million for Universal, spawning the sequel, Nobody 2 (2025), in which Nielsen returned with Odenkirk under Timo Tjahjanto’s direction.
Nielsen joined the large roster of fellow actors in Origin (2023), director/writer/producer Ava DuVernay’s screen dramatization of the writing of Isabel Wilkerson’s acclaimed best-seller, Caste: The Origin of Our Discontents, starring Aunjanue Ellis-Taylor, Jon Bernthal, Vera Farmiga, Audra McDonald, Niecy Nash-Betts, Nick Offerman, and Blair Underwood. Nielsen revived her role of Lucilla in Ridley Scott’s long-awaited sequel, Gladiator 2 (2024), co-starring Paul Mescal, Pedro Pascal and Denzel Washington, grossing over $462 million globally for Paramount Pictures; and then Nielsen turned to much more intimate drama as co-star with Chiwetel Ejiofor, Lauren Ambrose, Rutger Hauer, Josh Hamilton, Dagmara Dominczyk and Ethan Hawke in director/writer Michael Almereyda’s adaptation of Jonathan Lethem’s novel, Tonight at Noon (date to be announced).
Connie Nielsen Photos and Videos
Personal life
Connie Nielsen was born in Frederikshavn, Denmark, and raised in the Danish village of Elling by her parents, Laila (insurance clerk) and Bent (bus driver). Nielsen has three siblings, Bent, Ulrich, and Sos. Nielsen was in a relationship with actor Fabio Sartor during the late 1980s; the couple has one son, Sebastian Sartor (actor, composer). Nielsen was in a relationship with Metallica drummer Lars Ulrich from 2004-2012; the couple has one son, Bryce. Nielsen’s height is 5’ 10”. Nielsen’s estimated net worth is $8 million.
Known For
Connie Nielsen Movies
actor
Previous (40)
- 2025 |
- 2025 |
Inheritance
When Maya learns her father Sam was once a spy, she suddenly finds herself at the center of an international conspiracy.
- 2024 | Role Play
- 2024 |
Gladiator II
asLucilla
After his home is conquered by the tyrannical emperors who now lead Rome, Lucius is forced to enter the Colosseum and must look to his past to find strength to return the glory of Rome to its people.
- 2024 |
The Hunted
After their boat engine fails in the Mediterranean Sea, a group of refugees are rescued by rich Europeans who offer them shelter on an idyllic island. But the miracle becomes a nightmare when the saviours turn into ruthless manhunters.
- 2023 | Ocean Deep
- 2022 | A Week in Paradise
- 2022 |
The Runner
After enrolling in a school, an impoverished boy finds conflict with his classmates and decides to compete to earn their respect.
- 2021 |
- 2020 |
Wonder Woman 1984
asHippolyta
Wonder Woman finds herself battling two opponents, Maxwell Lord, a shrewd entrepreneur, and Barbara Minerva, a friend-turned-foe. Meanwhile, she also ends up crossing paths with her love interest.
- 2019 | I'll Find You
- 2019 | Sea Fever
- 2018 |
The Catcher Was a Spy
asKoranda
Former Major League Baseball player Moe Berg goes undercover in World War II Europe for the Office of Strategic Services.
- 2017 | Stratton
- 2017 |
Justice League
asQueen Hippolyta
Steppenwolf and his Parademons return after eons to capture Earth. However, Batman seeks the help of Wonder Woman to recruit and assemble Flash, Cyborg and Aquaman to fight the powerful new enemy.
- 2017 |
Wonder Woman
asHippolyta
When a pilot crashes and tells of conflict in the outside world, Diana, an Amazonian warrior in training, leaves home to fight a war, discovering her full powers and true destiny.
- 2016 | Ali and Nino
- 2016 | The Confessions
- 2014 | All Relative
- 2013 | The Galapagos Affair: Satan Came to Eden
- 2013 | Nymphomaniac: Vol. I
- 2014 |
3 Days to Kill
asChristine Renner
A dying CIA agent trying to reconnect with his estranged daughter is offered an experimental drug that could save his life in exchange for one last assignment.
- 2011 | Perfect Sense
- 2010 | Lost in Africa
- 2009 | A Shine of Rainbows
- 2007 | Battle in Seattle
- 2006 | The Situation
- 2005 | The Ice Harvest
- 2004 | Return to Sender
- 2002 | Demonlover
- 2003 | Basic
- 2002 | One Hour Photo
- 2000 | Innocents
- 2000 |
- 2000 | Mission to Mars
- 1998 | Rushmore
- 1998 | Soldier
- 1997 | The Devil's Advocate
- 1991 | Vacanze di Natale '91
- 1984 | Par où t'es rentré? On t'a pas vu sortir
Facts About Connie Nielsen
Fluent: Connie Nielsen is fluent in (beside her native Danish) Swedish, Norwegian, English, French, German, Italian and Spanish.
People Also Searched For
