Famous Swedish Film & Theater Personalities

Alexander Skarsgård is a Swedish actor best known for his portarayal of Perry Wright in the American drama television series Big Little Lies, which earned him a Golden Globe Award, Primetime Emmy Award, Screen Actors Guild Award, and Critics' Choice Television Award. Alexander Skarsgård has also played important roles in popular films like Zoolander and Godzilla vs. Kong.

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 actor Bill Skarsgård is best known for portraying Pennywise the Dancing Clown in the supernatural horror film It. Even though he has acted in a few comedy films, he prefers roles in horror films. The son of actor Stellan Skarsgård, he was introduced to acting at a young age and decided to follow in his father’s footsteps.

One of the most decorated and popular Swedish actors of all time, Stellan Skarsgård has made quite an impact in Hollywood. Skarsgård is also known for his interesting take on religion. A non-religious artist, he condemns the Bible and the Quran as violent. In 2009, he joined other non-religious personalities in writing an article explaining the importance of secularity.

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.

Swedish actor, Dolph Lundgre,n is mainly known as an action hero. He gained recognition with the 1985 Hollywood film Rocky IV and then went on to do many action and thriller movies like Joshua Tree, Showdown in Little Tokyo, Bridge of Dragons, Universal Soldier, Diamond Dogs and The Expendables. He has also directed several films like Missionary Man and Icarus.

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.

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.

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.

Joel Kinnaman is an actor who holds Swedish and American citizenships. He has played important roles in popular films like RoboCop and Suicide Squad. He has also been a household name in the United States for many years with portrayals of prominent roles in TV series like House of Cards.

Ingmar Bergman was a Swedish filmmaker and screenwriter. Widely regarded as one of the most influential and accomplished filmmakers of all time, Ingmar Bergman continues to serve as an inspiration for filmmakers like Woody Allen. His work has also influenced other prominent directors like Martin Scorsese, Thomas Vinterberg, and Richard Ayoade.

Gustaf Skarsgard is a Swedish actor best known for his association with the Royal Dramatic Theatre in Stockholm where he has performed in many of Shakespeare’s, Söderberg’s and Chekhov's works. The son of popular actor Stellan Skarsgård, Gustaf has also played important roles in popular films like Evil, The Way Back, and Kon-Tiki.

Max von Sydow was a Swedish actor and director. In an illustrious career spanning seven decades, Max contributed immensely to American and European cinema, theatre, and television. He appeared in 11 of Ingmar Bergman's films, including The Seventh Seal, which houses the iconic scene where Max's character challenges the personification of Death to a game of chess.

Record producer and songwriter Karl Martin Sandberg, better known as Max Martin, has created many 90s’ masterpieces such as Baby One More Time by Britney Spears and I Want It That Way by Backstreet Boys. He is also an 11-time winner of the ASCAP Songwriter of the Year award.

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.

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.

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.

A Swedish electric guitarist/ neo-classical metal artist, Yngwie Johann Malmsteen rose to popularity in the 1980s and has, since then, released over 22 studio albums in his four decades of career till now. His solo debut album Rising Force, which won a nomination at the 1986 Grammy Awards, is regarded a significant release in the shred and neoclassical metal genres.

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.

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.

Polish-Swedish actress, singer, and model, Izabella Scorupco, played Bond girl Natalya Simonova in the James Bond film GoldenEye, for which she gained international fame. She began her career as a model in the late 1980s and appeared on the cover of Vogue. She then started acting as well. A music lover, she also had a brief singing career.

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.

Ethiopian Swedish chef and restaurateur Marcus Samuelsson currently works as the head chef of Red Rooster in Harlem, New York. Fascinated by his grandmother’s cooking, he studied at the Culinary Institute in Göteborg to learn the nuances of food preparation. In the ensuing years, he gained recognition as a world-class chef. He is also an award-winning cookbook author.

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.

Svante Thunberg is a Swedish actor, producer, and writer. He is married to opera singer Malena Ernman and has two daughters, Greta and Beata. Greta is a prominent climate activist, who first rose to worldwide prominence when she initiated the school strike for climate. Svante accompanies his daughter on her sailing expeditions to UN climate summits. 

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.

Simone Giertz is a Swedish TV host, YouTuber and robotics enthusiast. She is best known for creating mechanical robots to automate everyday tasks, the videos of which she posts on her YouTube channel. Simone Giertz displayed many of her robots on the popular TV show, The Late Show with Stephen Colbert.

Linda Ulvaeus is a Swedish singer and actress. The daughter of popular singers Agnetha Fältskog and Björn Ulvaeus, Linda started her career as a singer before going on to establish herself as a prominent actress. She has played important roles in films like Meningen med alltihopa and Quick.

Currently based in the United States, Erika Linder is an internationally-known androgynous model, active since 2011. Born in Sweden, she debuted as a model for the Candy magazine, portraying a young Leonardo DiCaprio in it. Since then she has been appearing in different masculine, feminine and unisex looks in numerous internationally-known magazines as well as fashion houses.

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.