Hanne Norgaard, also recorded as Hanne Kim Norgaard and widely known as Kim Elba, is a British American makeup artist and beauty entrepreneur who first drew public attention as the wife of actor Idris Elba. Reports place her birth in April 1977, to an African American father and a South Korean mother. She married Elba in 1999, well before his rise to global stardom. The couple had a daughter named Isan Elba, and they divorced in 2003. In the years since, Hanne has stayed firmly out of the public eye.

Her name tends to surface only in connection with her famous former husband, yet Hanne Norgaard had already established herself in the beauty industry before they met, and she carried that work forward long after the marriage ended. She later launched her own cosmetics line, married again, and spoke openly, through her daughter, about living with mental health conditions. Hers is a story of quiet reinvention rather than borrowed fame.

Hanne Norgaard: Quick Facts

Full Name	Hanne Kim Norgaard
Also Known As	Kim Elba
Date of Birth	Reported as April 1977
Birthplace	Reported as the United Kingdom
Heritage	African American father, South Korean mother (describes herself as Blasian)
Nationality	British American
Occupation	Makeup artist, beauty entrepreneur
First Husband	Idris Elba (married 1999, divorced 2003)
Daughter	Isan Elba (born January 2002)
Second Husband	Pastor Andrew L. Friar II (married 2013)
Businesses	Make Up Your Mind Inc.; Kim Elba Cosmetics
Current Home	Georgia, United States
Best Known For	Being Idris Elba’s first wife, alongside her own makeup career and beauty brand

Who Is Hanne Norgaard?

Hanne Norgaard is a trained makeup artist and beauty business owner whose public profile grew out of her marriage to Idris Elba. She is the mother of his first child, Isan Elba, and she chose to keep the Elba surname after the divorce, which is why she is still often searched under the name Kim Elba.

She is far more than a famous man’s former partner. With decades of professional experience behind her and a cosmetics brand to her name, she has built an identity on her own terms while steadily avoiding the spotlight, even with a direct link to one of the most recognised actors working today.

Hanne Norgaard’s Early Life and Heritage

Hanne Kim Norgaard is reported to have been born in April 1977. Her heritage blends two cultures, with an African American father and a South Korean mother, and she has described herself as Blasian, a term that combines Black and Asian.

That mixed background did more than shape her identity. It gave her an early understanding that mainstream beauty often ignored women who fell outside a single, narrow standard. That awareness would later guide the kind of products and services she chose to offer.

Hanne Norgaard’s Makeup Career

Hanne Norgaard qualified as a makeup artist and completed her training with top marks. Her professional life moved quickly from there, with early work across film and television that included projects with the BBC and the studio Columbia TriStar.

In the years that followed she worked on shoots for fashion, magazines, and screen productions, and she has been linked to a number of recognisable names in entertainment, among them Robin Williams, Hugh Laurie, and Geena Davis. Her standing in the industry rested on her craft, not on who she happened to know.

This part of her story matters. By the time the public learned her name through her marriage, she was already an accomplished professional, not someone who reached the beauty world on her husband’s coat tails.

Hanne Norgaard and Idris Elba’s Relationship

Hanne Norgaard and Idris Elba met in London during the late 1990s. Both were early in their careers at the time. Hanne was establishing herself in makeup, while Idris was a hopeful actor with only a few television credits to his name.

A shared drive and a creative outlook pulled them together, and the relationship moved forward at pace. When Idris decided to pursue acting more seriously, Hanne backed that ambition, even though doing so meant putting her own life on hold.

The Marriage and the Move to America

They married in 1999 and soon relocated to the United States, choosing New York so that Idris could reach for bigger roles. Those first years abroad were anything but easy.

Acting work was scarce for Idris, partly because his accent made certain American parts harder to win, and the couple’s finances were stretched. He picked up small jobs, including a stint as a nightclub bouncer, while Hanne kept the household running. She has since said she never questioned his ability, though even she could not have foreseen how famous he would eventually become.

A Short Timeline of Hanne Norgaard’s Life

Year	Event
1999	Hanne Norgaard and Idris Elba marry, then move to the United States
2002	Their daughter Isan Elba is born in January
2003	The couple divorce after about four years of marriage
2007	Hanne builds her makeup business, Make Up Your Mind Inc.
2013	Hanne marries Pastor Andrew L. Friar II and settles in Georgia
2019	Daughter Isan speaks publicly about Hanne’s mental health

Hanne Norgaard and Idris Elba’s Daughter, Isan Elba

Hanne Norgaard and Idris Elba share one child, a daughter named Isan Elba, born in January 2002. She arrived roughly a year before the marriage came to an end.

