Brigitte Nielsen

Brigitte Nielsen, born 15 July 1963  is a Danish actress, musician and television personality, who began her career with appearances in the 1985 films Red Sonja and Rocky IV and is also known for her marriage to 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" because of her tall stature (verified by the Guinness Book of World Records at six feet, or 1.82 meters). 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.

Personal life

Family and relationships

Brigitte Nielsen has four sons: Julian Winding (born in 1984) with first husband Kasper Winding, Killian Marcus Nielsen (born in 1989) with ex-fiance Mark Gastineau and two sons with fourth husband Raoul Meyer, Douglas Aaron (born in 1993) and Raoul, Jr. (born in 1995).

Alcohol problems

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 rehabilitation 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 rehabilitation 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 rehabilitation, 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 alcoholism.

In a January 2010 TV Guide story on her success with sobriety, Celebrity Rehab producer John Irwin stated, "She's sober, and she quit smoking. She's doing crazy good.

Plastic surgery

In mid-2008, Nielsen starred in the reality show Aus alt mach neu, broadcasted by the German TV-station RTL. The 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.

Other

Besides her native Danish, Nielsen is fluent in English, Italian and German, and some understanding of French. Her current husband, Mattia Dessi, lived with her in Italy, as shown on Strange Love, which was filmed prior to their marriage. They live in Palm Springs.

Reality TV

Nielsen appeared on the first season of the Italian version of The Mole (2004) and on the third season of the VH1 reality show The Surreal Life (2004). 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 2003, Nielsen appeared in the Danish Big Brother VIP. In January 2005, she was a contestant in the British version of Celebrity Big Brother, along with her former mother-in-law, Jackie Stallone. Nielsen came 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, which aired on Sky Travel. She also appeared in the first season of Celebrity Rehab with Dr. Drew, which chronicled her struggle to overcome her alcoholism at the Pasadena Recovery Center in Pasadena, California. The series premiered in January 2008 on VH1 and in July 2009 on United Kingdom's Fiver.

In May 2008, she revealed on German television that she would "renew" her body by having six plastic surgeries (which would cost €66,000 altogether). Nielsen was filmed during those surgeries by RTL and she had her own television show "Aus alt mach neu – Brigitte Nielsen in der Promi-Beauty-Klinik"(Make do and mend – Brigitte Nielsen in the celebrity beauty hospital). The same show was broadcast under the title Celebrity Makeover: Brigitte Nielsen on SKY Italia in Italy in December 2008 and in 2009 on Italia 1.

In 2009, Nielsen and other alumni of Celebrity Rehab appeared as panel speakers to a new group of addicts at the Pasadena Recovery Center, anticipating the two-year mark of her sobriety that coming July. Her appearance was aired in the third season episode "Triggers", which aired in February 2010.