Modelling Standing , at the beginning of the 1980s, Nielsen did some modelling work, and was photographed by
Greg Gorman and
Helmut Newton. Nielsen posed for
Playboy magazine multiple times, garnering the cover in December 1987. In the late 1980s,
Marvel Comics approached Nielsen to pose for photographs dressed as the comic book character
She-Hulk. Nielsen's 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.
Acting In 1985, Nielsen began her acting career in the fantasy film
Red Sonja alongside
Arnold Schwarzenegger. That same year, she married
Sylvester Stallone; the couple acted in two films together (
Rocky IV and
Cobra) before divorcing in 1987. In 1987, Nielsen played Karla Fry in the film
Beverly Hills Cop II (1987), alongside
Eddie Murphy. In 1991, she was cast as Jennifer Walters/She-Hulk in a planned but never-produced film based on
She-Hulk. She posed for photos dressed both as Jennifer Walters and her alter-ego, She-Hulk, before the film was cancelled. Subsequently, she starred in
976-Evil II,
The Double 0 Kid (1992),
Chained Heat II (1993),
Galaxis (1995), and
Snowboard Academy (1997). She starred as the villainess of the Italian TV fantasy film
Fantaghirò 2 and
its sequels (1992–1996); her character was supposed to be killed off in the first of these films, but was then brought back due to popular demand. In 2011, Nielsen voice acted for the Danish animated comedy film
Ronal the Barbarian. In 2012, she played in the horror movie
Eldorado. In 2013, she has featured in the short art film
The Key alongside
Ray Stevenson. In 2014, she starred in the science-fiction film
Exodus, in the TV series
Raising Hope, and in the action film
Mercenaries. In 2018, she reprised her role of Ludmilla Drago from
Rocky IV in
Creed II. In 2022, she joined the cast of TV Series
The Guardians of Justice, when she played Anubis Queen.
Music and writing Nielsen started a music career in 1987. She released her debut album
Every Body Tells a Story in that year and recorded a duet with Austrian pop star
Falco,
Giorgio Moroder's penned "
Body Next to Body", which went to No. 22 in Germany and No. 6 in Austria. She released a follow-up album, ''I'm the One... Nobody Else'', in 1992. Nielsen released a few songs under the pseudonym "Gitta" because producers wanted to see if she could succeed as a singer without her name on the cover. The first song "No More Turning Back" peaked at No. 54 on the British Single Charts, No. 63 on the Dutch Single Charts and even reached the Top 10 in Spain. Other tracks recorded as Gitta were 2001's "Tic Toc" and 2002's "You're No Lady", a collaboration with
Ru Paul. Nielsen appeared in
Michael Jackson's "
Liberian Girl" music video in 1989 and in metal band
Korn's music video for the single "
Make Me Bad" in 2000. In 2008, German record label
Edel Music re-released her 1991 album ''I'm the One... Nobody Else
and the 1987 Every Body Tells a Story
under the title Brigitte Nielsen
. In 2012, she performed (as Gitte Nielsen) on the song "Misery" with Spleen United, from the album School of Euphoria''. In 2009, she published her first autobiography in Scandinavia titled "
Gitte Nielsen – Du har kun ét liv – sådan fandt jeg tilbage til mig selv" ("You only have one life – this is how I found myself again"). The book reached the Top 5 of Denmark's bestseller list and was released in the United Kingdom under the title
You Only Get One Life in 2011.
Television Nielsen has worked for Italian television, hosting shows such as:
Festival (1987), the 1992 edition of the
Sanremo Music Festival,
Retromarsh! (1996–1997), and ''..la sai l'ultima?
(1999). In 1997, she hosted a talk show series Gittes venner
for a Danish TV network and some TV shows for RTSI, the Italian language Swiss television network. She guest starred for an episode of the German TV series Stuttgart Homicide, aired by ZDF on 28 March 2011, guest-hosted the British chat show Loose Women on 7 December 2010. In April 2011, she attended the British variety/talent show Sing If You Can'', which aired on ITV. Nielsen appeared on the first season of the Italian production of
The Mole (2004) and on the third season of the
VH1 reality show
The Surreal Life (2004). 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 Britain's
Celebrity Big Brother, along with her former mother-in-law,
Jackie Stallone, coming third in the final public vote. In 2006, she appeared in another reality TV series, VH1's
The Surreal Life: Fame Games. In 2007, she starred in a new British mockumentary
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. In May 2008, Nielsen revealed on German television that she would "renew" her body by having six plastic surgeries, which would cost €66,000 altogether. She 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. The same show was broadcast twice in Italy: at first under the title
Celebrity Makeover: Brigitte Nielsen on
SKY Italia in 2008 and secondly in 2009 on
Italia 1. In 2009, Nielsen appeared as a panel speaker 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. In 2010, Nielsen appeared as one of the celebrity contestants of
TF1 reality show
La Ferme Célébrités, the French version of the TV series
The Farm. She was eliminated after one week, mainly due to her lack of fluency in French and subsequent difficulties to interact with the other contestants. Nielsen was one of the celebrity contestants of 2010's ''Let's Dance
, the German version of Dancing with the Stars. That same year, she also took part of Celebrity
Come Dine with Me in Denmark (Til middag hos...
), and in Germany (Das Perfekte Promi Dinner''). From 13 January 2012, Nielsen was one of the celebrity contestants and winner of
Ich bin ein Star – Holt mich hier raus!, the German version of ''
I'm a Celebrity...Get Me Out of Here!, broadcast by RTL Television. On 28 January 2012, she won the show as the "Jungle Queen". Bild revealed on 30 January 2012 that Nielsen had received the most calls from TV viewers throughout the entire show, ranking No. 1 with 30–50% of all call-ins. Nielsen was paid 150.000 Euro (approx. $163,000) for participating in the show, more than any other celebrity. In October 2012, Nielsen was featured in the Danish version of Maestro broadcast on DR1 in which celebrities competed for the chance to conduct a classical orchestra. In September 2013, she joined the cast of the German TV show Promi-Hochzeitsplaner
(Celebrity Wedding planners
) for Sat.1. The following year, she joined the panel of the German TV show Promi Shopping Queen'' for
VOX. From June 2015, she has hosted her own talk show
Gitte Talks on the Danish TV Channel
Kanal 4. From August 2016, she has also presented the
dating show "Wirt sucht Liebe" ("Inkeeper Looking for Love") for the German TV channel
RTL II. ==Personal life==