Helle Thorning-Schmidt was born in Rødovre to Holger Thorning-Schmidt and his wife Grete. Thorning-Schmidt's father was a lecturer in mathematics and national economics at the University of Copenhagen. Her parents were both politically conservative and she grew up in the Copenhagen suburb of Ishøj.
h ɛ l WORD_BOUNDARY θ ɔ ɹ n ɪ ŋ ʃ m ɪ t WORD_BOUNDARY w ʌ z WORD_BOUNDARY b ɔ ɹ n WORD_BOUNDARY ɪ n WORD_BOUNDARY ɹ ɑ d ɑ v ə ɹ WORD_BOUNDARY t ə WORD_BOUNDARY h ɑ l d̠ʒ ə ɹ WORD_BOUNDARY θ ɔ ɹ n ɪ ŋ ʃ m ɪ t WORD_BOUNDARY æ n d WORD_BOUNDARY h ɪ z WORD_BOUNDARY w aɪ f WORD_BOUNDARY ɡ ɹ ɛ t WORD_BOUNDARY θ ɔ ɹ n ɪ ŋ ʃ m ɪ t s WORD_BOUNDARY f ɑ ð ə ɹ WORD_BOUNDARY w ʌ z ʌ WORD_BOUNDARY l ɛ k t̠ʃ ə ɹ ɹ ə ɹ ɹ WORD_BOUNDARY ɪ n WORD_BOUNDARY m æ θ ɪ m æ t ɪ k s WORD_BOUNDARY æ n d WORD_BOUNDARY n æ ʃ ə n ə l WORD_BOUNDARY iː k ə n ɑ m ɪ k s WORD_BOUNDARY æ t WORD_BOUNDARY ð ə WORD_BOUNDARY j uː n ɪ v ɜː s ɪ t i WORD_BOUNDARY ʌ v WORD_BOUNDARY k oʊ p ə n h eɪ ɡ ə n WORD_BOUNDARY h ɜː WORD_BOUNDARY p ɛ ɹ ə n t s WORD_BOUNDARY w ɜː WORD_BOUNDARY b oʊ θ WORD_BOUNDARY p ə l ɪ t ɪ k l i WORD_BOUNDARY k ə n s ɜː v ə t ɪ v WORD_BOUNDARY æ n d WORD_BOUNDARY ʃ iː WORD_BOUNDARY ɡ ɹ uː WORD_BOUNDARY ʌ p WORD_BOUNDARY ɪ n ð ə WORD_BOUNDARY k oʊ p ə n h eɪ ɡ ə n WORD_BOUNDARY s ʌ b ɜː b WORD_BOUNDARY ʌ v WORD_BOUNDARY ɪ ʃ ɑ d̠ʒ WORD_BOUNDARY