Renate Reinsve

Renate Reinsve is a Norwegian actress best known for her acclaimed roles in film and theatre. Born on 24 November 1987 in Solbergelva, a suburb of Drammen, she was diagnosed with ADHD as a child, which she later linked to her hyperfocus on theatre during her teenage years. After being expelled from school at 16, she moved to Scotland and worked in an Edinburgh hostel bar. Following a dismissal from a job at her family's hardware store and a recommendation from a troop leader after being kicked out of the Girl Scouts, she decided to pursue acting and trained at the Oslo National Academy of the Arts.

Reinsve began her professional acting career on stage at the Trøndelag Teater in Trondheim. In 2014, she received the Hedda Award for her performance in Besøk av gammel dame, an adaptation of Friedrich Dürrenmatt's play Der Besuch der alten Dame. She joined Det Norske Teatret in Oslo in 2016. Reinsve made her feature film debut in Joachim Trier's Oslo, August 31st (2011), followed by roles in films including The Orheim Company (2012) and Welcome to Norway (2016). On television, she starred in the series Nesten voksen and appeared in Hvite gutter.

Her international breakthrough came when she played the lead role of Julie in Joachim Trier's romantic comedy-drama The Worst Person in the World (2021). Trier wrote the character specifically for her, offering her the role the day after she had considered quitting acting to work in carpentry. Her performance earned widespread acclaim, winning her the Cannes Film Festival Award for Best Actress and receiving a nomination for the BAFTA Award for Best Actress in a Leading Role.

Following her breakthrough, Reinsve starred in several high-profile projects in 2024. She co-starred opposite Sebastian Stan in the psychological dark comedy A Different Man, appeared in the science-fiction romance Another End alongside Gael Garcia Bernal, and led the thriller Armand, which earned her a nomination for the European Film Award for Best Actress. She also made her American television appearance in the Apple TV+ legal thriller series Presumed Innocent opposite Jake Gyllenhaal.

Reinsve reunited with Trier for the family drama Sentimental Value (2025), portraying an actress reuniting with her father alongside Stellan Skarsgård, Inga Ibsdotter Lilleaas, and Elle Fanning. For her performance, she was nominated for the Academy Award, BAFTA Award, and Golden Globe Award for Best Actress, becoming the second Norwegian nominee for an Oscar in that category.

Her subsequent film work includes the science-fiction horror film Backrooms (2026) co-starring Chiwetel Ejiofor, and the Cristian Mungiu-directed drama Fjord (2026) alongside Sebastian Stan, which won the Palme d'Or at the Cannes Film Festival. She was also cast as Mary Wollstonecraft in Mia Hansen-Løve's period drama If Love Should Die. In her personal life, Reinsve has a son with her former boyfriend, animator Julian Nazario Vargas.