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Brigitte Nielsen

Brigitte Nielsen has always brought a striking physical presence to the screen. Born in Rødovre, Denmark, on 15 July 1963, she began the 1980s as a model, standing 1.83 metres tall and working with photographers including Greg Gorman and Helmut Newton. Her height helped earn her the press nickname “Amazon,” and that larger-than-life quality soon carried into her acting career. Nielsen made her film debut opposite Arnold Schwarzenegger in the 1985 fantasy adventure Red Sonja. The same year brought Rocky IV, in which she played Ludmilla Drago, followed by Cobra with Sylvester Stallone. In 1987, she joined Eddie Murphy in Beverly Hills Cop II as Karla Fry. These films established a screen persona particularly suited to action, fantasy and characters who could hold their ground in heightened worlds. That association with comic-book scale nearly led to another major role. Marvel approached Nielsen to pose as She-Hulk, and she was later cast as Jennifer Walters and her alter ego in a planned film. Photographs were produced, but the movie itself was cancelled. Nielsen continued working across genre cinema in films including 976-Evil II, Chained Heat II, Galaxis and Snowboard Academy. On Italian television, she played the villainess in Fantaghirò 2 and its sequels, returning after the character proved popular. Decades after Rocky IV, she reprised Ludmilla Drago in Creed II in 2018. Her career has never stayed within one lane. Nielsen began recording music in 1987 with the album Every Body Tells a Story and later released songs under the name Gitta. She has also worked extensively in European and international television as a host, guest and reality-show contestant, while taking later acting roles in Ronal the Barbarian, Raising Hope, Mercenaries and The Guardians of Justice. Across film, music, modelling and television, Nielsen’s career has remained as varied as her screen presence is distinctive.