METALLICA's ULRICH Sharing NYC Digs With Girlfriend NIELSEN And Her Son

METALLICA drummer Lars Ulrich has reportedly relocated to New York City, where he is currently residing with his girlfriend, Danish actress Connie Nielsen, and Nielsen's 15-year-old son, Sebastian (view photos of Lars and Connie during a summer 2004 trip to Denmark here).

Speaking to the New York Daily News, Nielsen — who just presented the Danish-language film "Brothers" at Sundance and is also starring in three more movies to be released this year — said that she is doing her best raise public awareness of the fact that women — not men — are the No. 1 victims of heart disease.

"A lot more women die from heart disease every year than men," the 39-year-old actress said. "When heart disease is represented, you usually see a male figure — a corporate guy who's just turning 50. Actually it's far more of a female problem."

Nielsen and her younger brother Ulrich, a computer analyst in Minneapolis, have been helping five children whose 45-year-old mother died suddenly of a massive heart attack.

"We've been very involved," she told the New York Daily News. "My brother is a Big Brother for this family, and the father is overwhelmed and not always around. My brother and his wife have been trying to help them with everything from building cupboards in their kitchen to taking the kids to museums. My 15-year-old son, Sebastian, and I have also spent a lot of time with the children, helping them buy a wardrobe and things like that."

Meanwhile, Nielsen is doing her best to stay heart-healthy herself, though she sheepishly admits to being a smoker.

"It's awful," she confessed. "I did quit for five years, starting when I was pregnant, but this job of acting is so stressful. Actors very much need their relaxation of all kinds, and sometimes smoking is the only way we can find to relax. It's not a drug in the usual sense. It doesn't alter your perception of reality, but it makes you feel like you can deal with things better. But I know I should quit."