Detailed Biography

Brigitte Nielsen is a Danish actress who became known for appearing in the 1985 films Red Sonja and Rocky IV and then marrying Rocky's star, Sylvester Stallone. She subsequently appeared with him in the 1986 film Cobra, and was noted for her widely publicized breakup with Stallone in 1987, and her relationship with New York Jets Mark Gastineau in 1988.

Her exploits were well-covered in the entertainment media in the 1980s, and the world press started referring to her as an "Amazon" due to her tall stature . She first commented on her stature and used the term "Amazonian" to describe herself in 1985.

She later built a career appearing in B-movies, and in the 2000s, for appearing on reality shows such as The Surreal Life, on which she met and began a relationship with rapper Flavor Flav. In 2008 she appeared on the reality show Celebrity Rehab with Dr. Drew, which depicted her and several other celebrities dealing with recovery from drug and alcohol addiction.

Biography

Early career

Nielsen was born and raised in Rødovre, a suburb of Copenhagen. At the beginning of the '80s she became famous as a model, working for top designers such as Armani, Valentino, Ferrè and was photographed by Helmut Newton and Francesco Scavullo. Nielsen began her acting career in 1985, in Red Sonja alongside Arnold Schwarzenegger. In the same year she met and married Sylvester Stallone; the couple acted in two movies together before divorcing in 1987. Brigitte Nielsen with Sylvester Stallone, Ronald and Nancy Reagan at the White House, 1985

Nielsen started a music career shortly after her divorce from Stallone in 1987. She released her debut album Every Body Tells A Story in that year and recorded a duet with Austrian pop star Falco called "Body Next To Body" which went to #22 in Germany and #6 in Austria. In 1990 she recorded a single called "Rockin' Like A Radio" . She released a follow-up album, I Am The One..Nobody Else, in 1991, although it was also not a success. In 2000 she made a musical comeback by recording the dance track "No More Turning Back" under the pseudonym of Gitta and reached #1 in Spain and topped several other European dance charts. Other tracks recorded as Gitta were 2001's "Tic Toc" and 2002's "You're No Lady", a collaboration with Ru Paul. Nielsen as She-Hulk.

In the late 1980s, Marvel Comics approached Nielsen to pose for photographs dressed as the comic book character She-Hulk. She had previously impressed the company with her prior portrayal of their character Red Sonja, and they hoped she would prove just as successful in a new movie venture. The photos did not produce a large amount of investors in the potential film and Marvel was forced to scrap the project. Subsequently she starred in Beverly Hills Cop II, Galaxys and The Double 0 Kid and some European movies.

In 1989 she appeared in Michael Jackson's "Liberian Girl" music video and in the 1990s, she hosted an English language talk show that was broadcast across Europe, to much acclaim. In 2000, she appeared in heavy metal band Korn's music video for the single "Make Me Bad".

She has worked for Italian television hosting hit shows such as: Festival , the 1992 edition of the Sanremo Music Festival, Retromarsh! , and ..la sai l'ultima? ; starring in the TV movie Fantaghirò 2 and its sequels ; and guest starring in the Rai Tre's soap opera Un posto al sole .

On 29 August 2008 German record label Edel Music re-released her 1991 album I Am The One Nobody Else and the 1987 Every Body Tells A Story, under the title Brigitte Nielsen .

On 27 October 2009 she published in Scandinavia her first auto-biography titled: "Gitte Nielsen - Du har kun ét liv - sådan fandt jeg tilbage til mig selv".

Reality TV appearances

She appeared on the first season of the Italian version of The Mole and on the third season of the VH1 reality show The Surreal Life . In the show, Nielsen was seen flirting with Public Enemy rapper Flavor Flav and it was confirmed that they were a couple, even though she was still legally married to her fourth husband, Swiss Formula Three driver Raoul Meyer. The show was such a success that VH1 produced a spin-off reality show called Strange Love, which began airing on the channel on 9 January 2005. Nielsen also appeared with Flav on VH1's Big in '04 Awards. In 2006, she guest-starred on Flav's other reality show, Flavor of Love.

In 2004, Nielsen appeared in the Danish Big Brother VIP, one year later in January 2005 she was also a contestant in the British equivalent Celebrity Big Brother along with her former mother-in-law Jackie Stallone and the writer Germaine Greer, with Nielsen eventually coming third in the final public vote. In 2006 she appeared in another reality TV series,VH1's The Surreal Life: Fame Game. In March 2007, she starred in a new British documentary called Killing Brigitte Nielsen aired on Sky Travel. Her most recent excursion into the world of reality TV, Celebrity Rehab, began airing in January 2008 on VH1 and in July 2009 on UK's Fiver.

In May 2008 she revealed on German television that she would "renew" her body this year by having six plastic surgeries . Nielsen will be filmed during those surgeries by RTL and will have her own television show "Aus alt mach neu - Brigitte Nielsen in der Promi-Beauty-Klinik. The same show was broadcast in Italy during December 2008 and aired on SKY Italia under the title Celebrity Makeover: Brigitte Nielsen and in 2009 on Italia 1.

Personal life

Nielsen was born Gitte Nielsen in Rødovre, Denmark, the daughter of Hanne, a librarian, and Svend Nielsen, an engineer. She has a brother, Jan.

Nielsen is fluent in Danish, English, Italian and speaks some German.

Nielsen's first marriage was to Danish musician Kasper Winding, with whom she has a son, Julian . She was then married to actor Sylvester Stallone, her co-star in Cobra. She later became engaged to American football player Mark Gastineau, with whom she has a son, Killian . She then married Swiss racecar driver Raoul Meyer from 17 December 1993 to 2004 , and they have two sons: Douglas Aaron and Raoul Jr. Ayrton .

Nielsen married for the fifth time in March 2005 to bartender Mattia Dessi, who appeared briefly on Strange Love. The marriage was not official, because her divorce from her previous husband was not finalized. On 8 July 2006, they married legally, following her divorce from her previous husband. Her maid of honor was Ivana Trump.

On 9 July 2007 Nielsen checked herself into the Cri-Help rehabilitation facility in North Hollywood following what some reports claim was a family intervention. Her manager, Steven Tempone, confirmed on 19 July 2007 that she had checked into rehab and told the Associated Press "All I know is it's something she did of her own free will and we're proud of her and wish her very well... When she gets out we'll have a big birthday party, and Coca-Cola only".

As of 22 July, 2007 Nielsen was out of rehab to attend the Comedy Central roast of Flavor Flav. She told People that she felt "like a new-born person... I made a choice about a new life. It's not been easy but it was definitely time." While People does not report the date that Nielsen checked into rehab, they state that she "had been in treatment for a few weeks". On 10 January 2008, VH1 began airing the reality TV series, Celebrity Rehab with Dr. Drew. Nielsen appeared on the show for addiction to alcohol. In mid-2008, Nielsen starred in the reality show "Aus alt mach neu", broadcasted by the German tv-station RTL. Theme of the show was Nielsen's attempt to look "as young as her husband" by undergoing plastic surgery. The show was aired in Italy as well, on SKY Italia during December 2008 and the following summer on Italia 1 .