Renee Simonsen Biography
Renee Simonsen (full name: Renée Toft Simonsen) is a Danish former supermodel turned writer. She is known for being one of the most successful models in the world in the 80s.
Renee Simonsen Age
Simonsen is 54 years old as of 2018. She was born on May 12, 1965, in Randers, Denmark.
Renee Simonsen Husband
Simonsen is married to Danish rock singer Thomas Helmig. The couple began their relationship in the summer of 1997. They got married in August 2000, got separated in 2014 but later reconciled. They have one child together.
Renee Simonsen’s Children
Renee is a mother of three children. Her two eldest children are from her previous relationship with Kristian Sandvad. They are; Ulrikke, a model who appeared in the 2014 Magnum ice cream TV advert and was born in 1993, and Jens-Kristian, a model too who was born to Simonsen in 1995. The youngest child by Simonsen and Thomas Helmig is known as Hugo.
Renee Simonsen John Taylor
John Taylor was Simonsen’s boyfriend from 1985 to 1989. He is an English bass guitarist of the English band, Duran. The two were even engaged before their relationship ended in 1989.
Renee Simonsen Photo
Renee Simonsen 80s
Born in Aarhus, Denmark, Simonsen was a cashier at a supermarket before she was discovered to take up modeling. She caught the attention of fashion editor Birte Strandgaard in 1981. Strandgaard, in turn, convinced photographer Leif Nygaard to take some photos of Simonsen. Subsequently, Renee took part in the Ekstra Bladet Contest and won 2nd place. In July 1981 she appeared on the cover of the Danish magazine Fotokino.
She took part in the next Ekstra Bladet Contest and won. As a result, she was chosen to represent Denmark at the Ford Supermodel contest, which she also won in August 1982. In April 1983 she appeared in the American edition of Vogue and went on to grace four more American Vogue covers.
Simonsen became one of the quickest rising stars of the international modeling world from 1983. This she did as she graced the covers of numerous international fashion magazines. She was the cover girl for the German Vogue in March, April and September of that year.
In 1983 she was featured on the cover of Roxy Music’s Atlantic Years album. In addition to this, she became the face of several cosmetic brands like Clarins, Maybelline and Covergirl and Lancel luggage. She also appeared in a swimsuit issue of Sports Illustrated magazine.
In the mid-80s, Simonsen made her debut as an actress in Carlo Vanzina’s Sotto il vestito niente (The Last Shot), playing the role of a psychopathic murderer. The film is titled “Nothing Underneath” in America. She also worked on the comedy Via Montenapoleone with Vanzina in 1987.
She took a break from the fashion world in 1988. She lived with her sister Heidi in a kibbutz in Israel for 4 months before breaking up with her then-boyfriend. Simonsen was offered a chance to audition for the role of a Bond Girl in an upcoming James Bond film but she did not take it up. Instead, she ended her career in modeling and went back to Denmark to study journalism. She failed the qualifying examination and decided to pursue psychology instead.
Renee Simonsen’s Career after the 80s
Simonsen got back to modeling in 1991 for Vichy cosmetics. She also became the face of Biotherm cosmetics in 1993. In 1997, she was a fashion editor for Asschenfeldts Magasin, Danish magazine that ceased operations after a few issues.
She completed her psychology degree in 2002 ans in 2003, she signed a contract to the French cosmetic company Clarins and began appearing in magazine advertisements for mature skincare products.
Renee Simonsen as a Book Writer
Simonsen published her first children’s book, Karlas kabale, in October 2003. Her other book, Anthony Greenwood was nominated for the Danish book-prize “Orla” in 2006. She got “The Most Dynamic Women” award from Clarins cosmetic company for her social engagement at Plan Denmark.
In 2007, her “Karlas kabale” book made it to the movies and premiered in November. She also released her first novel “Tirsdag formiddag” (Tuesday Morning), in August. This was followed by a second adult novel “Dømt til Frihed”( Sentenced to Freedom) in 2010.
Politikens Forlag published her biography in October 2014. The book is written by Renée herself and journalist Andreas Fugl Thøgersen, while many others such as Eileen Ford, John Taylor, her parents, sisters, best friend, her husband Thomas Helmig and many others have made their contribution to the book. She writes a weekly column in the Danish magazine called “Femina”.
Renee Simonsen Height
The former supermodel has a height of 5′ 10″.