Very International But Hardly Known Danish Beauties
Not very many Danish actresses have made it to the international silver screen. But a few have managed and often without being recognized by the Danish audience.
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- A former au pair and model, Jytte Stensgaard emigrated to the UK in 1963, hoping to have a successful international film career. Changing her name to the slightly easier to pronounce "Yutte" Stensgaard she ironically didn't make her debut in a British film, but in the Italian movie The Girl with a Pistol (1968) (Girl with a Pistol) which did have some British backing. She then went on to appear in various British movies, mainly of the comedy or horror genre, most famously the lead role in Lust for a Vampire (1971), as well as several television guest roles.
She also got a six-month stint hosting a game show with British king of comedy, Bob Monkhouse. After struggling with myopic casting directors, who could not see the beauty and budding talent before them and were happier to just keep casting more established but less beautiful women, Yutte finally gave up and emigrated to the USA in the mid-seventies and took up a job selling air time for a Christian radio station in Oregon.
Understandably reluctant to make appearances at horror conventions when British film publicists finally started to notice her when it was too late, she did relent and start appearing at a select few in the late 1990s, giving the non-fickle amongst her fans a chance to see her unique radiance once more.
An inimitable beauty the likes of which has never been seen since, Yutte Stensgaard was possibly the biggest loss to movies since that of Sharon Tate. - Merete Van Kamp is a Danish born model turned actress that found success in American television and film, known from blockbuster mini-series Princess Daisy and as Grace van Owen on Dallas TV-series: Merete Van Kamp appeared in TV-Series Remington Steel and in Aaron Spellings TV-Series Hotel...she has been both starring and a supporting actress in several films such as You Can't hurry love, The Osterman weekend directed by Sam Peckinpah, Lethal woman, Murders of Westbrick and many others. Merete Van Kamp did an EMI Records album pleasure and pain Muscial directors were Rick James and Frank Langolff. Merete Van Kamp is the creator of Thevankampstudio '' Formation des comedians et realisation des film.'' Merete Van Kamp is a writer, producer, coach and director of project series to be announced shortly, in which she will perform a supporting lead role. Www.thevankampstudio.com
- Kirsten Lindholm was born on 1 September 1943 in Odense, Denmark. She is an actress, known for Doctor in the House (1969), UFO (1970) and Popdown (1969). She has been married to Vic Briggs since May 1972. They have two children. She was previously married to John Betts.
- Pia Grønning was born on 2 November 1949 in Denmark. She is an actress.
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Camilla Overbye Roos was born in Copenhagen, Denmark. Born into a family of three generations of filmmakers, she spent most of her childhood at a film studio in Copenhagen. Always interested and observing, it soon became part of her life as well. Growing up she worked every job behind the camera as well as as an actress - making her first appearance in a film at age 3. She has worked with such internationally renowned directors as Lars von Trier, David Lynch, Ridley Scott and James Cameron.
At the age of 14, Camilla joined a travelling circus. She performed with them as a kinfe thrower for a year. In 1993 she was the first Dane on the cover of Life Magazine. In 2000 she started her own company, Kraka Productions, named after a Viking myth - producing and directing documentaries for BBC, Arté, USA Network, TV2, etc. In 2003 Camilla won Best Actress at the NY Independent Film Festival for her starring role in "Under the Influence".- Actress
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Rie Rasmussen was born in Denmark in 1976 to an artist mother and an Economist father. She was raised in the Danish country in an extended family with nine brothers and sisters. She moved to New York at the age of 15 to paint and has continued to travel ever since. She lived in Huntington Beach California where she briefly attended film school as a director in 1998. While writing in Paris she was cast in Brian De Palmas "Femme Fatale". After her role in Brian De Palma's film she was picked by director Tom Ford as the exclusive worldwide face of Gucci. At the age of 24 she directed her first short film, "Thinning the Herd" which she also wrote and acted in. "Thinning the Herd" nominated for a Palme d'Or at the Cannes film festival 2004. She opened Taormina film festival with her second short film 'Il Vestito' which she also wrote and appeared in. Shot on location in Palermo, Sicily as a black and white homage to Italian Neo-realism. In 2005 she was cast as the lead in Luc Besson's "Angel-A" a French speaking black and white fairy tale set in Paris. "Human Zoo" her first feature which she wrote, directed and produced was officially selected at last years Berlin Film Festival and was the opening night Panorama presentation.- Actress
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Connie Nielsen is set to begin production on Ridley Scott's "Gladiator 2," where she will star alongside Paul Mescal and Denzel Washington, reprising her iconic role of 'Lucilla' from the Academy Award-winning film "Gladiator." She appears in Ava Duvernay's feature, "Origin," based on the book by Isabel Wilkerson, opposite Jon Bernthal and Aunjanue Ellis-Taylor. Additionally, Nielsen has roles in the following upcoming films: "Role Play," alongside Kaley Cuoco, Bill Nighy, and David Oyelowo for StudioCanal; and "Follow Me," directed by Siri Rodnes. Nielsen is also preparing for the production of "Birds Eye," alongside Maria Bakalova and Jean Reno.
