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 starred in the 1986 film Cobra alongside her then-husband Sylvester Stallone. 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.

Early life

Brigitte Nielsen was born Gitte Nielsen in Rødovre, Denmark. She is the daughter of Hanne, a librarian, and Svend Nielsen, an engineer, and the ex-sister-in-law of film director Nicolas Winding Refn.

Career

Modelling

Standing 1.83 m (6 ft 0 in), at the beginning of the 1980s, Nielsen did some modelling work, and was photographed by Greg Gorman and Helmut Newton. Nielsen posed for Playboy magazine multiple times, garnering the cover in December 1987. In the late 1980s, Marvel Comics approached Nielsen to pose for photographs dressed as the comic book character She-Hulk. Nielsen's exploits were well-covered in the entertainment media in the 1980s, and the world press started referring to her as an "Amazon" because of her tall stature.

Acting

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.