Hollywood star Brigitte Neilson has plenty to talk about when it comes to her career. Starting out as a model, she worked for some of the world’s biggest designers, such as Armani and Versace, graced the front cover of Playboy magazine, co-starred in blockbusters with Arnold Schwarzenegger, Eddie Murphy, and then-husband Sylvester Stallone, forged a pop music career, and became a sought-after TV personality across mainland Europe.

Born in Denmark as Gitte Neilson, she began modelling on leaving school and quickly found herself in demand thanks to her stunning looks and 6’ 1” build. In the early ‘80s, she dedicated herself to pursuing an acting career. On the set of her first major film, 1985’s Red Sonja, she met Sylvester Stallone and, after a whirlwind romance, the pair married the same year. Just as quickly, they were united on screen in Cobra and the classic Rocky IV. The pair’s off-screen exploits gained as much attention as their on-screen ones, and they divorced in 1987. That same year, Neilson appeared in another major Hollywood success, Beverly Hills Cop II, alongside comic legend Eddie Murphy. Before the decade was through, she would also feature in a music video for Michael Jackson, easily the biggest star on the planet at the time.

1987 also saw the launch of Neilson’s own music career. A duet with Falco, then one of Europe’s most-loved pop stars thanks to the smash hit ‘Rock Me Amadeus’, was a success. She went on to release albums under the alias of Gitta, wanting to prove that her music could succeed on its own merits. The plan worked and she had hit records in the likes of Spain and Germany. Today, she is teetotal and more in demand than ever across her native Europe, hosting her own shows in both Denmark and Germany and guesting on many more.