Sofie Gråbøl
Introduction '''Sofie Gråbøl''' (; born 30 July 1968) is a Danish actress. She has starred in a number of films, with her breakthrough role in the 1986 Danish film ''Early Spring'', directed by Astrid Henning-Jensen, playing the lead role in the film version of Tove Ditlevsen's novel ''Barndommens gade'' when she was 17 years old. On television she has starred in ''Taxa'' and ''Nikolaj og Julie''.Gråbøl has become known in Denmark for playing emotional roles, but she achieved international fame as a detectivethe cool and distant lead character Inspector Sarah Lund in all three series of ''The Killing'' (). In the UK it was broadcast on BBC4 with great success, winning a BAFTA award, and bringing Gråbøl celebrity status.
Personal life Gråbøl resides in Copenhagen where she has lived all her life. Both her parents, father Kaj Fladhede Gråbøl and mother Mette Koustrup, were architects. She has an older brother Niels Gråbøl who is a director, and the ex-husband of actress Ditte Gråbøl. Gråbøl's father left her mother when her mother was pregnant with Gråbøl. She was brought up by her mother. Her mother remarried to a Maoist architect and for a time they lived in a commune.Gråbøl divorced her husband, the film director Jacob Thuesen, in 2006.They have two children; a son, Bror, and a daughter, Gudrun.In 2012 she was diagnosed with cancer and had surgery and chemotherapy and is now in remission.
Early career In the early years of her career she studied theology and worked in a bookstore. Responding to a newspaper advertisement at the age of 17, she was given the role of an artist's nude model in ''Oviri'', a 1986 film about Paul Gauguin with Donald Sutherland. Despite having had no formal training, and only entering acting on the encouragement of her mother, she has worked continuously since then.She said, "I thought it would be like a summer holiday job ...then one film led to another and suddenly I was an actor and I never really felt that I had made the decision ... I felt at home in the language of acting."" Her breakthrough role was in the 1986 Danish film directed by Astrid Henning-Jensen, ''Early Spring''.Gråbøl is famous in Denmark with a wide body of work from comedy to Shakespeare.
''The Killing'' In 2007, Gråbøl portrayed the role of police Detective Sarah Lund obsessed with solving the sadistic killing of a schoolgirl in the Danish television series ''The Killing'' (, literally "The Crime"). Producers of the show envisioned breaking the clichés of female characters usually portrayed on television and film. Lund was to be a driven and relentless detective without her primary concern being for her physical appearance or sexuality. Gråbøl was involved early on in the development process of the series and had numerous discussions with writer and series creator Søren Sveistrup. Her input was integral to the creation of the character, from keeping the character's past a mystery to the choice of clothing, and especially that the character was to be emotionally isolated. At one point, the writers were considering having Lund have an affair with one of the suspects. She fought this plot line, explaining that Lund was a female Clint Eastwood, and it was removed. It was originally intended that Sarah Lund should die but this was changed halfway through the series. Gråbøl had become known in Denmark for playing emotional characters and the role of the cool and distant Lund was a stark departure.The series was a huge success in Denmark with over half the population watching. Although already well known in Denmark, Gråbøl now found herself stopped on the street as fans of the show wanted to know the secret of the killer. The series was then played throughout Europe. With the show's success, it played in back-to-back weekend installments in the UK on BBC4.With no promotion, the show became a word-of-mouth success and even topped ''Mad Men'' in the ratings. Gråbøl had been a famous actress in Denmark for twenty five years when she suddenly, to her surprise, achieved cult status in Britain. Even the shape-concealing jumper (sweater) she wore in the show became iconic. She received requests for interviews and offers to work in Britain, most of which she had to decline due to her busy work schedule. However, she had a cameo in the BBC comedy ''Absolutely Fabulous'' playing her character Detective Lund. In the UK, Gråbøl was named Best Actress at the Crime Thriller Awards and the show won the 2011 BAFTA for Best International TV Show. The BAFTA was awarded to Gråbøl, creator and writer Søren Sveistrup, producer Piv Bernth and director Birger Larsen.In Britain the series had subtitles but for the American audience it was remade. Commenting on the first series of ''The Killing'' remake, while saying she thought the American version was good, Gråbøl said it was unfortunate that American audiences would not accept shows with subtitles because with the success of the show in Britain, "there's a strong sense of a cultural exchange going on. By watching each other's stories you exchange something very valuable. It's about language and culture and the ways of looking at life." In series two of the American version Gråbøl has a small part as a Seattle district attorney. In July 2012, the US remake was cancelled by the network. ''Forbrydelsen II'' was released on 2009, and ''Forbrydelsen III'' was released in 2012.