The divorce did not pull either parent away from her. Both stayed actively involved and have appeared together at key moments in her life. Isan grew up around the cameras that followed her father, and she later stepped forward in her own right. In 2019 she was named a Golden Globe Ambassador, a role that turned a fresh spotlight on the family.

Why Did Hanne Norgaard and Idris Elba Divorce?

Hanne Norgaard and Idris Elba ended their marriage in 2003, after around four years together. No single scandal was reported as the cause. The pressure built instead from money worries, the rising demands of Idris’s career, and the slow drift of two lives heading in different directions.

How they parted is what people tend to remember. Hanne never criticised Idris publicly, and she made a quiet promise to keep the details of their relationship private, mostly for the sake of their daughter. She also held on to the Elba name. Looking back, she has said she understood his goals would call for serious sacrifices, that she stayed for the journey, and that she is content with how life worked out for everyone involved.

Idris, meanwhile, became an international star through roles in The Wire and Luther, and he went on to marry Sabrina Dhowre Elba in 2019. He and Hanne have continued raising their daughter on good terms.

Hanne Norgaard’s Beauty Businesses

Once the marriage was over, Hanne Norgaard rebuilt her life as a single mother and put her energy into her own work rather than trading on her former husband’s name.

Business	What It Offers
Make Up Your Mind Inc.	Makeup services, classes, bridal work, personal styling, and consulting
Kim Elba Cosmetics	An inclusive, cruelty free cosmetics line built around diverse skin tones

Her cosmetics brand grew directly out of her background and values. Having seen how often women of colour felt overlooked by mainstream beauty lines, she built a range centred on representation and inclusivity. Through both ventures she presented herself as an entrepreneur and teacher, not merely a recognisable name.

Hanne Norgaard’s Mental Health Journey

Hanne Norgaard has been candid about her mental health, though she shared it gently and with a clear purpose. In 2019, at a Golden Globe Ambassador luncheon, her daughter Isan, then seventeen, spoke about her mother’s experience in public for the first time.

Isan revealed that Hanne had confided in her about living with bipolar depression, anxiety, and depression. The point of sharing was to chip away at the stigma around mental illness, a subject that often goes unspoken, especially within the Black community. A donation was made in Isan’s name to a foundation devoted to mental health awareness.

For someone so protective of her privacy, letting that part of her life be discussed openly was a significant gesture, and it drew mother and daughter closer together.

Hanne Norgaard’s Second Marriage

In 2013, Hanne Norgaard married Pastor Andrew L. Friar II. The couple settled in Georgia, where he leads a church, and Hanne is recognised within the congregation as its First Lady.

This stage of her life revolves around faith, family, and community work. She still takes on beauty projects from time to time, but her attention has turned toward a steadier, more grounded routine alongside her husband and their church.

Hanne Norgaard’s Net Worth

No verified figure exists for Hanne Norgaard’s net worth. Some reports estimate it at roughly 900,000 dollars, drawn from her makeup work, her cosmetics brand, and related projects, but those numbers are guesses rather than confirmed totals.

As a private person who has stayed away from the limelight, her real financial picture is simply not on the public record. What can be said is that she earned her living through her profession, not through her former husband’s wealth.

Where Is Hanne Norgaard Today?

As of 2026, Hanne Norgaard lives a calm and settled life in Georgia with her husband. She keeps Kim Elba Cosmetics running, takes occasional makeup jobs, and remains active in her church and local community.

Hanne Norgaard stands as a clear example of a celebrity first wife who picked privacy over publicity once the marriage was behind her. She has turned down interviews, kept a low profile online, and guarded her peace, which may be exactly why people stay curious about her.

Why Hanne Norgaard’s Story Still Matters

Hanne Norgaard continues to draw interest for a handful of plain reasons. She was the first wife of Idris Elba, she is the mother of Isan Elba, and she lived through the lean early years before his fame took hold. Whenever Idris or Isan makes headlines, attention naturally loops back to her.

Still, her story holds its own weight. She is a working professional who built a beauty career and a brand, a single mother who raised a self assured daughter, and a woman who remade her life around faith and family. Her example is a reminder that standing in the background is not the same as being powerless.

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