Mads Mikkelsen has been acting for decades, but it’s only been in recent years that he’s risen to worldwide fame. The multi-lingual star began his career starring in movies in his native country of Denmark, but the 56-year-old actor quickly rose to fame with English-speaking audiences for his starring role as Hannibal Lecter in the series Hannibal in 2013. Since then, he’s gone on to star in a number of major blockbusters like Doctor Strange, and he’s also set to star as the villain Gellert Grindelwald in the upcoming Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore. Throughout his career, he’s been with his wife Hanne Jacobsen, 61! Find out more about Hanne and her relationship with Mads here!
Mads and Hanne met while working on ‘La Cage Aux Folles’
Hanne and Mads started dating in 1987, when she was working as a dancer and choreographer. The Another Round star has joked about the unlikely circumstances when the pair first laid eyes on each other, because he was dressed in women’s clothing. “I met her when I was dressed up like a woman in La Cage aux Folles. There must be some Freudian stuff happening there. I was a Chinese girl, and I think I was quite good. I have women’s legs,” he told The New York Times in 2013.
They tied the knot in 2000
Hanne must have found something sweet with Mads’ feminine side, because the pair have been together ever since. After 13 years together, the pair got married on December 2, 2000. Years later, the pair seem completely playful in their relationship. Mads had been named Denmark’s Sexiest Man early in his career, and he’s joked that he’ll jokingly ask his wife about his title. He told The Times that one of his lines at home is, “Honey, do you realize who you’re married to? The sexiest man 14 years ago.” She doesn’t let him gloat too much though. “The first time [I said it] she said, ‘Well, you’re married to the most hot girl in the world,'” he said.
Hanne is also a dancer and actress
Given that they met while working on La Cage Aux Folles, it should come as no surprise that Hanne is also a dancer and an actress. She’s appeared as a dancer and as a choreographer on a number of Danish programs, per her IMDb page. She also appeared in three episodes of different Danish TV shows.
They have two children together
Before they got married, Hanne and Mads had two beautiful kids together! Their daughter and first child Viola, 30, was born in 1992, and their son Carl, 25, was born in 1997. While their kids are mostly kept private, Hanne occasionally shares photos of them on her Instagram. Carl has also revealed that he’s a soldier for the Danish Army in an Instagram post of his own. Mads has also revealed that his kids were super excited when he starred in Rihanna‘s music video for her song “B***h Better Have My Money” in a 2021 interview with Vulture. “When I mentioned it to my kids, my brownie points like … skyrocketed,” he joked.
Sometimes Hanne and the kids visit Mads on-set
Mads hasn’t shied away from how important his family is to him. While things may be different now that his kids are grown up, he did reveal that he liked having his wife and kids are “solid family” and join him on location in a 2010 interview with The New York Times. “They join me on location if they have a chance, but I can also be home three or four months doing nothing, so I probably see my kids more than people who work constantly all year long. If that changes, we’ll have to have a family meeting,” he said.