- Renée Simonsen
Renée Toft Simonsen (born
12 May 1965 ) is a former model fromDenmark , who currently works as apsychologist and writer. Simonsen was one of the most successful models in the world during the 1980s.Biography
Simonsen was born in
Aarhus ,Denmark , where she worked as asupermarket cashier before she was discovered.In
1981 she caught the attention of the fashion editorBirte Strandgaard , who convinced photographerLeif Nygaard to do some photos of her. Simonsen subsequently participated in the "Ekstra Bladet " Contest and won 2nd place. InJuly 1981 she appeared on the cover of the Danish magazine "Fotokino".The following year she won the "Ekstra Bladet" Contest, and was chosen to represent Denmark at the
Supermodel of the World contest, which she won inAugust 1982 . Renee was the ultimate embodiment of beauty in the 1980s, and her most amazing feature are her piercing blue eyes. InDecember 1982 she appeared in the American edition of "Vogue".From
1983 on she became one of the quickest rising stars of the international modeling world, being featured on the covers of numerous international fashion magazines. She was the cover girl for the German "Vogue" in March, April and September.In 1983 she was featured on the cover of
Roxy Music 's [http://www.connollyco.com/discography/roxy_music/atlantic_hi.jpgAtlantic Years] album.From 1985-1989 she dated
bassplayer John Taylor of the British bandDuran Duran to whom she was engaged. That same year, she debuted as an actress inCarlo Vanzina 's "Sotto il vestito niente " ("The Last Shot"), playing a psychopathic murderer. Besides her many modeling jobs, in1987 she worked again with Vanzinain on the comedy "Via Montenapoleone ".In
1988 she decided to take a break from fashion. After breaking up with Taylor in 1989, she lived for 3 months in akibbutz inIsrael with her sister Heidi. Despite an offer to audition for the role of aBond Girl in one the the upcomingJames Bond films, the following year Simonsen ended her modeling career and returned to Denmark to studyjournalism . After failing the qualifying examination she began to studypsychology instead.From
1991 on she again worked as model forVichy cosmetics . In1993 Simonsen became the face ofBiotherm cosmetics.She has two children from a relationship with Kristian Sandvad: Ulrikke, born in 1993, and Jens-Kristian, born in 1995.
In
1997 she worked as a fashion editor for the Danish magazine "Asschenfeldts Magasin ", which was however stopped after a few issues. In summer she started a relationship with Danish rock singerThomas Helmig , whom she married inAugust 2000 .In
2002 she completed her degree in psychology with success.In
2003 Simonsen signed a contract to the French cosmetic companyClarins and began appearing in magazine advertisements for mature skincare products.In
October 2003 she published her firstchildren's book , entitled "Karlas Kabale ".In
2006 her children's book "Anthony Greenwood" was nominated for the Danish book-prize "Orla" and she was awarded with "The Most Dynamic Women" award by cosmetic company Clarins for her social engagement at Plan Denmark.Her book "Karlas kabale" makes it
2007 to the movies and has premiere in November. In August appears her first novel "Tirsdag formiddag" (Tuesday Morning).Quote
After her time in the kibbutz:
Filmography
* "
Sotto il vestito niente " (1985)
* "Via Montenapoleone "(1987)Notes
External links
* [http://reneesimonsen.de/ Renee Toft Simonsen - Cover Girl] Biography and magazine cover gallery
*imdb|0800779|Renee Simonsen
*fashionmodel|id=Renee_Simonsen|name=Renee Simonsen
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