Noomi Rapace

Noomi Rapace biography

Noomi Rapace is a Swedish actress who became famous for her role as Lisbeth Salander in the films based on Stieg Larsson’s works called the Millennium.

Noomi Rapace, the star of «Prometheus» and the «Millennium» trilogy

Childhood and youth

Rapace was born on December 28, 1979, in the Swedish city of Hudiksvall. Her mother, a Swede Nina Noren (born Christina Noren, 1954), was an actress, and her father, a Spaniard Rogelio Duran (1953 - 2006) was a flamenco singer. The actress says that perhaps Gypsy blood flew in her father’s veins and that she has always been interested in this culture.

Left: little Noomi Rapace with her mother, right: father of the actress

Noomi’s parents broke up soon after the baby was born. Her mother married again and moved to Iceland with her new husband and Noomi. The actress almost did not communicate with her father and met with him only before his death. Noomi has a twin sister Særún, who works as a photographer.

Career

Noomi got her first film role when she was 7 years old. It was a bit role without words in the film «In the Shadow of the Raven» by the Icelandic director Hrafn Gunnlaugsson. It was this experience that prompted Rapace to become an actress.

Noomi went to school, where they turned a blind eye to students’ problems, and teachers, in principle, did not trouble themselves to check homework. The actress confessed that she was a «wild teenager» in her youth, listened to punk rock, did judo, and was not afraid to apply combat skills in life, and up to the age of 15, she even wrote in her native language with terrifying mistakes.

Noomi was a difficult teenager

At the age of 15, Noomi left her home to study at the Stockholm theater school. In 1996, Rapace made her television debut: the girl got a part in the TV series «Tre Kronor». Within 2000-2003, after studying at the Skara Skolscen Acting School Noomi managed to work in five different theaters in Stockholm.

Young Noomi Rapace in the television series «Tre Kronor» (1997)

In 2007, Rapace received recognition from the audience after the role of a teenage mother in the Danish drama «Daisy Diamond». For a brilliant performance of the character with a difficult disposition, Noomi received two prestigious film awards in Denmark (Robert Award and Bodil Awards), and the film was chosen to participate in the San Sebastian International Film Festival.

Shot from the film «Daisy Diamond»

In 2009, Noomi received a role that changed her life: the role of a hacker girl named Lisbeth Salander in the film adaptation of the Swedish bestselling novel The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo. She was getting the feel of her part for a long time: her temples were shaved, she dyed her hair black, got a piercing, went on a tough diet, and spent hours doing kickboxing in the gym. As a result, by the start of filming, passers-by sometimes confused her with a man.

»The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo»: Noomi Rapace as Lisbeth Salander

For her efforts, Rapace won the Guldbagge Award (Sweden’s highest award) and was nominated for a BAFTA and European Film Award. The viewers admired her since she was so original, so sincere, so unlike the bored actresses, tailored according to the same Hollywood pattern. Later Rapace played Salander in the sequels of the film, released the same year.

Photo from the shooting «The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo»

On September 11, 2010, newspapers reported that Rapace was offered her first role in English in the film «Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows» by Guy Ritchie. The actress portrayed Madame Simza Heron, a gypsy helping Holmes (Robert Downey Jr.) and Watson (Jude Law) ruin Professor Moriarty’s cunning plans in Europe. The film was released in 2011.

Noomi Rapace in the film «Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows»

In the same year, Noomi received one of the leading roles in Ridley Scott’s film «Prometheus» (2012). The eminent film director saw the girl in the image of Salander and realized that he was struck by her acting skills: «Sharp, bright, angry ... I have not seen this actress before, but I could not miss her». Noomi gladly accepted the offer, since at one time she was struck by «Alien» with Sigourney Weaver, perhaps, the first strong female character in the cinema, who set an incredibly high bar for actresses. Rapace did not star in the sequel «Alien: Testament « (2017). She appeared in a prologue dedicated to the main characters of the blockbuster.

Shot from the movie «Prometheus»

Noomi confessed that she was pleased to be constantly shot in Hollywood. She calls her native Sweden «an emotional prison». Subsequently, she moved to London, where she finally felt herself at home.

I have a difficult disposition. I inherited little from my mother, who, like most Swedes, is very calm, does not like to stand out, and does not express her thoughts out loud. If I am angry, it is better not to come up to me; if I am happy, I am truly happy. I will never hide what is on my mind, even if I have to come into conflict.

In November 2012, the actress could be seen in the Rolling Stones video for the song Doom And Gloom, shot by Luc Besson.

