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Asta Nielsen

Actress / Stage Actress / Film Actress / Film Director | * 09/11/1881 († 90, 05/25/1972) | Vesterbro, Copenhagen (Denmark)
Asta Sofie Amalie Nielsen (11 September 1881 – 24 May 1972) was a Danish silent film actress who was one of the most popular leading ladies of the 1910s and one of the first international movie stars. Seventy of Nielsen's 74 films were made in Germany where she was known simply as Die Asta (The Asta). Known for her large dark eyes, mask-like face and boyish figure, Nielsen most often portrayed strong-willed passionate women trapped by tragic circumstances. Due to the erotic nature of her performances, Nielsen's films were censored in the United States, and her work remained relatively obscure to American audiences. She is credited with transforming movie acting from overt theatricality to a more subtle naturalistic style. Nielsen founded her own film studio in Berlin during the 1920s, but returned to Denmark in 1937 after the rise of Nazism in Germany. A private figure in her later years, Nielsen became a collage artist and an author. ()
Photo of Asta Nielsen

Asta Nielsen is often considered the 'first international movie star', and was an explosively popular female lead through the 1910s and 20s. Though born in Denmark, she mostly worked in Germany and starred in over 70 films, usually directed by her husband Urban Gad. She was known for her boyish looks and had her breakout in the erotically charged 'Afgrunden' (1910).

Most frequent genres for this person: Drama | Documentaries | Romance / Love

Known for these Movies & Shows

Free adaptation of Shakespeare′s drama: The Danish queen masquerades her daughter as a boy. Thus, the girl lives her whole life as Prince Hamlet. ...

Hamlet

Certification unknown

1921 | 3.6/5 | 1h 52min
Drama
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In 1921, we follow two women - Marie and Grete - from the same poor Viennese neighborhood, as they try to better the lives of themselves and their families during the period of Austrian postwar hyperi ...

Joyless Street

Certification unknown

1925 | 3.5/5 | 2h 30min
Drama
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Stella, a circus princess, has two suitors: young, handsome Count Waldberg and the greying, hidebound jeweller Hirsch. Stella’s love for Waldberg drives Hirsch mad with jealousy. He will stop at not ...

The Black Dream

Certification unknown

1911 | 2.4/5 | 53min
Drama
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Das Ende vom Lied

Certification unknown

1919 | 1h 25min
Drama
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Awards & Nominations for Asta Nielsen

German Film Award
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Movies with Asta Nielsen as Actress(78)

as Self (archive footage)2023 Asta Nielsen - Europas erste Filmikone
2023 Mata Hari
as herself2016 Play On! Shakespeare in Silent Film
as (archive footage)2003 Den talende muse - samtaler med Asta Nielsen
as herself1968 Asta Nielsen
as Vera Holgk1932 Impossible Love
as Selma Karchow1927 Small Town Sinners
as Tamara1927 The Vice of Humanity
as Elsie Lindtner1927 The Dangerous Age
as Auguste - Old Street Walker1927 Tragedy of the Street
as Clarina1927 Agitated Woman
as Anna Grosser1926 The Fallen
as Prinzessin Wanda Hoheneck1925 Athleten
as Tibetanerin1925 Living Buddhas
as Maria Lechner (Mizzi)1925 Joyless Street
as Hedda Gabler1925 Hedda Gabler
as Enricos Ehefrau Teresa1924 The House by the Sea
as herself1924 The Film in the Film
1924 Die Schmetterlingsschlacht
as Josephine1924 The Woman in Flames
as Lulu1923 Earth Spirit
as Maria Magdalena1923 I.N.R.I. – A Film of Humanity
as Kaja Falk1923 Downfall
as Navarro1923 Navarro the Dancer
as Vanina1922 Vanina
as Brigantenbraut1922 Revenge of the Bandits
as Julie1922 Fräulein Julie
as Nastassja Baraschkowa1921 Wandering Souls
as Hamlet1921 Hamlet
as Mary Verhag1921 Roswolsky's Mistress
as Girl Lissy / Mulatto / Filmstar / Maria1920 Kurfürstendamm
as Isabella Bouflon1920 Steuermann Holk
as Madelaine1920 Graf Sylvains Rache
as Elena1920 The Merry-Go-Round
as Sonja Waler - Journalist - Her Daughter1919 Nach dem Gesetz
as Komtesse Ysabel, grevindens datter1919 Towards the Light
as Henriette Mauclerc1919 Intoxication
as Dora Waren1919 Das Ende vom Lied
as Wanda1918 Eine Rose der Wildnis
as Helene Netzler1918 The Queen of the Stock Exchange
as Eskimo Ivigtut1918 The Eskimo Baby
as Margit1918 In Turmoil
as Esther1917 The Orphanage Child
as Lis1916 The ABC of Love
as Lotte1916 Aschenbrödel
as Dora Brandes1916 Dora Brandes
as Jesta1916 The Guinea-Pig
as Marta1916 Die Ewige Nacht
as Sabine Schulze1916 Frontstairs and Backstairs
as Jesta Schneider1916 Little Angel's Wedding
as Thilda Wardier1916 The White Roses
as herself1915 The False Asta Nielsen
as Zigeunerin Zirzi1915 Die Tochter der Landstrasse
1914 Zapata's Gang
as Wanda Petri1914 Das Feuer
as Elana1914 Das Kind ruft
as Jesta1914 Little Angel
as Von Hessendorffs Tochter1913 S1
as Jesta Müller1913 Jugend und Tollheit
1913 Die Sünden der Väter
as Ruth Breton1913 The Film Prima Donna
as Nelly Panburne1913 The Suffragette
as Jenny Schmidt1912 Poor Jenny
as Creszenz Fitzinger1912 Die Macht des Goldes
as Thekla von der Linde1912 The General's Children
as Bella Burk1912 Der Totentanz
as Paula Müller1912 Zu Tode Gehetzt
as Zidra1912 A Romany Spy
as Sanna1912 When the Mask Falls
as Annie1911 The Great Moment
as Olga, Mademoiselle Yvonne1911 The Moth
as Jonna1911 Gypsy Blood
as Camille1911 The Ballet Dancer
1911 The Traitress
as Stella, cirkusdanserinde1911 The Black Dream
as Miss May Wolton1911 The Strange Bird
as Luscha1911 Gypsy Blood
as Magda Vang1910 The Abyss

Movies with Asta Nielsen as Crew(2)

Directing/Director1968 Asta Nielsen
Production/Producer1921 Hamlet

Citizenship: Denmark
Born: Sunday, 09/11 1881 (September) in Vesterbro, Copenhagen (Denmark)
Died: Thursday, 05/25 1972 (May) in Frederiksberg (aged: 90)
Zodiac sign: Virgo (Chinese zodiac sign: Snake)
Languages: Danish (DA)
Spouses (current/former): Urban Gad, Gregori Chmara
Other names for Asta Nielsen (nicknames, foreign languages etc.):
"Asta Sofie Amalie Nielsen"
"The Silent Muse"
"Die Asta"
Asta Nielsen frequently works together with these people:
Urban Gad (59x, Crew)
Guido Seeber (18x, Crew)
Fred Immler (12x, Actor)
Axel Graatkjær (9x, Crew)
Emil Albes (8x, Actor)
Max Landa (8x, Actor)
Karl Freund (7x, Crew)
Paul Wegener (7x, Actor)
Richard Oswald (6x, Crew)
Gregori Chmara (6x, Actor)
Mary Scheller (6x, Actress)
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WatchPlayStream ID: PEOPLE:616353, Added: 10/21/2018, Last updated: 03/22/2024