Brigitte Nielsen
(53th anniversary)
15 July 1963
Rødovre, Denmark
6' (1.83 m
She worked for top fashion designers like Giorgio Armani, Gianni Versace and Gianfranco Ferré and divided her time between New York, Paris, Milan and Berlin. In 1983, she married Danish musician Kasper Winding, and the year after, her first son Julian was born but, in the same period, acted in El guerrero rojo (1985) and left her husband and son for an acting career. The film with Arnold Schwarzenegger was successful and, in 1985, she also acted in Rocky IV (1985) with her future husband, Sylvester Stallone. Stallone met Nielsen in the summer of 1985 during El guerrero rojo (1985)'s promo and, after six months, they married in Malibu. After 19 months, another film together Cobra, el brazo fuerte de la ley (1986) and many scandals, Gitte and Sly divorced. In 1987, Brigitte acted in Superdetective en Hollywood II (1987) and went to Italy where she worked in a big Italian television show called Festival (1987), recorded a dance album, "Every Body Tells a Story", and a pop music single, "Body Next to Body" with Austrian singer Falco.
In January 1988, she met football player Mark Gastineau in an Los Angeles gym and soon she was in love with him. In December 1989, her second son, Killian, was born but the relationship with Gastineau finished. In 1990, Nielsen married the photographer/director Sebastian Copeland (Orlando Bloom's cousin) in Las Vegas and recorded another album called "I'm the One...Nobody Else". In 1992, when her third marriage was finished, Brigitte met Swiss/Italian Raoul Meyer and married him in December 1993. The same year, her third son, Douglas Aaron, was born and Gitte also acted in some films such as: Agente secreto juvenil (1992) with Seth Green and Wallace Shawn, Fantaghirò 2 (1992), and in the erotic thriller Chained Heat II (1993). Meanwhile, she also worked in European television and, in 1995, her last son, Raoul Jr. Ayrton (in memory of her friend Ayrton Senna) was born.
Since then, Brigitte left her fourth husband and lives in Milan, Italy and in the United States. She continues to act in many films such as: Codename: Silencer (1995), Snowboard Academy (1996), Hostile Environment (2000) and Doomsdayer (2000). She has also recorded some dance music singles: "No More Turning Back" and "You're No Lady". In 2004, she participated in three reality television shows, the Italian La talpa(2004) (Celebrity Mole) and the American The Surreal Life (2003) and Strange Love(2005). - IMDb Mini Biography By: antonellomautone@yahoo.it
Spouse
Mattia Dessì (8 July 2006 - present)
Raoul Meyer (17 December 1993 - 2005) (divorced) (2 children)
Sebastian Copeland (29 September 1990 - 1992) (divorced)
Sylvester Stallone (15 December 1985 - 13 July 1987) (divorced)
Kasper Winding (April 1983 - 1984) (divorced) (1 child)
Trade Mark
Platinum blonde hair
Sparkling blue eyes
Voluptuous figure
Deep sultry voice
Trivia
Her real name, Gitte is pronounced Ghee-Te.
Dropped out of school at age 16 with her parents' permission to model in Paris.
She speaks four languages: Danish, English, German and Italian.
She was rumored to have turned down $1M for spending a night with an Arab prince. [July 1997]
The now bankrupt New World Studios hired her to pose for promotional photos highlighting the Marvel Comics character She-Hulk in 1989 to distribute as a possible movie. Though the pictures garnered much fan interest, they failed to produce interest in financial backers.
Released some dance music singles (titled "No More Turning Back" in 2000, "Tic Toc" in 2001, "You're No Lady" featuring the drag-queen RuPaul in summer 2002), but she used her real name Gitta.
Her manager was the American dancer David Buonantony.
Son by Mark Gastineau, Marcus (b. 1990). Gastineau announced his retirement from the NFL on 20 October 1988 citing that Nielsen, whom he left Lisa Gastineau for, was suffering from cancer. Much later, he admitted he had twice tested for steroids and was afraid of the bad publicity from a third positive test.
Son Julian born in Copenhagen on April 1984 by her first husband, Danish musician Kasper Winding, studies music like his father and lives in Denmark. Son Killian, by footballer Mark Gastineau, lives with her and 4th husband Raoul Meyer together with the other two sons from her marriage to Meyer, Douglas Aaron (b. April 19, 1993) and Raoul Jr., (b. May 21, 1995).
Brother Jan was born in 1965.
Was engaged to New York Jets defensive end Mark Gastineau from January 1988 to April 1990.
Swam for many years when she was young.
Her father Svend (died in 1999) was an engineer. Her mother Hanne was a librarian.
Her favorite movies are Una mente maravillosa (2001) and Yo soy Sam (2001).
Her first son Julian (b. 1984) married Sine Thybeak Hansen on April 19, 2004 in Copenhagen in the same day and at the same age of his mother when she married Julian's father, the musician Kasper Winding.
Her first apartment in Los Angeles belonged to actor Armand Assante.
Engaged to Sylvester Stallone from April 1985 to December 1985, the month in which the two married.
Her third husband, the photographer/director Sebastian Copeland, is Orlando Bloom's cousin.
She was briefly considered for these roles: Jane Porter in Greystoke, la leyenda de Tarzán, el rey de los monos (1984), Maria Sofia of Austria in 'O re (1989), Gayle in BattleQueen 2020 (2001) and Fran in Cuestión de pelotas (2004). In order, the roles went to Andie MacDowell, Ornella Muti, Julie Strain and Missi Pyle.