Noomi Rapace starred in the Rolling Stones video

In 2013, Rapace along with Rachel McAdams appeared in the erotic thriller «Passion». McAdams starred in «Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows» too, but the actresses did not intersect in the same sequence. Rapace with deep scars on her face being the result of many hours effort by make-up artists, also played in the thriller «Dead Man Down», working on the set with Isabelle Huppert and Colin Farrell.

Shot from the movie «Dead Man Down»

In 2015, the actress performed the lead role as Raisa Demidova in the thriller «Child 44» by the Swedish director Daniel Espinosa. Noomi’s partner was Tom Hardy, with whom Rapace had already managed to work and make friends on the set of the film «The Drop» in the previous year.

Noomi Rapace and Tom Hardy are good friends

On May 12, 2015, it was announced that Rapace would portray opera singer Maria Callas in the biographical production by New Zealand director Niki Caro («North Country», «The Vintner’s Luck», «McFarland, USA»).

Noomi will play Maria Callas

Six months later, news appeared in the media that Rapace would portray Amy Winehouse in a new biographical picture about the life of the late singer. Irishwoman Kirsten Sheridan («Disco Pigs», «August Rush») was chosen as the director of the film.

Noomi Rapace was approved for the role of Amy Winehouse

At the end of August 2017, the fantasy thriller «What Happened to Monday» directed by Tommy Wirkola was released on screens, in which Glenn Close and Willem Dafoe played in addition to Noomi.

Shot from the film «What Happened to Monday»

In December 2017, David Ayer’s «Bright» was released, which was about a complicated case in the fictional fantasy world of Los Angeles. In the action movie, the leading roles were played by Rapace, Will Smith and Joel Edgerton.

Noomi Rapace

In 2018, the film by Canadian director Robert Budreau «Stockholm» was released, which tells about the notorious case of hostage-taking in a bank in the capital of Sweden in August 1973. Besides Noomi, the film also starred Mark Strong and Ethan Hawke.

Shot from the film «Stockholm»

Noomi Rapace personal life

In 2001, Noomi became the wife of 26-year-old Swedish actor Ola Norell. The actress met her future husband in the company of mutual friends in Gothenburg. The couple in love together decided to change their surname to «Rapace», which means «predatory bird» in French.

Noomi Rapace with her ex-husband and son

In 2003, a son, Lev was born to the couple. However, family happiness did not last long. Journalists say that the marriage of Rapace started to crumble back in 2006. Ola became a cocaine addict, almost stopped acting, and spent the nights with friends more and more often. In September 2010, the couple filed for divorce.

In the photo: Noomi Rapace and Sanny Dahlbeck

In February 2015, the actress appeared on the red carpet with her new boyfriend, 24-year-old Sanny Dahlbeck. However, only six months later, the lovers broke up. Apparently, now Rapace’s heart is free.

Shot from the movie «The Drop»

In addition to her native Swedish language, Noomi is fluent in Icelandic, Danish, Norwegian, and English.

Noomi Rapace now

The actress played the lead roles in the thriller «Close» and «Angel Of Mine», both of which were released in 2019, but viewers did not show much enthusiasm for them, unlike the series «Jack Ryan» starring the actor and director John Krasinski. The premiere of the second season took place in November 2019.

Noomi Rapace and John Krasinski

In 2020, the movie The Secrets We Keep was released - in which Noomi starred in the lead role with Yuelle Kinnaman. At the same time, the actress was working on the film Hearts of Stone with Jessica Bardem. The list of upcoming projects with Rapace also includes films Callas, Brilliance, and Alive Alone with Idris Elba, but the fate of these films is still unknown.

Ann Miller

Noomi knows so many languages, it is crazy. Where does she find time for all her hobbies?

2021-05-04 11:15:56
Patricia King

The favorite and incredibly powerful movie with Noomi Rapace is of course «The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo»! I am delighted

2021-04-12 10:35:53
Mark Barber

«Daisy Diamond» shocked me. I have not seen anything like this before. Although this is a complete tin, but it is also necessary to play it as Rapace did.

2021-03-15 19:15:58
Annette Bell

Until that day, I knew nothing about such an actress as Rapace... Nothing outstanding.

2021-02-07 17:58:29
Edward Cole

For me, Noomi Rapace is the discovery of the year, to be honest. A very promising actress.

2020-12-31 20:44:35

Photos: Noomi Rapace

Noomi Rapace biography

Childhood and youth

Career

Noomi Rapace personal life

Noomi Rapace now