Danish beauty Connie Nielsen was born on July 3, 1965 in Copenhagen, Denmark. Her real name is Connie Inge-Lise Nielsen and she is well remembered in her role as Princess Lucilla in the Academy Award Winning film Gladiator (2001) where she starred opposite Russell Crowe who portrayed the role of Maximus. Her performance in the said blockbuster caught Hollywood’s attention and she got nominations from Sierra, Actor and Empire Award.

Connie Nielsen’s career in show business started when she moved to Paris at the age of 18. She brought along with her the intense desire to pursue an acting career. This led her to work and at the same time, study in Rome, Milan, South Africa and New York. Her debut in the movies came in the year 1984 with the French film Par où t'es rentré? On t'a pas vu sortir. It was followed by Colletti Bianchi, an Italian mini-series in 1988, Italian film Vacanze di Natale in 1991 and French film Le Paradis Absolument in 1993.

In 1996, Connie Nielsen moved to the US and starred opposite Keanu Reeves and Al Pacino in her first major English language film as Christabella Andreoli in The Devil’s Advocate. This was followed by other English films which include Permanent Midnight, Rushmore and Soldier, all in 1988.

After gaining wide fame in the 2000 epic Gladiator, Connie Nielsen starred in some more notable US films such as Missions to Mars (2000), One Hour Photo (2002), The Hunted (2003) and Basic (2003). She was also cast in the French acclaimed thriller Demonlover (2002).

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