Famous Swedish Women

One of the greatest Swedish actresses ever, Ingrid Bergman is the only Triple Crown winner with three Academy Awards under her belt. Such is her impact that her character Ilsa Lund, which she portrayed in Casablanca, inspired the character of Ilsa Faust in the Mission Impossible franchise. An actress with a deep sense of freedom, Bergman voiced her views against racial segregation.

Iconic Swedish-American movie star Greta Garbo is remembered for her melancholic characters. She soared to fame with silent movies such as A Woman of Affairs and talkies such as Mata Hari and Anna Karenina. The three-time Academy Award nominee quit films at 35 and lived a private life.

Swedish environmental activist Greta Thunberg is known for her straightforward speaking manner in which she addresses world leaders for failing to take sufficient action regarding the climate change issue. She is considered a youth icon for starting the movement Fridays for Future. She has been included in Time magazine's 100 most influential people list.

Rebecca Ferguson achieved international recognition after playing Elizabeth Woodville in the TV miniseries, The White Queen. Her performance in the miniseries was so impressive that Tom Cruise handpicked her to star in Mission: Impossible – Rogue Nation after watching her portray Elizabeth Woodville. Thanks to her impressive stunts, she was chosen to reprise her role in Mission: Impossible – Fallout.

Swedish-American actress and singer Ann-Margret was initially described as a female version of Elvis Presley due to her vibrant contralto voice. The winner of five Golden Globe Awards, Ann-Margret had a major impact as an actress throughout the 1960s. Her affair with Elvis Presley was depicted in the 2005 miniseries Elvis in which she is portrayed by Rose McGowan.

Malin Akerman is a Swedish-American model, actress, singer, and producer. She is known for playing important roles in such films like The Heartbreak Kid and Watchmen in which her nude scenes garnered much attention. She also works closely with a nonprofit organization called Opportunity International.

Zara Larsson is a Swedish singer-songwriter who achieved national fame at the age of 10 when she won the 2008 season of the popular reality TV series, Talang. She then released her debut studio album and is currently one of the most decorated Swedish singer-songwriters of her generation.

Model, actress, and author, Paulina Porizkova, became the first woman from Central Europe to be featured on the cover of the Sports Illustrated swimsuit issue in 1984. She began modeling as a teenager and became a top model in Paris during the early 1980s. She eventually began acting as well. Also a writer, she has written a few books.

Noomi Rapace is one of the Swedish actresses to have achieved international recognition, thanks to her performance in the film adaptations of the novel series Millennium. Her popularity increased when she played Simza Heron, her first English-speaking role, in Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows. In 2014, she became the subject of a film titled A Portrait of Noomi Rapace.

Britt Ekland is a Swedish actress, singer, and model. One of the leading actresses in Sweden during the 1960s and 1970s, Ekland also established herself as a sex symbol and achieved international prominence when she appeared as a Bond girl in The Man with the Golden Gun. Britt Ekland was also one of the most photographed actresses during the 1970s.

Hanna Alström is a Swedish actress who achieved international prominence after playing Crown Princess Tilde of Sweden in the 2014 action spy comedy film Kingsman: The Secret Service. Hanna Alström went on to reprise her role in the film's 2017 sequel, Kingsman: The Golden Circle.

Inger Stevens was a Swedish-American actress whose promising career was cut short when she committed suicide at age 35. Stevens is remembered for her performance in TV series like The Farmer's Daughter, for which she received the Golden Globe for Best TV Star – Female in 1963. Her performance in the series also earned her an Emmy nomination in 1964.

As one half of the Swedish pop rock duo Roxette (with Per Gessle), singer and songwriter Marie Fredriksson enjoyed international fame in the 1980s-1990s with albums like Look Sharp! and Joyride. Their single It Must Have Been Love was featured in the movie Pretty Woman. Earlier, in Sweden ,she had also enjoyed success as a solo artist releasing numerous albums.

Born Shahrzad Fooladi, to Iranian parents in Sweden, Snoh Aalegra had started writing songs by age 9 and signed with Sony at age 13. She changed her name after moving to the US and soared to fame with her chartbusting tracks such as I Want You Around and Find Someone Like You.

Swedish actress Anita Ekberg is best known for her role in the comedy-drama film La Dolce Vita. She worked primarily in Italy and later became a citizen of the country. She began modeling as a teenager and eventually entered films as well. Beautiful and voluptuous, she became a popular name within a few years.

Astrid Lindgren was a Swedish writer remembered for authoring children's book series and children's fantasy novels. In 1967, the Astrid Lindgren Prize was established in her honor. Lindgren was honored with the Right Livelihood Award in 1994 for her work as a children's writer. In 2017, it was revealed that Lindgren is the 18th most translated author in the world. 

Swedish indie-pop singer Lykke Li was born into a musical family, her father being a member of the band Dag Vag. Known for her award-winning tracks such as I Follow Rivers and Sadness Is a Blessing, she is also an advocate of transcendental meditation. She has a son with musician Jeff Bhasker.