Nielsen starred in and served as an executive producer for the Danish mini-series, "The Dreamer: Becoming Karen Blixen," and starred in "Close to Me" for AMC/Channel 4, opposite Christopher Eccleston.
Previously, Nielsen starred as 'Queen Hippolyta' in Warner Brother's blockbuster hits, "Wonder Woman," "Justice League," "Wonder Woman 1984," and the Snyder Cut of "Justice League", co-starred with Bob Odenkirk in the successful Universal feature, "Nobody," and appeared alongside Simon Pegg and Lily Collins in "The Inheritance," directed by Vaughn Stein. She also appeared in TNT's limited series, "I Am the Night," directed by Patty Jenkins, opposite Chris Pine, and the Danish mini-series, "Liberty," created by Asger Leth. Her other film credits include: "I'll Find You" (directed by Martha Coolidge/Fred Roos), where she starred alongside Stellan Skarsgárd; "Sea Fever" (TIFF 2019), directed by Ken O'Sullivan; "Catcher Was a Spy," opposite Paul Rudd and Guy Pearce; "Stratton," opposite Dominic Cooper; "Le Confessioni," opposite Toni Servillo; the Norwegian film, "The Lion Woman," and Lars Van Triers' "Nymphomaniac," in which she had a leading role. Nielsen was the female lead in the Golden Globe Award-nominated series "Boss," opposite Kelsey Grammer, had a recurring role as a femme fatale on FOX's "The Following," opposite Kevin Bacon, and appeared in a recurring arc on CBS' "The Good Wife."- Actress
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Vivi Bach was born on 3 September 1939 in Copenhagen, Denmark. She was an actress and writer, known for Holiday in St. Tropez (1964), Die Post geht ab (1962) and Soldaterkammerater rykker ud (1959). She was married to Dietmar Schönherr and Heinz Sebeck. She died on 22 April 2013 in Ibiza, Spain.- Actress
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The enticing, voluptuous European beauty Greta Thyssen filled out the pages of movie magazines everywhere during the 1950s. Born on March 30, 1927, she was a freshly-scrubbed brunette when she was crowned Miss Denmark in 1952. The subsequent attention had her packing her bags for Hollywood. At that time, Marilyn Monroe had become an international sex symbol and Hollywood hopefuls were falling all over themselves to be just like her. Enter Greta, in a major, major transformation, as a statuesque, peroxide-blonde bombshell -- competing against the whistle-blowing likes of Jayne Mansfield and Mamie Van Doren. With mouth-dropping measurements reported at 40-24-36, this pin-up favorite became the best piece of Danish pastry in town. She also had her eyes out for films.
Like Ms. Mansfield and Ms. Van Doren, Greta's movie career was a bust -- literally. She bordered slightly on the seamy side and was offered such roles. However, she proved a trooper and was qualified enough to handle a scattered amount of low-grade crime dramas, adventures and horror stories -- a few having since reached "cult turkey" status. Greta actually started off in the quality movie Bus Stop (1956), unbilled as a "cover girl". She also served as Ms. Monroe's double in the movie. Another small film role in Accused of Murder (1956) led to a regular role as a busty "Pirate Girl" model on the quiz show Treasure Hunt (1956) starring wolfish host Jan Murray. She momentarily took a few male minds off the horrific The Beast of Budapest (1958) and did her scream queen schtick in Terror Is a Man (1959), in which she played vulnerable to a mad scientist-turned-panther-like creature à la "The Island of Dr. Moreau".
