Gunilla Katarina Backman (born 18 June 1965) is a

Swedish Swedish or ' may refer to: Anything from or related to Sweden, a country in Northern Europe. Or, specifically: * Swedish language, a North Germanic language spoken primarily in Sweden and Finland ** Swedish alphabet, the official alphabet used by ...

singer, actress, and musical-artist.

Early life and career

Backman comes from a musical family and studied classical ballet from 1972 until 1982 at Kungliga Teaterns balettskola and at the Balettakademien, Statens Dansskola and Cullbergbaletten. She attended

Adolf Fredrik's Music School Adolf Fredrik's Music School ( sv, Adolf Fredriks Musikklasser) is a general municipal junior high school ( sv, grundskola) in Stockholm, Sweden with a focus on choral music, and highly competitive admission based on audition in singing and mu ...

and studied song at the age of seventeen, when she debuted in the role of Liesl in the musical ''Sound of Music'' at Folkan. At the same theater she also acted in the children's play ''Snövit och de sju dvärgarna'' about

Snow white "Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs" is a 19th-century German fairy tale that is today known widely across the Western world. The Brothers Grimm published it in 1812 in the first edition of their collection ''Grimms' Fairy Tales'' and numbered as Ta ...

. In both productions she got to know her co-star

Peter Jöback Peter Arne Jöback (born 4 June 1971 in Stockholm, Sweden) is a Swedish singer, actor and musical artist. Biography Early life and education Peter Jöback was born on 4 June 1971 in Stockholm. He spent his childhood in Värmland and Östergö ...

whom she after that has co-operated with several times. After these works she has worked primarily within song and musicals.

Career

In 1984, she toured with

Carola Häggkvist Carola Maria Häggkvist (; born 8 September 1966), commonly known simply as Carola, is a Swedish singer and songwriter. She has been among Sweden's most popular performers since the early 1980s and has released albums ranging from pop and disco ...

, and along with singer Henriette Johnsson she started the pop duo

Katz Katz or KATZ may refer to: Fiction * Katz Kobayashi, a character in Japanese anime * "Katz", a 1947 Nelson Algren story in '' The Neon Wilderness'' * Katz, a character in ''Courage the Cowardly Dog'' Other uses * Katz (surname) * Katz, British C ...

. The group toured

Europe Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a Continent#Subcontinents, subcontinent of Eurasia ...

and she also recorded solo singles in Italy in 1989. In 1990, she got the role of Cosette in the musical ''

Les Misérables ''Les Misérables'' ( , ) is a French historical novel by Victor Hugo, first published in 1862, that is considered one of the greatest novels of the 19th century. In the English-speaking world, the novel is usually referred to by its original ...

'' at

Cirkus CirKus are a trip hop band formed by Burt Ford (Cameron McVey), Karmil (aka Matt Kent), Lolita Moon and Neneh Cherry. History DJ and producer Karmil was recruited by Burt Ford (Neneh's husband Cameron McVey) as an assistant recording engi ...

Stockholm Stockholm () is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in Sweden by population, largest city of Sweden as well as the List of urban areas in the Nordic countries, largest urban area in Scandinavia. Approximately 980,000 people liv ...

, she was part of the ensemble for over 1000 plays of the musical both in Sweden,

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

and

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

. In 1992, she had the lead role of Maria in West Side Story at Riksteatern, and after that she acted in a

revue A revue is a type of multi-act popular theatrical entertainment that combines music, dance, and sketches. The revue has its roots in 19th century popular entertainment and melodrama but grew into a substantial cultural presence of its own duri ...

with

Bosse Parnevik Bo Sigfrid ("Bosse") Parnevik (born 20 March 1938, in Gothenburg) is a Swedish impersonator, revue artist and comedian. He is member of '' Lokalrevyer i Sverige'' and gives the "Parnevik Scholarship" to good revue artists every year. His son is p ...

Monica Zetterlund Monica Zetterlund (born Eva Monica Nilsson; 20 September 1937 – 12 May 2005) was a Sweden, Swedish jazz Singing, singer and Actor, actress. Through her lifetime, she starred in over 10 Swedish film productions and recorded over 20 studio ...

and others. In 1994, she acted in

Ingmar Bergman Ernst Ingmar Bergman (14 July 1918 – 30 July 2007) was a Swedish film director, screenwriter, Film producer, producer and playwright. Widely considered one of the greatest and most influential filmmakers of all time, his films are known ...

's special production of

Shakespeare's William Shakespeare ( 26 April 1564 – 23 April 1616) was an English playwright, poet and actor. He is widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's nation ...

En Vintersaga at

Dramaten The Royal Dramatic Theatre ( sv, Kungliga Dramatiska Teatern, colloquially ''Dramaten'') is Sweden's national stage for "spoken drama", founded in 1788. Around one thousand shows are put on annually on the theatre's five running stages. The the ...

and she also acted in the musical Elvira Madigan at Riksteatern. In 1996 she started several years of intensive international work with

Andrew Lloyd-Webber Andrew Lloyd Webber, Baron Lloyd-Webber (born 22 March 1948), is an English composer and impresario of musical theatre. Several of his musicals have run for more than a decade both in the West End and on Broadway. He has composed 21 musicals, ...

musical ''

Sunset Boulevard Sunset Boulevard is a boulevard in the central and western part of Los Angeles, California, that stretches from the Pacific Coast Highway in Pacific Palisades east to Figueroa Street in Downtown Los Angeles. It is a major thoroughfare in t ...

