Hanne Norgaard: the verified story of Idris Elba’s first wife
Hanne “Kim” Norgaard is a professional makeup artist and the first wife of actor Idris Elba. The two met in London, moved to the United States together in 1999, and married that year, well before Elba became famous. Their daughter, Isan Elba, was born in January 2002. They divorced in 2003.
Norgaard has never spoken publicly about the marriage. She built a career in beauty instead, founding the makeup business Make Up Your Mind Inc. and the brand Kim Elba Cosmetics, and she remarried in 2013.
One thing worth knowing before you search further: she kept the Elba name professionally. Much of her work appears under “Kim Elba,” which is why searches for her birth name turn up so little.
Quick facts
| Detail | Verified information |
|---|---|
| Name | Hanne Kim Nørgaard |
| Also known as | Kim Norgaard, Kim Elba |
| Profession | Makeup artist and beauty entrepreneur |
| Businesses | Make Up Your Mind Inc. and Kim Elba Cosmetics |
| First marriage | Idris Elba, 1999 to 2003 |
| Daughter | Isan Elba, born January 2002 |
| Second marriage | Pastor Andrew L. Friar II, 2013 |
| Based | Georgia, United States |
Her birth date is widely reported as April 5, 1977, but no primary source confirms it.
Who is she?
Norgaard was working as a makeup artist in London when she met Idris Elba, then an actor whose career had not taken off. Reports describe her background as mixed, with a father of African descent and a mother from South Korea, though neither detail is confirmed by a primary source.
Her professional life is the substantial part of her story, and it is the part most pages skip past. She has worked in makeup for decades, across:
- Television and film productions
- Advertising campaigns
- Fashion shows and editorial shoots
- Stage productions Her own listings credit work connected to brands including Calvin Klein, Ralph Lauren, and the BBC.
She later founded two ventures: Make Up Your Mind Inc., a makeup business, and Kim Elba Cosmetics, a beauty brand.
Marriage to Idris Elba (1999–2003)
The marriage happened in the lean years of Elba’s career, before The Wire made his name in 2002.
| Year | What happened |
|---|---|
| Late 1990s | Norgaard and Elba meet in London and begin dating |
| 1999 | The couple move to the United States and marry |
| 2002 | Daughter Isan Elba is born in January |
| 2002 | Elba begins playing Stringer Bell on HBO’s The Wire |
| 2003 | The marriage ends in divorce |
Accounts from the time describe a hard stretch. Elba was taking small roles and working other jobs in New York while the couple raised a newborn. Neither of them has publicly explained why the marriage ended, and Norgaard has stayed silent on the subject for more than 20 years.
They have remained on good terms as co-parents. Both were present for their daughter’s 16th birthday in 2018.
Their daughter, Isan Elba
Isan Elba was born in January 2002. She became publicly known in her own right in 2019, when she was named the Golden Globe Ambassador, the role formerly called Miss Golden Globe. Her father spoke about the honor publicly at the time.
She has since worked in acting. Isan is an adult and a public figure in her own right, so this page covers only what she has made public through her work.
Idris Elba’s marriages
Many people searching for Norgaard want to place her in Elba’s timeline.
| Spouse | Married | Ended |
|---|---|---|
| Hanne “Kim” Norgaard | 1999 | Divorced 2003 |
| Sonya Nicole Hamlin | 2006 | Ended within months |
| Sabrina Dhowre | 2019 | Still married |
Elba has two children: Isan, born in 2002, and a son, Winston, born in 2014.
Life after the divorce
Norgaard stayed single for about ten years after the divorce, then married Pastor Andrew L. Friar II in 2013. She is associated with his church in Georgia, where she now lives.
She has not given interviews about her first marriage, has not written about it, and does not trade on the Elba connection beyond keeping the professional name she built her business under.
That combination, a working career plus a deliberate silence about a famous ex-husband, is rarer than it sounds.
Why her name gets searched
Interest in Norgaard rises in waves, and the waves follow Idris Elba rather than her.
- Coverage of Elba’s later marriages sends readers back through his relationship history.
- Isan’s 2019 Golden Globe Ambassador role introduced the family to a wider audience.
- Every profile of Elba’s early career mentions the years he struggled in New York, which were the years of this marriage.
Because she gives no interviews, searchers land on template bio pages instead of anything she has said herself.
Facts vs claims
Bio pages about Norgaard repeat a handful of real facts and pad the rest. Here is how the common claims hold up.
| Claim | Status | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Idris Elba’s first wife, married 1999 to 2003 | Supported | Consistent across all reporting |
| Daughter Isan Elba, born January 2002 | Supported | Widely reported, and Isan is a public figure |
| Makeup artist by profession | Supported | Confirmed by her own professional profiles |
| Founder of Kim Elba Cosmetics | Supported | Named in reporting and her profiles |
| Remarried to Pastor Andrew L. Friar II in 2013 | Supported | Widely reported |
| Born April 5, 1977 | Unconfirmed | Repeated everywhere, never sourced |
| Aged 55 in 2022 | Contradicted | Incompatible with a 1977 birth year. The same page says 45 |
| Zodiac sign Pisces | False | April 5 would be Aries. One page gives both |
| Net worth of $900,000 | Unsupported | No source. She runs private businesses |
| Her father managed a store in London | Unconfirmed | Repeated without a source |
| “Celebrity wife” as an occupation | Misleading | She has a documented career of her own |
The age contradictions are worth noting. One profile gives her age as 45 in its summary table and 55 two paragraphs later, alongside a zodiac sign that does not match its own birth date. When a page cannot keep its numbers straight within itself, nothing else on it should be trusted.
What we left out
This page does not include her home address, her church’s membership details, or her personal social media beyond her professional brand. It also does not speculate about the reasons for the divorce, since neither she nor Elba has ever discussed them.
Where is she now?
She lives in Georgia with her husband and continues to work in the beauty industry under the name Kim Elba. She remains in contact with Elba as a co-parent to their daughter.
The bottom line
Norgaard is a makeup artist who married Idris Elba in 1999 and moved to America with him before anyone knew his name. They had a daughter in 2002 and divorced in 2003. She then built a beauty business and stayed quiet about the marriage.
If you want to follow her work, search for Kim Elba rather than Hanne Norgaard. And treat any page offering her net worth or birth date as guesswork, since not one of them names a source.
Sources
- Wikipedia – Idris Elba
- Instagram – Isan Elba, the profile linked in this article
- Hanne Norgaard’s own professional profiles and business listings, which this article names for her makeup career, her client list and her businesses
- Reporting on Idris Elba’s marriages and early career, which this article draws on for the marriage timeline
JacksonPadilla is a writer at Around Celebrities, covering celebrity families, relationships, biographies, and the stories behind the stars. With a focus on clear and engaging storytelling, JacksonPadilla helps readers discover the people and connections beyond the spotlight.
