She is known for her roles in the English language films Gladiator, The Devil's Advocate, Basic, and The Ice Harvest.
Source : Getty Images
She currently stars as Meredith Kane on the Starz series Boss.
Source : Getty Images
At 18, she traveled to Paris, France, where she worked as an actress and model, which led to further work and study in Italy—at drama school in Rome and in master classes with Lydia Styx, a teacher at Piccolo Teatro di Milano in Milan.
Source : Getty Images
She lived in Italy for many years, before moving to the United States, where she still resides.
Source : Getty Images
Nielsen's feature film debut was the Jerry Lewis French film Par O T'es Rentr? On T'a Pas Vu Sortir in 1984, followed by a role in the Italian mini-series Colletti Bianchi in 1988. She appeared in the Italian film Vacanze di Natale '91 (1991) and the French film Le Paradis Absolument (1993).
Source : Getty Images
She moved to the United States in 1996 and made her first appearance in a major English-language film in 1997 as Christabella Andreoli in The Devil's Advocate, starring opposite Al Pacino and Keanu Reeves.
Source : Getty Images
This first minor breakthrough led to roles in the films Permanent Midnight (1998), Rushmore (1998), and Soldier (1998).
Source : Getty Images
In 2000, Nielsen became known to worldwide audiences as Lucilla in Ridley Scott's internationally acclaimed Academy Award–winning epic Gladiator, starring opposite Russell Crowe and Joaquin Phoenix.
Source : Getty Images
. Since then, she has starred in American films including Mission to Mars (2000), One Hour Photo (2002), The Hunted (2003), and Basic (2003). She also starred in the acclaimed French thriller Demonlover (2002).
Source : Getty Images
In 2004, Nielsen made her Danish film debut in the drama, Brdre (also known as Brothers) for which she won the Danish Best Actress Award, the Bodil, as well as Best Actress at the San Sebastian International Film Festival.
Source : Getty Images
She was also nominated for Best Actress at the European Film Awards.
Source : Getty Images
In 2006, Nielsen appeared in several episodes of Law & Order: Special Victims Unit as Det. Dani Beck. She filled in for Mariska Hargitay who was on maternity leave at the time of filming.
Source : Getty Images
Since 2004, Nielsen has been dating Metallica drummer Lars Ulrich. They have one son, Bryce Thadeus Ulrich-Nielsen, (b. 21 May 2007) in San Francisco.
