Hanne Norgaard Bio: From Makeup Artistry To Entrepreneurial Success

Hanne Norgaard is a professional makeup artist from a British-American background who also runs businesses and writes.

She is also well-known as the ex-wife of actor Idris Elba. Make-up artists work nonstop to create trends that regularly enthrall the fashion industry.

Embracing this challenge and entering the booming cosmetic business, Hanne Norgaard has used their knowledge to produce cosmetics lines. Beyond her skill, Hanne’s prior marriage to a celebrity has firmly ingrained her in the entertainment business.

Widely known as the first wife of Idris Elba, a well-known English actor and D.J. praised for his performances, including his outstanding performance as Nelson Mandela in the biopic “Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom” published in 2013.

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About Hanne Norgaard

Familiar with the American fashion scene, Hanne Norgaard is well-known for contributing to the cosmetics business abroad.

Renowned for her initiatives in boosting self-confidence and appreciating natural beauty across many backgrounds, races, and ethnicities, she has received praise for several projects.

Her influence in the makeup industry is still substantial, displaying her great self-value even if she now keeps a lesser profile in the media and on social networking sites.

Born on April 5, Hanne Norgaard grew up in London. Born with an Aries sign, she will be 46 years old in 2024. She is a British national yet identifies as black. Norgaard attended the International Artist Makeup Academy in London.

Her blended ethnicity is said to be richer because of her different mother’s background. Her mother’s roots run to South Korea, while her father has an African background. Her father is African-born, and her mother is from South Korea.

Over her career, Hanne Norgaard has worked with brands including Calvin Klein and Sean Combs and other movie production firms, including BBC TV series and Columbia Tristar.

Although she started performing early, her ex-husband’s popularity on the front stage distracted her. She then moved into a successful profession as a cosmetics artist.

Hanne Norgaard Education

Norgaard studied at the S.C. Institute in Washington, DC, from 2004 to 2006. She excelled in makeup artistry and graduated with a Diploma with Highest Honours.

She then continued her studies at the International Makeup Academy in Europe, receiving a diploma with the highest honors in makeup, hair, nails, and special effects.

Hanne Norgaard Early Years

When discussing someone’s early years, our first focus is their parents. Since Hanne Norgaard was adopted by Danish parents, her family narrative veers intriguingly.

Though adopted, Hanne searched for her birth parents since she was intensely curious about her genetic background.

Her search revealed that her mother is South Korean. At the same time, her father has an African-American background, providing a unique Afro-Asian background.

Hanne’s path to discovering her roots led her to use Ancestry, where she discovered information on her father but ran into a dead end in her hunt for her mother.

She posted her search on Instagram in 2018, including a visit to an orphanage in Korea, where she stayed before her adoption.

She learned much about her mother from the orphanage, but her hunt is still elusive. Hanne once mentioned Kyue Nam Kim, sometimes Nam Hee Kim in Korean, for her mother.

Like her mother, the particulars of her early life and siblings are unknown. Hanne is still somewhat of a mystery given only a few specifics of her childhood—that she lived in South Korea, England, and the United States.

Hanne Norgaard Career

After graduating from college, Hanne launched her career without incident, landing jobs at prestigious firms such as Columbia Tristar, BBC, Ralph Lauren, BET, Rolling Out, and Calvin Klein.

These encounters enabled her to become fully engaged in the realm of makeup and acquire insightful industry knowledge.

Inspired by her experiences, she continued her studies at the International Cosmetics Artist Academy in Europe, which enabled the launch of Kim Elba Cosmetics, her line of cosmetics.

Having worked in the cosmetics and beauty industries for about 15 years, Hanne is now somewhat well-known. Among Europe’s socialites, performers, and Hollywood elite, she has earned recognition as an accomplished professional, having worked with some famous personalities.

Notable personalities abound from her clientele, including Chilli of TLC, Lyfe Jennings, Geena Davis, Hugh Laurie, Jenna Redgrave, Nigel Havers, Idris Elba, and Robin Williams.

1999 saw her move to New York following her marriage to Idris Elba. She worked for magazine shoots, fashion shows, films, and television shows.

Her career path slowed down following her 2003 divorce from her husband, but in 2007, she revived it with her beauty project “Make Up Your Mind”.

Using this service, Norgaard and her team of professional make-up artists and hairstylists provide customers with a wide spectrum of make-up treatments, including accompanying them on shoots, alternative hairstyles, and personal styling.

Make-up parties, where this business assists women in hosting events over their holidays to study makeup and improve their holiday appearance, are another special feature.

Hanne Norgaard’s paraben-free and cruelty-free cosmetics range is “Kim Elba Cosmetics”. Norgaard frequently appears on the reality TV series “The Real Housewives of Atlanta.”

Hanne Norgaard and her husband, Friar Andrew, run the ‘Heart Strong Ministry’ in Georgia. The Ministry’s goal is to enable individuals to make “Heart decisions” that bring them closer to God.

Hanne Norgaard’s Marriage With Idris Elba

The first meeting was between Idris Elba and Hanne Norgaard, while they were both London makeup artists. They married in 1999 and relocated to New York in search of more employment opportunities. In 2002, their daughter Isan Elba was born.

The pair split in 2003, one year after Isan’s birth. Though she has never mentioned the reason for their divorce, Norgaard and Idris remain friends. They were seen together to celebrate the 16th birthday of their daughter.

Hanne Norgaard married Pastor Andrew L. Friar II in 2013 after eleven years of single life. The couple’s wedding celebrations ended with a romantic yacht trip.

On the first anniversary of their marriage, Norgaard called her husband a unique gift from God. She wondered at his love for God, patience, understanding, and confidence.

Hanne Norgaard Net Worth

Although Hanne Norgaard’s ex-husband is a multi-tasking cosmetics artist with a US$20 million net worth, she has not spoken about her own.

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