Paprika Steen

The daughter of a musician and an actress, Steen was born in Copenhagen and raised in an artistic family along with her actor/musician brother, Nikolaj. After gaining experience in Danish stage productions, she transitioned to film and television, with her international success arriving with various feature dramas and comedies. She appeared in the first three productions by the experimental Dogme 95 collective; after a brief spot in Lars von Trier's "The Idiots" (1998), Steen played more prominent roles in "The Celebration," as well as Søren Kragh-Jacobsen's "Mifune" (1999). She later impressed critics and audiences alike with her lead turn in the dramedy "Okay" and a supporting part in the ensemble drama "Open Hearts," written by Anders Thomas Jensen and directed by Susanne Bier, who would both become frequent collaborators of the in-demand actress. In 2004, Steen proved that she could carry a movie as a director with "Aftermath," a moody portrait of grief. Following a featured role in Jensen's quirky crowd-pleaser "Adam's Apples" (2005), she directed his script for "With Your Permission," another offbeat comedy. Throwing an uncharacteristic turn in the sci-fi/horror film "The Substitute" (2007) into the mix, Steen later won accolades for her emotive performance as a troubled actress and mother in "Applause" (2009). In 2012, she appeared in the NYC-set gay drama "Keep the Lights On" and the lighthearted "Love Is All You Need," with Pierce Brosnan and Trine Dyrholm, films that strayed outside of her comfort zone of Denmark-centric productions.