 Princess Madeleine, Duchess of Hälsingland and Gästrikland is the youngest child of King Carl XVI Gustaf and Queen Silvia.  Third in line of succession to the Swedish throne at the time of her birth, she is currently the eighth. She is involved in extensive charity work and undertakes various engagements on the behalf of her father. 

Anni-Frid Lyngstad is a Norwegian-Swedish environmentalist, singer, and songwriter. She is credited with co-founding the popular Swedish pop band ABBA and popularizing the band by serving as its lead singer. In 2010, Anni-Frid Lyngstad was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. In 2014, she received the Eskilstuna Music Prize for her contribution as an "icon."

Caroline Hjelt is a Swedish singer best known as one half of the popular electropop duo, Icona Pop. She formed the duo with Aino Jawo in 2009 and has since released several singles and EPs. The duo has also won many prestigious awards like Scandipop Awards, SESAC Pop Awards, and Grammis Awards.

Lise Meitner was an Austrian-Swedish physicist best remembered for her contributions that led to the discoveries of nuclear fission and the element protactinium. Nicknamed the German Marie Curie by Albert Einstein, Lise Meitner became the second woman in the world to receive a doctorate in physics in 1905. In 1997, chemical element 109 meitnerium was named in her honor.

May Britt is a Swedish retired actress who moved to the US in the late-1950s where she made headlines for marrying Sammy Davis Jr. at a time when interracial marriage was forbidden by law in the US. In the 1998 film, The Rat Pack, which narrates the circumstances surrounding May Britt's wedding to Davis, Britt was played by Megan Dodds.

Malena Ernman is a Swedish opera singer who represented her country at the 54th edition of the Eurovision Song Contest, which was held in Moscow, Russia. Apart from operas and operettas, she also performs jazz, cabaret, and chansons. Also an environmental activist, Malena Ernman was adjudged Environmental Hero of the Year by an organization called WWF-Sweden in 2017.

Neneh Cherry is a Swedish rapper, singer, songwriter, occasional DJ, and broadcaster. After starting her musical career in the early 1980s in London, Cherry went on to become one of the most decorated Swedish musicians of her generation. Over the years, Neneh Cherry has received many prestigious awards such as Brit Awards, MTV Europe Music Award, and NME Award.

Robyn is a Swedish singer, record producer, songwriter, and DJ. Her debut album Robyn Is Here helped launch Karl Martin Sandberg's career in pop music. She has also been recognized as an influence by artistes like Taylor Swift, Lorde, Carly Rae Jepsen, and Christine and the Queens. Robyn has won many awards like AMFT Awards, GAFFA Awards, and Grammis Awards.

A founding member of the the pop band Ace is Base, Linn Berggren as a child wanted to sing, but did not want to become a singer. Yet, she went on to become the principal lead vocalist for the majority of their singles and was generally the focus in the video. She quit her stellar career suddenly in 2007 to lead a quiet life.

Currently based in Oxfordshire, England, Sweden-born television presenter Ulrika Jonsson moved to the United Kingdom as a child and began her career as a TV-am weather presenter, eventually climbing her way up, presenting many popular television series in England and Sweden. Equally successful as a model and as an actress, she has also authored an autobiography.

Nina Persson soared to fame as the lead vocalist of the globally renowned Swedish band The Cardigans. Known for chartbusters such as Lovefool and Erase and Rewind, she interestingly aspired to be an artist instead of a musician in her younger days. She is also a cervical cancer survivor.

Swedish-American actor Gunilla Hutton is best known for the series Petticoat Junction and Hee Haw. She was also in the news for her long-term extramarital relationship with singer Nat King Cole, which ended after Cole was diagnosed with cancer, but not before Hutton called up his wife to confront her.

Hilma af Klint was a Swedish mystic and artist whose paintings represented complex spiritual ideas. English musician and singer-songwriter Jane Weaver cited af Klint's work as inspiration for her 2017 album, Modern Kosmology. In 2019, Hilma af Klint became the subject of a feature-length documentary titled Beyond the Visible — Hilma af Klint.

Aino Jawo is a Swedish singer best known as one half of the popular electropop duo, Icona Pop. Jawo formed the duo in 2009 alongside Caroline Hjelt and has since released many singles and EPs. Over the years, the duo has won many prestigious awards like Grammis Awards, SESAC Pop Awards, and Scandipop Awards.  

Victoria Silvstedt is a Swedish model, singer, actress, and television personality. She achieved national prominence in 1993 when she was selected to represent Sweden in the Miss World pageant in South Africa. She then worked for popular fashion houses like Chanel and Christian Dior before being featured on international magazines like Playboy, Glamour, and Maxim.

Kelly Gale is a Swedish-Australian model best known for her association with Playboy, Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue, and Victoria's Secret. In September 2016, she was chosen as the Playboy Playmate of the Month. One of the most popular Swedish models of her generation, Kelly Gale has walked runways for famous designers like Ralph Lauren, Tommy Hilfiger, and Jean Paul Gaultier.