Kirstine "Paprika" Steen (born 3 November 1964) is a Danish actress and director best known for her performances in Dogme 95 films Festen, The Idiots, Mifune, and Open Hearts.

Steen applied to the Acting School of Odense Theatre 13 times before being accepted and attending from 1988 to 1992.

In 1998, Steen became an active participant in the Dogme 95 film movement as the only performer to appear in the first three movies: Lars Von Trier's The Idiots, Festen by Thomas Vinterberg, and Søren Kragh-Jacobsen's Mifune's Last Song.

[2] The same year she also won both the Bodil and Robert awards as Best Supporting Actress in Elsker dig for evigt (Open Hearts).

Steen made her directorial debut in with the 2004 tragedy-drama Lad de små børn... (Aftermath) about the emotional trauma of a young couple after the death of their daughter.