Greta added the requisite hard-boiled touch to the noirish detective film Three Blondes in His Life (1961) opposite Jock Mahoney and showed up in Journey to the Seventh Planet (1962) as well, which was another John Agar sci-fi cheapie. On television, she played a fetching foil in some of The Three Stooges shorts (Joe Besser was the third Stooge at the time) and appeared on television series, mostly crime stories, including Dragnet (1951) and Perry Mason (1957). Her film career ended dismally with the inane comedy Cottonpickin' Chickenpickers (1967), which pretty much says this all. Toward the end, she appeared in a couple of wink-wink stage comedies such as "Pajama Tops" until the early 1970s. She then retired from acting and moved to New York City where she found success as a painter, combining representational nude figures and surrealistic allegory. Generally, Greta took advantage of the equipment she had, made this work for her, and got her "fifteen minutes".
Greta Thyssen passed away at age 90 of complications from pneumonia on January 6, 2018 at her Manhattan home.- Evy Norlund was employed as a trainee hairdresser when she met and then befriended the Danish actor, director and producer Klaus Pagh. They became engaged and he arranged a job for her as a photo model, introduced her to the theatrical impresario Stig Lommel and entered her in the Miss Denmark pageant. Rounded off with further studies at a fashion school, the ravishing blonde became a top flight mannequin. In 1958, she was voted 'Miss Denmark' and the following year travelled to Hollywood to compete for the 'Miss Universe' title. While she did not win, her consolation prize was a short-term contract with Columbia studios and an appearance in a circus picture, as one of the trapeze artists who came to fame as The Flying Fontaines (1959). While preparing for her role at a studio acting school, she met actor and singer James Darren (famous at the time as 'Moondoggie' in Gidget (1959). They dated for a year, while Darren wrapped up divorce proceedings from his first wife, Gloria Barbara Terlitzsky. After a return trip back to Denmark to break off her engagement with Pagh, Evy married Darren in February 1960. Her career stillborn, she never acted in another film and settled down at their new home in the Beverly Hills canyon of Los Angeles, a former residence of Audrey Hepburn.
- Vibeke Knudsen-Bergeron is known for Body of My Enemy (1976), Spermula (1976) and Madame Claude (1977).
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Lone Fleming was born on 5 September 1945 in Aarhus, Denmark. She is an actress and director, known for La Virgen Descalza (2019), Vampyres (2015) and The Fourth Victim (1971). She was previously married to Eugenio Martín.- Kitty Swan was born on 25 May 1943 in Copenhagen, Denmark. She is an actress, known for Tarzan in the Golden Grotto (1969), Gungala, the Virgin of the Jungle (1967) and House of 1,000 Dolls (1967).
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Ann Smyrner was born on 3 November 1934 in Frederiksberg, Denmark. She was an actress, known for Reptilicus (1961), Kommissar X - Drei gelbe Katzen (1966) and Holiday in St. Tropez (1964). She died on 29 August 2016 in Benalmadena, Andalusia, Spain.- Actress
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Born in Denmark, she came to Paris at 18. She met Coco Chanel and Pierre Cardin and started as a top model. She met Jean-Luc Godard about a cameo in Breathless (1960), but she had to be naked and she refused to play in the movie. One year later, they wed and she became famous with the "Nouvelle Vague" movies directed by him, Jacques Rivette, and Agnès Varda.
In 1967, Serge Gainsbourg wrote his only film musical Anna (1967) for her, with the hit "Sous le soleil exactement". Then, she went to Hollywood for a few movies and came back to Paris. She wrote and directed Vivre ensemble (1973) after her divorce from Pierre Fabre. She later remarried, to Dennis Berry.- Pouty-lipped, kittenish Annette Stroyberg was best known, and briefly known, as the sexy young nubile blonde who replaced bombshell Brigitte Bardot in the late 1950s as the wife and object of exploitation of Svengali-like French director Roger Vadim. Possessing Bardot's similar erotic balance of melancholy and fragility within her Lolita-like stunning looks, Vadim married Annette in June of 1958. Billing her as Annette Vadim, he was unable, however, to recreate the same Bardot magic and their marriage and her career quickly fell by the wasteside.
