[1] In 1981 she caught the attention of fashion editor Birte Strandgaard,[1] who convinced photographer Leif Nygaard to take some photos.
From 1983 on she became one of the fastest-rising stars in the modelling world, being featured on the covers of numerous international fashion magazines.
[2] That same year, she debuted as an actress in Carlo Vanzina's Sotto il vestito niente (The Last Shot), released as Nothing Underneath in America, playing one of several models in Milan caught up in the rampage of a psychopathic murderer.
Renee has three children: two from a relationship with Kristian Sandvad: Ulrikke, born in 1993 (who is now an established model herself having appeared in the 2014 worldwide Magnum ice cream television advert), and Jens-Kristian, born in 1995 (also a model), and youngest Hugo with her husband, Thomas Helmig.
In 1997 she worked as a fashion editor for the Danish magazine Asschenfeldts Magasin, which, however, ceased operations after a few issues.
That summer she began a relationship with Danish rock singer Thomas Helmig, whom she married in August 2000.
In 2003 Simonsen signed a contract to the French cosmetic company Clarins and began appearing in magazine advertisements for mature skincare products.