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Lena Olin | |
|---|---|
 Olin in 2015 | |
| Born | Lena Maria Jonna Olin (1955-03-22)22 March 1955 (age 70) Stockholm, Sweden |
| Education | Swedish National Academy of Mime and Acting |
| Occupation | Actress |
| Years active | 1976–present |
| Spouse | |
| Children | 2 |
| Parent(s) | Britta Holmberg Stig Olin |
Lena Maria Jonna Olin (Swedish pronunciation:[ˈlêːnaʊˈliːn]ⓘ; born 22 March 1955) is a Swedish actress. She has received nominations for anAcademy Award, aGolden Globe Award, aBAFTA Award, and aPrimetime Emmy Award.
Mentored by filmmakerIngmar Bergman, she made her screen debut with a small role in his filmFace to Face (1976). After graduating from drama school, Olin joined theRoyal Dramatic Theatre, followed by roles in Bergman's filmsFanny and Alexander (1982) andAfter the Rehearsal (1984). She made her international breakthrough in the role of a free-spirited artist inThe Unbearable Lightness of Being (1988), which earned her a nomination for theGolden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actress – Motion Picture.
Olin garnered further critical acclaim for her portrayals of atraumatizedHolocaust survivor in thedramedyEnemies, A Love Story (1989), based onthe novel byIsaac Bashevis Singer, for which she received a nomination for theAcademy Award for Best Supporting Actress, and an abused wife in the comedy-dramaChocolat (2000), for which she received a nomination for theBAFTA Award for Best Actress in a Supporting Role. Her other film roles includeThe Adventures of Picasso (1978),Havana (1990),Romeo Is Bleeding (1993),Mr. Jones (1993),The Ninth Gate (1999),Queen of the Damned (2002),Casanova (2005),The Reader (2008),Remember Me (2010),Maya Dardel (2017), andThe Artist's Wife (2019).
On television, Olin starred as KGB agentIrina Derevko on the spy thrillerAlias (2002–2006), which earned her a nomination for thePrimetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama Series. Her other television roles include the sitcomWelcome to Sweden (2014–2015), the drama seriesRiviera (2017–2020), and the drama seriesHunters (2020–2023).
Lena Maria Jonna Olin was born on 22 March 1955, inStockholm, Sweden, the youngest of three children of actorsBritta Holmberg andStig Olin.[1] Olin worked as anursing assistant and as asubstitute teacher before starting drama school.[2] She studied at Sweden'sNational Academy of Dramatic Art from 1976 to 1979.[1]
In October 1974, at age 19, Olin was crownedMiss Scandinavia inHelsinki,Finland.[3]
Olin performed for over a decade with Sweden'sRoyal Dramatic Theatre-ensemble (1980–1994) in plays byWilliam Shakespeare andAugust Strindberg, and appeared in smaller roles of several Swedish films directed by Bergman and in productions of Swedish Television's TV-Theatre Company.[4]
Ingmar Bergman cast Olin inFace to Face (1976). A year later,[5] she began acting on the national stage in Stockholm in productions directed by Bergman. She toured internationally with Bergman's production ofKing Lear (in which Olin playedCordelia), includingParis,Berlin,New York,Copenhagen,Moscow, andOslo. Critically acclaimed stage performances by Olin at Sweden's Royal Dramatic Theatre included the leading part as The Daughter inA Dream Play by Strindberg; Margarita in the stage adaptation ofThe Master and Margarita byMikhail Bulgakov;Carlo Goldoni'sThe Servant of Two Masters; Ann inEdward Bond'sSummer;Titania inA Midsummer Night's Dream byShakespeare;Ben Jonson'sThe Alchemist; the title role in Ingmar Bergman's rendition of Strindberg'sMiss Julie, and the neurotic Charlotte in the contemporary dramaNattvarden (The Last Supper) byLars Norén.[1]
In 1980, Olin was one of the earliest winners of theIngmar Bergman Award at theGuldbagge Awards,[6] initiated in 1978 by the director himself, who was also one of the two judges.[7]
Olin's international debut in film was a small role in Bergman'sFanny and Alexander (1980), with Bergman later casting her in her first international lead role,After the Rehearsal (1984).[citation needed] In 1988, Olin starred withDaniel Day-Lewis andJuliette Binoche in her first major role in an English-speaking and internationally produced film,The Unbearable Lightness of Being.[8] She also appeared inSydney Pollack'sHavana (1990) andRoman Polanski'sThe Ninth Gate (1999).[9][10]
In 1989, Olin was nominated for theAcademy Award for Best Supporting Actress, forEnemies: A Love Story, in which she portrayed the survivor of a Nazi death camp.[9]
She starred in the 1993 thrillerRomeo Is Bleeding, and in the 1999 American superhero comedy filmMystery Men.[8]
Olin and directorLasse Hallström collaborated on the filmChocolat (2000),[8] which received five Academy Award nominations. She worked with him again onCasanova (2005) and in the 2024 TV seriesThe Darkness.[11][8]
In 2002, Olin appeared in her first American television role, joining the main cast ofAlias for its second season, playing the role ofIrina Derevko. For her work on the series, Olin was nominated for thePrimetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama Series in 2003.[12][8]
In 2005, Olin returned to Sweden for a brief period of filming and starred in a supporting role in Danish directorSimon Staho's film,Bang Bang Orangutang.[citation needed] In 2008, Olin appeared in the Oscar-nominated filmThe Reader, playing a Jewish survivor of theAuschwitzdeath march at a trial in the 1960s, and as the woman's daughter twenty years later.[13][8]
Between 2014 and 2015, Olin starred in Swedish sitcomWelcome to Sweden.[14] In 2017 she starred in the American-Polish independent drama filmMaya Dardel, which screened atSXSW.[15][16]
From 2020 to 2023 she played Eva Braun-Hitler / The Colonel, leader of theFourth Reich and Hitler's wife, inHunters, an American conspiracy drama television series.[8] In 2024 she played the lead role as Detective Hulda Hermannsdóttir in the Icelandic/AmericanNordic Noir TV seriesThe Darkness, directed byLasse Hallström, with whom she had previously collaborated.[8]
Olin has a son, August, from a relationship with actorÖrjan Ramberg.[5] Since 1994, she has been married to filmmakerLasse Hallström, with whom she has a daughter, Tora. They reside inBedford, New York.[17][18][19]
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2001 | Hamilton | Tessie | |
| 2002–2006 | Alias | Irina Derevko | Main cast (season 2), guest 5 episodes (seasons 4–5) Nominated—Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama Series (2003) Nominated—Satellite Award for Best Supporting Actress – Television Series (2003, 2004) |
| 2010 | Law & Order: Special Victims Unit | Ingrid Block | Episode: "Confidential" |
| 2014–2015 | Welcome to Sweden | Viveka Börjesson | Main cast |
| 2016 | Vinyl | Mrs. Fineman | 3 episodes |
| 2017–2020 | Riviera | Irina Atman | Main cast |
| 2017 | Mindhunter | Annaliese Stilman | 1 episode |
| 2020–2023 | Hunters | Eva Braun-Hitler / The Colonel | Main cast |
| 2024 | The Darkness | Detective Inspector Hulda Hermannsdóttir | Lead role[23] |
| 2025 | Nine Perfect Strangers | Helena | Main cast (season 2) |