The beautiful Stroyberg was born on the island of Fyn, in Denmark, on December 7, 1936. Her father was a physician who died when she was quite young. She and her sister then moved to Copenhagen where she was raised. She found her way to Paris in her late teens where she worked at couture houses as a model, later finding employment with such fashion notables as Chanel. Annette hooked up with Vadim during the filming of his legendary first feature ...And God Created Woman (1956), the movie that catapulted BB to mythic status. When BB started up a heated affair with young co-star Jean-Louis Trintignant, Vadim moved in with Annette, who subsequently gave birth to their daughter Nathalie Vadim in 1957. Vadim then proceeded to build and groom a replica of BB with Stroyberg. Her biggest chance for fame was when he put her on display in the film of the classic novel Dangerous Liaisons (1959) as Marianne de Tourvel, the virtuous victim of the evil Jeanne Moreau and Gérard Philipe. Making her debut, Annette was stunning, of course but found herself quite outclassed by her cast, hardly ready for such a demanding role. She earned far more recognition when Vadim cast her as a society girl-cum-lesbian vampire Carmilla (catch the cozy scene with "victim" Elsa Martinelli) in the exploitive Blood and Roses (1960). By the time of the film's release, however, her marriage to Vadim was history. He had moved on to try and conquer underage actress Catherine Deneuve and she put designs on guitarist Sacha Distel.
Annette subsequently packed her bags for Italy where she made a few unmemorable pictures, reverting to her maiden name of Stroyberg on the marquee boards. In between she managed to amass a number of love affairs with such available (and unavailable) playboy actors as Vittorio Gassman, her co-star in Roberto Rossellini's Anima nera (1962), Alain Delon, Omar Sharif and Warren Beatty. Her last film was Lo scippo (1965). Giving up on her career, she turned socialite and married Moroccan sugar king Guy Senouf in 1967, dividing her time between Paris and Africa. The couple had a son, Yan, but this marriage, like her first, was short-lived. In 1974 she married Gregory Callimanopulos, a Greek shipping magnate, and settled for a time in America. They had a son, Peri Callimanopulos. She returned to Europe after their divorce in the early 1990s and married a fourth time to lawyer Christian Lillelund. Stroyberg died at age 69 of cancer on December 12, 2005, and was survived by her husband and three children. - Lisbeth Hummel was born in 1952 in Copenhagen, Denmark. She is an actress, known for Le diaboliche (1987), L'aigle et la colombe (1977) and Dolly il sesso biondo (1979).
- Birte Berg was born on 30 April 1958 in Struer, Denmark. She is an actress, known for The Hand of God (2021), Der Stein des Todes (1987) and Ottobre rosa all'Arbat (Vacanze a Mosca) (1991).
- Winnie Hollman is known for Eyes of Laura Mars (1978), Tattoo (1981) and Cocaine Cowboys (1979). She was previously married to Tom Sullivan.
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Josefine recently wrapped shooting a role in Zack Snyder's much anticipated franchise starter, REBEL MOON, for Netflix which is set to release later this year. She can currently be seen in A MAN CALLED OTTO starring Tom Hanks and directed by Marc Forster.
Josefine can also be seen in the upcoming film, DETAINED, opposite Abbie Cornish - an independent film that shot in LA and was directed by Felipe Mucci.
In '21, she played the lead role of 'Zoey' in the COUNTING CROWS: BUTTER MIARCLE SUITE ONE opposite Clifton Collins Jr. She was named as one of five rising stars to watch in 2021 by popular Nordic Entertainment and Culture blog Minnis2Society. Josefine can be seen as 'Bernadette' in George Gallos' feature film THE COMEBACK TRAIL, opposite Robert DeNiro, Morgan Freeman, Tommy Lee Jones, Emile Hirsch and Zach Braff. She stars in the highly anticipated Danish thriller ROTTEN FLOWERS aka UKRUDT which is available to stream on one of the biggest streamers in Europe "Viaplay" and also avail to rent on Blockbuster, iTunes etc.
Josefine also wrote, directed, produced and starred in her debut short "Silence" (link below) in 2020. The short was chosen to screen at this year's acclaimed film festival "Holly Shorts." She since has written the follow up film, "Loneliness," in what will be a trilogy of shorts emotionally inspired by the pandemic.