Ebba Thomsen (3 May 1887 – 18 December 1973) was a

Danish Danish may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to the country of Denmark People * A national or citizen of Denmark, also called a "Dane," see Demographics of Denmark * Culture of Denmark * Danish people or Danes, people with a Danish ance ...

actress during the

golden era ''The Golden Era'' was a 19th-century San Francisco newspaper. The publication featured the writing of f.e.g. Mark Twain, Bret Harte, Charles Warren Stoddard (writing at first as "Pip Pepperpod"), Fitz Hugh Ludlow, Adah Isaacs Menken, Ada Clare, ...

silent film A silent film is a film with no synchronized recorded sound (or more generally, no audible dialogue). Though silent films convey narrative and emotion visually, various plot elements (such as a setting or era) or key lines of dialogue may, when ...

s in Denmark. Thomsen was best known for her roles as the elegant leading lady opposite the Danish matinee idol

Valdemar Psilander Valdemar Einar Psilander (9 May 1884 – 6 March 1917) was a Danish silent film actor, who was the highest-paid performer of his period and received critical acclaim as the greatest male lead during the golden era of Danish cinema. Biography Ear ...

Life and career

Ebba Thomsen was born in

Copenhagen Copenhagen ( or .; da, København ) is the capital and most populous city of Denmark, with a proper population of around 815.000 in the last quarter of 2022; and some 1.370,000 in the urban area; and the wider Copenhagen metropolitan ar ...

Denmark ) , song = ( en, "King Christian stood by the lofty mast") , song_type = National and royal anthem , image_map = EU-Denmark.svg , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Danish Realm, Kingdom of Denmark ...

on 3 May 1887, the daughter of Ove Thomsen, one of the leading Danish fashion designers. Thomsen debuted on stage at

Det Ny Teater Det Ny Teater (English: The New Theatre) is an established theatre in Copenhagen, Denmark, first opened in 1908. It is based in a building which spans a passage between Vesterbrogade and Gammel Kongevej in Copenhagen's theatre district on the borde ...

in 1910 and began to perform in cinema in 1912 at

Nordisk Film Nordisk Film A/S (lit. "Nordic Film") is a Danish entertainment company established in 1906 in Copenhagen by filmmaker Ole Olsen. It is the fourth-oldest film studio in the world behind the Gaumont Film Company, Pathé, and Titanus ...

. From then until the early 1920s, Thomsen appeared in about 75 films—mostly as the lead actress—and achieved star status in Denmark. Her most notables roles were in films in which she worked with Nordisk Film's biggest male star,

. In a newspaper interview for her 50th birthday, Thomsen said that her "unique success depended on two things: First, that Psilander and I suited one another. I was actually a little too tall for him, yet our types suited each other, our movements, our acting. In short, we were a born 'film-couple'." Thomsen then credited her father with giving her "an absolute sense of style. I knew precisely how every fabric should look on me, whether it was a princess' gown or a washerwoman's rags." Thomsen was usually cast in roles as princesses, countesses, or artists. In 1915, Thomsen married the

Norwegian Norwegian, Norwayan, or Norsk may refer to: *Something of, from, or related to Norway, a country in northwestern Europe *Norwegians, both a nation and an ethnic group native to Norway *Demographics of Norway *The Norwegian language, including the ...

actor

Thorleif Lund Thorleif Brinck Lund (7 June 1880 – 30 June 1956) was a Norwegian stage and film actor of the silent film era. Early life Thorleif Lund was born in Stavanger, Norway to parents Hans Geelmuyden Lund and Bertella Karen Lauritza Bertelsen in 1880 ...

. She left Nordisk Film in 1917 to open a touring company in Norway with her husband. The company failed and Thomsen quickly returned to filmmaking. In the 1920s she appeared in a series of films for the Danish Astra Film Company under the direction of

Fritz Magnussen Fritz Magnussen (13 September 1878 – 14 April 1920) was a Danish film director and screenwriter of the silent era. He directed more than 20 films between 1915 and 1919. He is known for Dommens dag (1918), Skæbnesvangre vildfarelser (1918) a ...

. She returned to Nordisk for two final films and then retired from film in 1925. She performed on stage for the final time at the Dagmar Theater in 1930. Thomsen returned to give one performance in a sound film when she appeared in the 1952

Alice O'Fredericks Alice O'Fredericks (born Mitzi Otha Alice Frederiksen; 8 September 1899 – 18 February 1968) was a Danish actress, screenwriter, and film director. She is best known for directing the series of ''Far til Fire'' (''Father of Four'') comedies ...

film ''Husmandstøsen'' at the age of 65. She died 18 December 1973, aged 86.

Filmography

References

External links

*
Ebba Thomsen
at the Den Danske Film Database (in Danish) * {{DEFAULTSORT:Thomsen, Ebba Danish film actresses Danish stage actresses Danish silent film actresses 20th-century Danish actresses 1887 births 1973 deaths