While she acted in Domino (1988), she was pregnant, a pregnancy that she lost during the shooting of the film. The film was shut down for two weeks while she recovered.
Escaped death after canceling a flight on the plane which crashed at Milan's Linate airport. (October 2001).
On Howard Stern's show, she said that she had a relationship with Arnold Schwarzenegger during the shooting of El guerrero rojo (1985).
She spoke to her former mother-in-law Jackie Stallone for the first time since 1987 after they both appeared as contestants on Celebrity Big Brother (2001) in January 2005.
She left her first husband and child in Denmark to find fame in America (1985).
Ex-husband Sylvester Stallone was so "obsessed" with her appearance, he had her image carved into their furniture.
She is engaged to Italian bartender Mattia Dessì since April 2004. They met in a restaurant in Lugano on April 12, 2004. Mattia is 15 years younger than Brigitte.
She remains good friends with Flavor Flav.
When she was 10-years old, she got up every morning at 4:30 to deliver bread from the local bakery before she went to school.
Met her third husband Raoul Meyer three times before they married: the first time in 1980 but she was engaged to Luca Rossi, a famous Italian top-models boss, the second time in 1987 when she was divorced but Raoul was engaged, and the last time in May 1992, in their friend's villa on the lake of Como in Lombardia, Italy.
In February 2005, she credited Flavor Flav with saving her life, when he dialed 911 as she suffered a severe morning asthma attack.
Ivana Trump was her maid of honor at her second marriage to Mattia Dessi.
Married Mattia Dessi for a second time on the Mediterranean island of Malta.
According to the Guiness Book of World Records, she is the tallest living actress, 6' 1", in a leading role, along with Mariel Hemingway (Tamara Dobson was 6' 2", but she passed away in 2006).
Ex-wife of Sylvester Stallone. Former stepmother to Sage Stallone and Seargeoh Stallone. Former sister-in-law of Frank Stallone Jr. Former daughter-in-law of Jackie Stallone and Frank Stallone Sr.
Mother of Julian Winding.
Her second son Killian, by football player Mark Gastineau, was born in Scottsdale, Arizona on December 15, 1989.
Has appeared in Flavor of Love (2006), the highest rated show in VH1's history.
Ex-sister-in-law of Danish directer Nicolas Winding Refn.
Lives in Palm Desert, California (2008).
Her first son Julian (b. 1984) lives by himself in Copenaghen, her other three sons, Killian (b. 1989), Douglas (b. 1993) and Raoulino (b. 1995) live in Milan, Italy with her fourth husband Raoul Meyer and his wife Amel Cotti and their daughter (b. 2005).
She is terrified by crabs.
In summer 2006, she finally left Italy to live in the United States.
Nielsen married for the fifth time in March 2005 to bartender 'Mattia Dessi', who appeared briefly on Strange Love (2005). The marriage was not official, because her divorce from her previous husband was not finalized. On July 8, 2006, they married legally, following her divorce from her previous husband.
On July 9, 2007, Nielsen checked herself into the Cri-Help rehabilitation facility in North Hollywood following what some reports claim was a family intervention.
Received $6 million for her two-year marriage to actor Sylvester Stallone.
Her second son, Killian Marcus, with former footballer Mark Gastineau, never met his father.
During the shooting of Superdetective en Hollywood II (1987), director Tony Scott had an illicit affair with Brigitte, who was then married to Sylvester Stallone. The affair, which he describes as "horrendous", led to the break-up of Scott's second marriage to the commercials' producer Glynis Sanders.
During the summer of 2008, she underwent six plastic surgeries, a facelift, eyelift, liposuction, breast lift and new teeth on live television for her German reality show: "Aus alt mach neu - Brigitte Nielsen in der Promi-Beauty-Klinik" (2008).
In October 2009, she published in Scandinavia her first autobiography titled: "Gitte Nielsen - Du har kun ét liv - sådan fandt jeg tilbage til mig selv".
In the United Kingdom, she participated on the reality show Celebrity Big Brother (2001). [January 2005]
She participated in some television shows in Denmark, Germany and Sweden.
Personal Quotes
I do expose my body, but only because I think people should have something nice to look at.
When you makes movies, you usually make good money. But it is also a very tough job. Once you enter the public's eye, you have to be aware that you give up a huge part of your own life. And it is never a job from nine to five.
I'm European and we do that kind of thing (walking naked). It shocked the rest of the world but they got used to do it.
"I like to have men look at me from the bottom to the top." (referring to her height: 6'1")
Nothing in life can ever be too big. At least, that's what I've always told all my boyfriends - and I'm not just talking about diamond rings.
I'm not a beautiful person and I never have been. My ex Sylvester Stallone was obsessed with my looks. He got my profile carved into the place settings of our crystal dining table. And he commissioned a bronze statue of the two of us in our underwear for his garden. It was so embarrassing. But I never understood his fascination.
People think I'm strong as hard as I look. But I've a very sensitive side and need to be loved by everyone.
Men ask me to dance, but when I stand up they start to back off, saying: 'Maybe some other time'. That's when I grab 'em and say: 'There's no time like here and now, fella'. - Referring to her height (6' 1").
