Rapace was born in Hudiksvall, Sweden. Her mother, Nina Norén, is a Swedish actress, and her father, Rogelio Durán, was a Spanish Flamenco singer from Badajoz. She has said her father may have been of part Romani descent, and though she is "not sure if it is true," she has "always been interested in the culture." Rapace's sister, Særún Norén, is a photographer. Rapace has said she saw her father only occasionally before his death. At age five, she moved from her native Sweden to Flúðir in Iceland with her mother and stepfather. Two years later, she made her film debut in a minor role in the Icelandic filmIn the Shadow of the Raven. Rapace speaks fluent Icelandic, Danish, Norwegian and English, in addition to her native Swedish.
Career
Early work
At the age of seven, Rapace was given her first film role, a non-speaking part in the Icelandic film In the Shadow of the Raven by Hrafn Gunnlaugsson. This experience prompted her to be an actress. She left home at age 15 and enrolled in a Stockholm theatre school. In 1996, Rapace made her television debut playing the part of Lucinda Gonzales in the long-running soap series Tre kronor. From 1998 to 1999, Rapace studied at the acting school Skara Skolscen. She has been engaged at Theater Plaza in 2000–01, Orionteaternin 2001, Teater Galeasen in 2002, Stockholms stadsteater in 2003, as well as at the Royal Dramatic Theatre, all in Stockholm. In 2007, she won acclaim for her award-winning portrayal of a troubled teen mother in the Danish film Daisy Diamond, directed by Simon Staho. She won the two top film awards in Denmark for Best Actress for her role in the film, which was also selected for the main competition at the San Sebastián International Film Festival. The film received some criticism for the supposed abuse occurring to a baby actor during production. In 2009, she played the role of Lisbeth Salander in the Swedish-produced film adaptation of Stieg Larsson's best-selling novel The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, for which she won the Guldbagge Award, and was nominated for a BAFTA Award and European Film Award. She later appeared in the same role in the sequels The Girl Who Played with Fire, and The Girl Who Kicked the Hornets' Nest. All three films were subsequently recut as a six-part miniseries aired on Swedish television called Millennium, for which Rapace received a nomination for the International Emmy Award for Best Actress. The three film adaptations have earned over $200 million at the box office worldwide.
International success
Following the success of the Millennium series, Rapace started an international career. Her first English-speaking role was the character of Madame Simza Heron in Guy Ritchie's , released in 2011. Her international fame has earned her leading roles in mainstream cinema. She was cast in Ridley Scott's blockbuster hit Prometheus, where she played the leading role, a scientist named Elizabeth Shaw. She had met Scott for the first time following the release of the Millennium trilogy movies, at which point he expressed a willingness to work with her and encouraged her to improve her accent. Prometheus was released in June 2012. She did not appear in the final cut of the film's sequel , but did act in a short related prologue. In November 2012, she appeared in a Rolling Stones video for the single "Doom and Gloom", shot in the studios of the Cité du Cinéma by Luc Besson in Saint-Denis. In 2013, she starred alongside Rachel McAdams in Brian De Palma's erotic thriller Passion, which is the English-language remake of 2010's French psychological thrillerLove Crime. They both appeared in Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows, but did not share scenes. Rapace also appeared in Niels Arden Oplev's crime thriller Dead Man Down, alongside Isabelle Huppert and Colin Farrell. In 2014, she appeared as Nadia in Michael Roskam's thriller The Drop, alongside Tom Hardy, Matthias Schoenaerts, and James Gandolfini. On September 2014, she was the subject of the short filmA Portrait of Noomi Rapace, directed by artist and designer Aitor Throup and scored by Flying Lotus. In the same year, Rapace appeared in the video for the single "eez-eh" by Kasabian. In 2015, she starred as Raisa Demidova in Daniel Espinosa's Child 44, opposite Tom Hardy also starring Gary Oldman, Vincent Cassel, Jason Clarke, and Joel Kinnaman. Rapace will be in the upcoming sci-fi thriller Brilliance in an unknown role. The film was later renamed Bright. She also starred in the spy thriller Unlocked, with Michael Douglas, John Malkovich, Orlando Bloom, and Toni Collette; will lead the sci-fi/actioner Seven Sisters opposite Glenn Close and Willem Dafoe and the sci-fi/thriller Rupture by Steven Shainberg. On 12 May 2015, it was announced that she will play opera singer Maria Callas in a biopic directed by Niki Caro. On 5 November 2015, it was announced that Rapace is in talks to portray Amy Winehouse in a new biopic about the late singer's life directed by Kirsten Sheridan. On 25 August 2017, it was announced that Rapace was cast in the action thriller film, Close. The film was released on 18 January 2019, on Netflix.
Personal life
Rapace married Swedish actor Ola Norell in 2001. Upon marrying, the couple decided to use the surname Rapace, meaning "bird of prey" both in French and Italian, because it sounded "cool." They have a son, Lev, born in 2003. In September 2010, they filed for divorce, which took effect the next year.