After ''The Killing'' Gråbøl was diagnosed with breast cancer in December 2012 for which she underwent surgery and chemotherapy. She temporarily retired from acting in 2013, but returned to work the next year, appearing as Hildur Odegard, a Norwegian mayor, in two series of  the British TV series ''Fortitude''. In August 2014 she made her English language début on stage in Edinburgh, appearing as Margaret of Denmark in ''James III: The True Mirror'', the third of Rona Munro's historical trilogy ''The James Plays''.In 2015 she played a role, together with Swedish actress Frida Farrell, in the music video "Under the Make-up" for the song with the same title by the Norwegian band a-ha. It was released on 24 August 2015.In 2018 she was awarded the Nordic Language Prize in Oslo, Norway for her contribution to positive attitudes between neighbouring Nordic languages.
Filmography ===Film===+Key  Denotes productions that have not yet been released Year Title Role Notes1986 ''The Wolf at the Door'' Judith Molard Original title: ''Oviri'' ''Early Spring'' Ester Original title: ''Barndommens gade''1987 ''Sorgagre'' Ungfruen TV film ''Pelle the Conqueror'' Jomfru Sine ''Vi svarer ikke for bølgerne'' Pedestrian TV film1988 ''Rami og Julie'' Julie  ''Jorden er giftig'' Signe Short 1991 ''Høfeber'' Bankass 1992 ''The Silent Touch'' Annette Berg Original title: ''Dotkniecie reki''1993 ''De skrigende halse'' Anita Schulz TV film ''Black Harvest'' Clara Uldahl-Ege Original title: ''Sort høst'' ''Tvangsritualer'' Sofie Gråbøl Short 1994 ''Nightwatch'' Kalinka Original title: ''Nattevagten''1995 ''Carmen & Babyface'' Carmen ''Pan'' Edvarda Mack Alternative title: ''Two Green Feathers''1996 ''Groovy days'' Anne Original title: ''Fede tider'' ''Den store Kul-Tur'' Maibrit TV film1997 ''Sinan's Wedding'' Cherie Original title: ''Sinans bryllup'' ''Credo''  Mona Original title: ''"Sekten"'' ''Isle of Darkness'' Julie Original title: ''Mørkets øy'' 1998 ''H.C. Andersen's The Long Shadow'' Louise Voice role, Original title: ''H.C. Andersen og den skæve skygge''1999 ''Mifunes sidste sang'' Claire ''The One and Only'' Mulle Original title: ''Den eneste ene'' ''En sjælden fugl'' Astrid Short2000 ''Flickering Lights'' Hanne Original title: ''Blinkende Lygter'' ''Gengangere'' Regine TV film 2001 ''Grev Axel'' Leonora Amalie 2002 ''The Life Insurance'' Judith Short, Original title: ''Livsforsikringen'' 2004 ''Aftermath'' Britt Lehmann Original title: ''Lad de små børn''2005 ''Accused'' Nina Original title: ''Anklaget'' ''True Spirit'' Lærke Original title: ''Den rette ånd'' 2006 ''The Boss of It All'' Kisser Original title: ''Direktøren for det hele''2007 ''The Substitute'' Carls Mor Original title: ''Vikaren'' ''Daisy Diamond'' Sofie Gråbøl2013 ''The Hour of the Lynx'' Helen Original title: ''I lossens time'' ''IRL: In Real Life'' Mille Original title: ''Det andet liv'' 2016 ''The Day Will Come'' Lærer Lilian Original title: ''Der kommer en dag''2018 ''The House That Jack Built'' Lady 3 ''That Time of Year'' Barbara Original title: ''Den tid på året'' ''X & Y'' Sofie 2019 ''Resin'' Maria Haarder Original title: ''Harpiks''2021 ''Wild Men'' Anne Original title: ''Vildmænd'' ''The Venus Effect''  Gitte Original title: ''Venuseffekten'' 2022 ''Rose''  