The Danish Girl is a 2015 British-American biographical romantic drama film directed by Tom Hooper. It is an adaptation of the 2000 fictional novel of the same name by David Ebershoff, which was loosely based on the life of Danish painter Lili Elbe, one of the earliest recipients of gender reassignment surgery. Eddie Redmayne stars as Elbe, Alicia Vikander plays Danish painter Gerda Wegener, with Matthias Schoenaerts, and Ben Whishaw featuring in supporting roles. The film premiered at the 72nd Venice International Film Festival on 5 September 2015, where it received the Queer Lion. Focus Features initially provided the film a limited release at four theaters on 27 November 2015 before expanding to over 700 theaters in the United States and Canada on 22 January 2016. The Danish Girl grosse