Birgitte Hjort Sørensen (born 16 January 1982) is a Danish actress.
She has been nominated for three Robert Awards and one Bodil Award.
Born in Hillerød and raised in Birkerød, Sørensen aspired to an
acting career after watching the West End production of the musical
Chicago while at school. She graduated from the Danish National School
of Performing Arts. Her acting debut was in a minor role in the
television series The Eagle in 2005. She followed this by playing
Roxie Hart in a Copenhagen production of Chicago, and later on the
West End. Sørensen's breakthrough role was as journalist Katrine
Fønsmark in the television political drama Borgen
(2010â€"2013).Sørensen was born in Hillerød on 16 January 1982. She
grew up in Birkerød. Both her parents are doctors and she has two
elder sisters. Her early education was at the Bistrup School in
Birkerød and Øregård Gymnasium in Hellerup. At the latter, she was
the student council chairman and editor of the school magazine.
Sørensen decided in her early teens not to follow her parents'
footsteps in pursuing a career in medicine after work experience with
her mother at a geriatrics ward. She stated, 'Being met with that
number of people who can no longer go to the bathroom or eat by
themselves, it was traumatising. I lived too much with their
misery.'While on a school trip to London at the age of 19, she watched
the West End production of the musical Chicago which motivated her to
become an actress. Sørensen spoke of the experience in an interview
for The Guardian, "It was so amazing and sexy, and I sat there
thinking, 'I want to be on that stage one day.'". Her motivation was
solidified by her participation in a mini-musical school organised by
the Gladsaxe Theatre which provided a six month introduction to
musical theatre. She continued her studies at the Danish National
School of Performing Arts, during which time Sørensen made her acting
debut in 2005 as a receptionist on the television series The Eagle.
The school forbid its students from having jobs so Sørensen feigned
illness to appear on the television show. Two years later she played
the lead role of Roxie Hart in the 2007 production of Chicago at the
Det Ny Teater in Copenhagen. The musical was critically acclaimed and
became the highest grossing Danish theatre production of the year. For
her performance she received a Reumert prize. Sørensen then reprised
the role in the West End production in 2008 at the Cambridge
Theatre.In 2010, she made her breakthrough by playing the idealistic
journalist, Katrine Fønsmark, in the DR fictional political drama
Borgen which charted the rise of Denmark's first female prime
minister. In order to prepare for the role, she spent a summer
training with television news teams and reporters. Sørensen received
critical acclaim for playing a strong female protagonist on the show,
and international recognition especially in the United Kingdom. For
the show's third season, Sørensen received a nomination for the
Robert Award for Best Actress in a Leading Role (Television). She also
garnered her first nomination for the Robert Award for Best Actress in
a Leading Role for playing a criminal psychologist's secretary in the
action film Ved verdens ende (2009) with Nikolaj Lie Kaas, and Nikolaj
Coster-Waldau. In 2012, Sørensen portrayed painter Marie Krøyer in
the biographical film The Passion of Marie which earned her second
Best Actress nomination at the Robert Awards. The following year, she
appeared as Virgilia in the play Coriolanus with Tom Hiddleston at
Donmar Warehouse, London.
She has been nominated for three Robert Awards and one Bodil Award.
Born in Hillerød and raised in Birkerød, Sørensen aspired to an
acting career after watching the West End production of the musical
Chicago while at school. She graduated from the Danish National School
of Performing Arts. Her acting debut was in a minor role in the
television series The Eagle in 2005. She followed this by playing
Roxie Hart in a Copenhagen production of Chicago, and later on the
West End. Sørensen's breakthrough role was as journalist Katrine
Fønsmark in the television political drama Borgen
(2010â€"2013).Sørensen was born in Hillerød on 16 January 1982. She
grew up in Birkerød. Both her parents are doctors and she has two
elder sisters. Her early education was at the Bistrup School in
Birkerød and Øregård Gymnasium in Hellerup. At the latter, she was
the student council chairman and editor of the school magazine.
Sørensen decided in her early teens not to follow her parents'
footsteps in pursuing a career in medicine after work experience with
her mother at a geriatrics ward. She stated, 'Being met with that
number of people who can no longer go to the bathroom or eat by
themselves, it was traumatising. I lived too much with their
misery.'While on a school trip to London at the age of 19, she watched
the West End production of the musical Chicago which motivated her to
become an actress. Sørensen spoke of the experience in an interview
for The Guardian, "It was so amazing and sexy, and I sat there
thinking, 'I want to be on that stage one day.'". Her motivation was
solidified by her participation in a mini-musical school organised by
the Gladsaxe Theatre which provided a six month introduction to
musical theatre. She continued her studies at the Danish National
School of Performing Arts, during which time Sørensen made her acting
debut in 2005 as a receptionist on the television series The Eagle.
The school forbid its students from having jobs so Sørensen feigned
illness to appear on the television show. Two years later she played
the lead role of Roxie Hart in the 2007 production of Chicago at the
Det Ny Teater in Copenhagen. The musical was critically acclaimed and
became the highest grossing Danish theatre production of the year. For
her performance she received a Reumert prize. Sørensen then reprised
the role in the West End production in 2008 at the Cambridge
Theatre.In 2010, she made her breakthrough by playing the idealistic
journalist, Katrine Fønsmark, in the DR fictional political drama
Borgen which charted the rise of Denmark's first female prime
minister. In order to prepare for the role, she spent a summer
training with television news teams and reporters. Sørensen received
critical acclaim for playing a strong female protagonist on the show,
and international recognition especially in the United Kingdom. For
the show's third season, Sørensen received a nomination for the
Robert Award for Best Actress in a Leading Role (Television). She also
garnered her first nomination for the Robert Award for Best Actress in
a Leading Role for playing a criminal psychologist's secretary in the
action film Ved verdens ende (2009) with Nikolaj Lie Kaas, and Nikolaj
Coster-Waldau. In 2012, Sørensen portrayed painter Marie Krøyer in
the biographical film The Passion of Marie which earned her second
Best Actress nomination at the Robert Awards. The following year, she
appeared as Virgilia in the play Coriolanus with Tom Hiddleston at
Donmar Warehouse, London.
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