Inger ===Television===+Key  Denotes productions that have not yet been released Year Title Role Notes 1990 ''Kära farmor'' Younger Dagmar Miniseries 1999 ''Taxa'' Anna Sander 7 episodes 2002-2003 ''Nikolaj og Julie'' Julie Krogh Andersen Series regular 2007-2012 ''The Killing'' Sarah Lund Series regular, Original title: ''"Forbrydelsen"'' 2011 ''Absolutely Fabulous'' Sarah Lund Episode: ''"Identity"'' 2012 ''The Killing'' District Attorney Christina Nielsen Episode: ''"My Lucky Day"'' 2015-2018 ''Fortitude'' Governor Hildur Odegard Series regular 2016 ''The Other World'' Dronningen Series regular, Original title: ''"Den anden verden"''2018 ''Liberty'' Kirsten Miniseries ''The Restaurant'' Henriette Winter 4 episodes, Original title: ''"Vår tid är nu"'' 2019 ''Gentleman Jack'' Queen Marie Episode: ''"Are You Still Talking"''2020 ''Us'' Freja Miniseries ''The Undoing'' Catherine Stamper Miniseries 2022 ''The Shift''  Ella Series regular, Original title: ''"Dag & nat"''
Awards and nominations  Year Award Category Work Result1987 Robert Awards Best Actress in a Supporting Role ''The Wolf at the Door''  Bodil Awards Best Actress in a Supporting Role ''The Wolf at the Door'' 1994 Robert Awards Best Actress in a Leading Role ''Black Harvest''  Bodil Awards Best Actress in a Leading Role ''Black Harvest''  1999 Fantaspoa International Fantastic Film Festival Best Actress ''Credo'' 2000 Robert Awards Best Actress in a Supporting Role ''The One and Only''   Bodil Awards Best Actress in a Supporting Role ''The One and Only''   2002 Robert Awards Best Actress in a Leading Role ''Grev Axel''  2003 Copenhagen TV Festival Best Actress ''Nikolaj og Julie'' 2005 Robert Awards Best Actress in a Leading Role ''Aftermath''  Bodil Awards Best Actress in a Leading Role ''Aftermath'' 2006 Robert Awards Best Actress in a Leading Role ''Accused''  Bodil Awards Best Actress in a Leading Role ''Accused''  2008 International Emmy Awards Best Actress ''The Killing''  2010 Golden Nymph Awards Outstanding Actress in a Drama Series ''The Killing'' 2011 Crime Thriller Awards Best Leading Actress ''The Killing''  BAFTA Television Awards Best International Programme (with Søren Sveistrup, Piv Bernth & Birger Larsen) ''The Killing'' 2012 Crime Thriller Awards Best Leading Actress ''The Killing''  BAFTA Television Awards Best International Programme (with Søren Sveistrup, Piv Bernth & Kristoffer Nyholm) ''The Killing'' 2013 Crime Thriller Awards Best Leading Actress ''The Killing''  Robert Awards Best Actress in a Leading Television Role ''The Killing''  Golden Nymph Awards Outstanding Actress in a Drama Series ''The Killing'' 2014 Robert Awards Best Actress in a Leading Role ''The Hour of the Lynx''  Bodil Awards Best Actress in a Leading Role ''The Hour of the Lynx'' 2017 Robert Awards Best Actress in a Supporting Role ''The Day Will Come''  Robert Awards Best Actress in a Supporting Television Role ''The Other World''  Bodil Awards Best Actress in a Supporting Role ''The Day Will Come'' 2019 Robert Awards Best Actress in a Supporting Role ''That Time of Year''  Robert Awards Best Actress in a Supporting Television Role ''Liberty''  Bodil Awards Best Actress in a Supporting Role ''That Time of Year''
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