Sonja Richter Biography: Parents, Instagram, Age, Movies, Awards, Ethnicity, Husband, Net Worth

Sonja Richter is a Danish actress known for intense, psychologically grounded performances in film and television.

She first drew major attention with her lead role as Cæcilie in Susanne Bier’s Open Hearts (2002), a film that put Richter at the center of a blunt, intimate relationship drama and turned her into a familiar face for Danish audiences.

She later moved between Danish hits and international productions, including the Department Q thriller The Keeper of Lost Causes and Tommy Lee Jones’s frontier drama The Homesman, while continuing steady work in TV series and theatre.

Profile

• Full name: Sonja Richter
• Date of birth: 4 January 1974
• Age: 52 years old
• Gender: Female
• Place of birth: Esbjerg, Denmark
• Nationality: Danish
• Profession: Actress
• Height: 169 cm
• Eye color: Amber
• Hair color: Blonde
• Parents: N/A
• Siblings: At least two siblings
• Spouse: N/A
• Children: N/A
• Relationship status: N/A
• Religion: Christian
• Ethnicity: Scandinavian / Danish
• Net worth: $2 million

Early Life and Education

Sonja Richter is now 51 years old. She was born on 4 January 1974 in Esbjerg, Denmark. Her father was a seminary principal, and her mother was a teacher.

She grew up in a “hippie-style collective” housed in an abandoned school near Esbjerg, Denmark, which was shared with two other families. She has described her family life as “dysfunctional“.

When she was 12, her parents separated and moved into individual homes in Esbjerg. She then split her time living with her mother and her grandmother. At 14, she moved to a boarding school and later lived alone in Aarhus.

Her formal training is well documented: she studied at Odense Theatre’s Acting School and graduated in 1999, a foundation that positioned her for a career split between stage work and screen roles in Denmark and beyond.

Personal Life

Sonja Richter has kept her private life largely out of the spotlight. There are no details about a spouse, marriage, or children at this time.

Career

After stage work and television appearances in Denmark, Sonja Richter’s career shifted sharply upward with Open Hearts (2002), directed by Susanne Bier. The role established her as a screen actor able to carry difficult emotional material without relying on showy techniques, and it remained a reference point as she continued into feature films through the 2000s.

In the years that followed, Richter built a film résumé centered on dramas and thrillers, including In Your Hands, Villa Paranoia, What No One Knows, and The Woman That Dreamed About a Man, where her roles often involved moral pressure, fractured relationships, and high-stakes personal choices.

She also became strongly associated with Scandinavian crime and prestige television. Her later screen visibility expanded through projects such as Follow the Money, as well as international-facing titles, including The Homesman.

In 2022, she returned to a wider streaming audience with Netflix’s Loving Adults, continuing a pattern of choosing adult, plot-driven material that sits between domestic drama and suspense.

Awards and Nominations

• Shooting Stars Award, European Film Promotion, presented at the Berlin International Film Festival (2004)
• Gold Nymph (Nymph d’Or), Best Actress in a Mini-Series, Monte-Carlo Television Festival, for Performances/Forestillinger (2007)
• Crown Prince Couple’s Culture Prize (2007)
• Bodil Award nomination, Best Actress, for Open Hearts (2003)
• Robert Award nomination, Best Actress, for Open Hearts (2003)
• Bodil Award nomination, Best Supporting Actress, for In Your Hands (2005)
• Robert Award nomination, Best Supporting Actress, for In Your Hands (2005)
• Bodil Award nomination, Best Actress, for Villa Paranoia (2005)
• Robert Award nomination, Best Actress, for Villa Paranoia (2005)
• Bodil Award nomination, Best Actress, for Cecilie (2007)
• Robert Award nomination, Best Actress, for Cecilie (2007)
• Bodil Award nomination, Best Supporting Actress, for The Keeper of Lost Causes (2014)

Net Worth

Sonja Richter’s net worth is estimated at $2 million. This estimate is based on a long-running professional career that includes lead and supporting roles in Danish feature films, recurring work in television series.

Social Media

• Instagram: @sonja_richter_

Filmography

• Sidste weekend (2001)
• Unit One / Rejseholdet (2002)
• Hotellet (2002)
• Open Hearts / Elsker dig for evigt (2002)
• Zakka West (2003)
• Stealing Rembrandt (2003)
• In Your Hands / Forbrydelser (2004)
• Villa Paranoia (2004)
• The Jewish Toy Merchant / Opbrud (2005)
• Ørnen: En krimi-odyssé (2005)
• The Substitute / Vikaren (2007)
• Cecilie (2007)
• What No One Knows / Det som ingen ved (2008)
• Deliver Us from Evil / Fri os fra det onde (2009)
• The Woman That Dreamed About a Man / Kvinden der drømte om en mand (2010)
• Sons of Norway / Sønner av Norge (2011)
• The Killing / Forbrydelsen (2012)
• The Keeper of Lost Causes / Kvinden i buret (2013)