Born on 10 May 1949 in Aarhus, Kirsten Olesen was the daughter of Jens Oscar Olesen (1912–1987) and Sigrid Marie Lange (1912–1999). After matriculating from Horsens Statsskole, she attended the drama school at Odense Teater where she completed her studies in 1971. After a period with the theatre group Banden in Odense, she moved to Copenhagen where she acted in various theatres, gaining recognition as Alma in Tennessee Williams' Summer and Smoke at the Hvidovre Teater in 1976 and as Caroline Mathilde in Sven Holm's Struense var her at Folketeatret the following year. But it was in 1977 at Strøghus Teatret that she became widely acclaimed for her performance of the title role in Euripides's Electra.[1]
In 1979, for playing Kirsten in Bille August's 1978 film Honningmåne (In My Life), she received a Bodil for best leading actress.[3]
While she became attached to Copenhagen's Royal Theatre in 1979, she also appeared in many films and television series, especially as Agnes in Matador playing the modest role of a housemaid which, given her talented performances, was subsequently enhanced by the author Lise Nørgaard. Her stage performances have varied from classical Greek tragedies to Shakespeare, Schiller, Ibsen, Strindberg and Eugene O'Neill.[1]
More recently, she has been acclaimed for her role as Veronika in the Danish TV series Arvingerne or The Legacy (2014).[4]
