Glory Leppänen ( Renvall; 28 November 1901 — 26 October 1979) was a

Finnish Finnish may refer to: * Something or someone from, or related to Finland * Culture of Finland * Finnish people or Finns, the primary ethnic group in Finland * Finnish language, the national language of the Finnish people * Finnish cuisine See also ...

actress, theatre and film director, and writer. She was the first Finnish woman film director.

Personal life

Glory Renvall was born in

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), ma ...

to a wealthy Finnish family. Her mother was the internationally-renowned operatic soprano

Aino Ackté Aino Ackté (originally Achte; 24 April 18768 August 1944) was a Finnish soprano. She was the first international star of the Finnish opera scene after Alma Fohström, and a groundbreaker for the domestic field. Biography Ackté was born in ...

, and her father the lawyer, business executive and ''Senaattori'' (ie. Minister)

Heikki Renvall Henrik Gabriel "Heikki" Renvall (January 19, 1872 in Turku – June 1, 1955 in Helsinki) was a Finnish lawyer, journalist and the Head of the Editorial Board at the Finnish Ministry of Trade and Industry from 1917–1918. He married opera singer Ai ...

. There have been persistent rumours that her biological father was the Finnish painter Albert Edelfelt, with whom her mother may have had an affair in Paris, but Glory Renvall herself has always insisted that her father is Heikki Renvall. In 1924, Glory Renvall married the actor , but he died in 1937 at the relatively young age of 43.

Career

Stage

Glory Leppänen trained at ''Suomen Näyttämöopisto'' ( 'Finnish Stage College'), which later came to be merged into

Helsinki Theatre Academy The Theatre Academy ( fi, Teatterikorkeakoulu, sv, Teaterhögskolan) is one of the three academies of the University of the Arts Helsinki and offers education in theatre and dance. It is Finland's largest education provider in its field and, wit ...

, graduating in 1922. She continued her studies in Europe, including at ''Regieseminar Max Reinhardt'' in

Vienna en, Viennese , iso_code = AT-9 , registration_plate = W , postal_code_type = Postal code , postal_code = , timezone = CET , utc_offset = +1 , timezone_DST ...

. Leppänen was attached to the

Finnish National Theatre The Finnish National Theatre ( fi, Suomen Kansallisteatteri), established in 1872, is a theatre located in central Helsinki on the northern side of the Helsinki Central Railway Station Square. The Finnish National Theatre is the oldest Finnish ...

as an actor from 1922 to 1936. After that, she moved into leadership roles, as Director of the municipal theatre companies of

Turku Turku ( ; ; sv, Åbo, ) is a city and former capital on the southwest coast of Finland at the mouth of the Aura River, in the region of Finland Proper (''Varsinais-Suomi'') and the former Turku and Pori Province (''Turun ja Porin lääni''; ...

(1936—1938),

Vyborg Vyborg (; rus, Вы́борг, links=1, r=Výborg, p=ˈvɨbərk; fi, Viipuri ; sv, Viborg ; german: Wiborg ) is a town in, and the administrative center of, Vyborgsky District in Leningrad Oblast, Russia. It lies on the Karelian Isthmus n ...

(1938—1939), Pori (1940—1943),

Tampere Tampere ( , , ; sv, Tammerfors, ) is a city in the Pirkanmaa region, located in the western part of Finland. Tampere is the most populous inland city in the Nordic countries. It has a population of 244,029; the urban area has a population o ...

(1943—1949) and Helsinki (') (1949—1957). Leppänen also directed productions at the Finnish National Theatre and Opera of Finland (now

Finnish National Opera The Finnish National Opera and Ballet ( fi, Suomen Kansallisooppera ja -baletti; sv, Finlands Nationalopera och -balett) is a Finnish opera company and ballet company based in Helsinki. It is headquartered in the Opera House on the coast of the T ...

). Her directorial work was heavily influenced by Reinhardt's philosophies.

Film

Leppänen appeared in three films in the 1920s and 1930s. She also directed one feature-length film, '' Onnenpotku'' (1936), starring the relatively inexperienced actress and

Miss Europe Miss Europe is a beauty pageant for European women from all over Europe. It was established in February 1927 by Fanamet, the European distributor of Paramount, as a one-off event where the winner was to star in a film directed by Friedrich ...

1934, Ester Toivonen. It was the first Finnish feature-length film directed by a woman, and as of 2020 remains the most successful such film by cinema audience numbers, with over 400,000 tickets sold.

Writing

In the 1960s, Leppänen published several adventure novels. She also wrote a book each on her mother Aino Ackté, and grandmother

Emmy Achté Emmy Charlotta Achté née Strömer (1850–1924) was an operatic mezzo-soprano, the first prima donna of the Finnish Opera. She performed in Helsinki from 1873 to 1879, excelling in dramatic roles. She was also a voice teacher for over 40 years ...

, as well as her own memoirs titled ''Elämäni Teatteria'' (1971) ( 'Theatre of My Life').

Honours and awards

In 1951, Leppänen was awarded the ' medal of the

Order of the Lion of Finland The Order of the Lion of Finland ( fi, Suomen Leijonan ritarikunta; sv, Finlands Lejons orden) is one of three official orders in Finland, along with the Order of the Cross of Liberty and the Order of the White Rose of Finland. The President ...

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Leppänen, Glory 20th-century Finnish actresses Finnish theatre directors Finnish film directors Finnish women film directors 20th-century Finnish women writers 1901 births 1979 deaths Pro Finlandia Medals of the Order of the Lion of Finland