Renate Reinsve


Renate Reinsve is a Norwegian actress. She made her feature film debut in Joachim Trier's Oslo, August 31st. She had her breakthrough in the lead role of the comedy-drama The Worst Person in the World, also directed by Trier, for which she won the Cannes Film Festival Award for Best Actress and was nominated for the BAFTA Award for Best Actress.
Her Hollywood debut came with the legal thriller series Presumed Innocent and psychological dark comedy film A Different Man. She reunited with Trier in the drama film Sentimental Value, for which she was nominated for the Golden Globe Award, BAFTA Award and Academy Award becoming the second Norwegian Oscar nominee in the category.

Early life and education

Born in Solbergelva, a suburb of Drammen, and educated at Kunsthøgskolen i Oslo in Oslo, Reinsve then joined the Trøndelag Teater in Trondheim, Norway.
After being expelled from school at 16, Reinsve left Norway for Scotland and stayed in a hostel in Edinburgh. Running out of money, she was given a job in the bar of the hostel by the manager who "felt sorry for ".

Career

2011–2020: Film debut and early work

In 2014, she received the Hedda Award for her role in Besøk av gammel dame, an adaptation of Friedrich Dürrenmatt's play Der Besuch der alten Dame. Since 2016, she has been contracted to Det Norske Teatret in Oslo. Her films include Oslo, 31 August, The Orheim Company, and Welcome to Norway. On television, she has been a main character in Nesten voksen and a side character in Hvite gutter.

2021–present: Breakthrough and expansion

In 2021, Reinsve played the principal character Julie in Joachim Trier's romantic comedy-drama The Worst Person in the World, which premiered at the 2021 Cannes Film Festival to critical acclaim. On Late Night with Seth Meyers, Reinsve said that she was considering quitting acting the day before she was offered the role of Julie, and had considered working in carpentry as a backup plan to acting. Trier had written the part of Julie specifically for her. Peter Bradshaw of The Guardian lauded the film giving it a five star review declaring, "Renate Reinsve is the actor who takes on this role and she takes off like a rocket, deserving star status to rival Lily James or Alicia Vikander for her tremendously mature, sensitive and sympathetic performance." For her performance Reinsve received numerous accolades including the Cannes Film Festival Award for Best Actress as well as a nomination for the BAFTA Award for Best Actress in a Leading Role.
Reinsve acted in two movies which competed at the 74th Berlin International Film Festival, the first being Aaron Schimberg's psychological drama A Different Man co-starring opposite Sebastian Stan. The second was Piero Messina's science-fiction romance Another End with Gael Garcia Bernal. Reinsve acted in the film Armand directed by Halfdan Ullmann Tøndel which premiered at the 2024 Cannes Film Festival. In Nordisk, Armand was said to be "A story about boundaries - not mainly between the kids, but between the adults involved. Who decides where to set them? What is an assault, what is play, what is consent, and what is privacy?". She was nominated for the European Film Award for Best Actress for her performance. Also in 2024, she played a lover and victim in the Apple TV+ legal thriller series Presumed Innocent acting opposite Jake Gyllenhaal. The series was based on the 1987 novel of the same name.
File:SentValueBFILFF121025-84.jpg|thumb|right|Elle Fanning, Inga Ibsdotter Lilleaas, Stellan Skarsgård and Reinsve promoting Sentimental Value in 2025.
Reinsve reunited with Trier for the family drama Sentimental Value starring alongside Stellan Skarsgård and Elle Fanning. Filming commenced in August 2024. The film premiered at the 2025 Cannes Film Festival to positive reviews. David Ehlrich of IndieWire praised her collaboration with the director: "Reinsve is immaculately attuned to Trier's energy, and Sentimental Value is carried by the manic frustration she brings to her part". David Rooney of The Hollywood Reporter concurred: "It's especially gladdening to see Reinsve working again with a director who draws out every ounce of raw feeling in her" while also praising her for her dramatic and comedic abilities. Reinsve was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Actress and Golden Globe Award for Best Actress in a Motion Picture – Drama for her performance.
In June 2025, it was announced that Reinsve would star opposite Chiwetel Ejiofor in the A24 science-fiction film The Backrooms directed by Kane Parsons.

Personal life

During a November 2025 interview with Vogue Reinsve revealed that she has a six-year-old son with her former partner, animator Julian Nazario Vargas. A week later at the ELLE "Women In Hollywood" event she mentioned him in a speech: "My son is such a wonderful person, so sensitive and strong and cool, and I’m so happy to have him here." On November 26, 2025, during an appearance on Late Night with Seth Meyers, she spoke of having been kicked out of the Girl Scouts; the leader of the troop suggested that she get involved in theater. She also worked at her family's hardware store. According to Reinsve, she was quite uninterested in working there and was summarily dismissed from employment at the business.

Filmography

Film

YearTitleRoleNotes
2011Oslo, 31 AugustRenate
2012The Orheim CompanyLene
2015Women in Oversized Men's ShirtsAne
2015Villmark AsylumSynne
2016'Line
2017'Mor
2018Kristin
2021The Worst Person in the WorldJulie
2024Handling the UndeadAnna
2024A Different ManIngrid VoldHollywood debut
2024Another EndZoe / Ava
2024ArmandElizabeth
2025Sentimental ValueNora Borg
2026ButterflyLily
2026The Backrooms Post-production
2026Fjord Lisbet GheorghiuPost-production
TBAX IngvildPost-production

Television

Accolades