'' in the German city of

Niedernhausen Niedernhausen im Taunus is a municipality in the Rheingau-Taunus-Kreis in the ''Regierungsbezirk'' of Darmstadt in Hesse, Germany, with almost 15,000 inhabitants. Geography Location Niedernhausen lies in the Rhein-Taunus Nature Park in the west o ...

, ''Les Misérables'' in Germany and London, ''

Miss Saigon ''Miss Saigon'' is a stage musical by Claude-Michel Schönberg and Alain Boublil, with lyrics by Boublil and Richard Maltby Jr. It is based on Giacomo Puccini's 1904 opera ''Madame Butterfly'', and similarly tells the tragic tale of a doomed rom ...

'' in

, a concert tour in

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the north by the neighbouring countri ...

and ''

Chess Chess is a board game for two players, called White and Black, each controlling an army of chess pieces in their color, with the objective to checkmate the opponent's king. It is sometimes called international chess or Western chess to disti ...

'' in

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 ...

. In 2002, she returned to Stockholm and Oscarsteatern to act as the title role of

Greta Garbo Greta Garbo (born Greta Lovisa Gustafsson; 18 September 1905 – 15 April 1990) was a Swedish-American actress. Regarded as one of the greatest screen actresses, she was known for her melancholic, somber persona, her film portrayals of tragedy, ...

in ''Garbo The Musical'', followed by her big breakthrough role as Donna, in the Swedish version of the musical '' Mamma Mia!'' at Cirkus between 2005 and 2007. She won the award Guldmasken for this role. In 2009, she participated in the show ''PrimaDONNOR'' at Hamburger Börs along with

Charlott Strandberg Charlott Maria Strandberg (born 20 September 1962 in Täby, Sweden) is a Swedish revue-singer and actress. She belongs to the Strandberg family; she is granddaughter to Olle Strandberg and half-sister to Evabritt Strandberg. Selected filmogra ...

and

Sussie Eriksson Susanne Maria "Sussie" Eriksson (born 2 January 1963) is a Swedish singer and actress. Eriksson has worked in a number of musicals and had the lead role in the comedy series, ''c/o Segemyhr'' for five seasons, and also participated in the singing ...

. Between 2010 and 2011 she played the lead role as

Norma Desmond ''Sunset Boulevard'' (styled in the main title on-screen as ''SUNSET BLVD.'') is a 1950 American black comedy film noir directed and co-written by Billy Wilder, and produced and co-written by Charles Brackett. It was named after a major street ...

in Göteborgsoperans musical ''Sunset Boulevard''. In 2012, she played Maria Magdalena in the musical ''

Jesus Christ Superstar ''Jesus Christ Superstar'' is a sung-through rock opera with music by Andrew Lloyd Webber and lyrics by Tim Rice. Loosely based on the Gospels' accounts of the Passion, the work interprets the psychology of Jesus and other characters, with ...

'' along with

Ola Salo Ola Salo (born Rolf Ola Anders Svensson; 19 February 1977) is a Swedish rock musician, and the lead vocalist of Swedish glam rock band The Ark. Early life He lived in Rottne, Växjö Municipality, in Sweden when he was a child, where, in 1991, ...

Göta Lejon Göta Lejon is a theatre located at 55 Götgatan in the district of Södermalm in Stockholm, Sweden. History Göta Lejon was built in the years 1926–1928 according to drawings by architect Birger Borgström. (1890–1964). Architecturally, the ...

in Stockholm. In 2013, she played Desiree Armfledt in Stephen Sondeheim's Sommarnattens leende at

Malmö Opera Malmö Opera (Swedish: ''Malmö opera'') is an opera house in Malmö, Sweden. An opera company of the same name presents seasons of opera in this house. Built 1933-1944 by architect Sigurd Lewerentz and, until 1992, known as the Malmö City The ...

. Backman has from time to time been part of Rhapsody in Rock, also in the

Ted Gärdestad Ted Arnbjörn Gärdestad (; 18 February 195622 June 1997) was a Swedish singer, songwriter, musician and actor known internationally as Ted. Gärdestad began his acting career in 1966 and began playing music in 1971, signing with Polar Music. Ass ...

celebration tour ''Sol, vind & Vatten'' in 2008. In 2013, she participated in the television recorded arena tour I Love Musicals along with Peter Jöback. She has made several concerts with Malmö Brandkårs Musikkår along with

Jan Malmsjö Jan Wilhelm Malmsjö (born 29 May 1932) is a Swedish stage and film actor, musical star and singer. He is married to Marie Göranzon and father to Jonas Malmsjö. Biography Malmsjö was born in Lund, Sweden. He trained at the prestigious Roy ...

. Backman has participated in a number of television shows like ''

Allsång på Skansen ''Allsång på Skansen'' (''Sing-along at Skansen'') is a Swedish show held at Skansen, Stockholm, every summer on Tuesdays between 8pm and 9pm. The audience is encouraged to sing along with musical guest stars to well-known Swedish and internati ...

'' broadcast on SVT, '' Allsång på Liseberg'' with

Lotta Engberg Anna Charlotte "Lotta" Engberg (born Pedersen; 5 March 1963) is a Swedish singer. She represented Sweden in Eurovision Song Contest 1987 with " Boogaloo" after winning Melodifestivalen 1987. She also tried many times in Melodifestivalen in 1984 ...

TV4 TV4 or TV 4 may refer to: *TV4 (Poland), a private Polish television station *TV4 (Sweden), a Swedish television network **TV4 Group, owners of the Swedish television station *South African Broadcasting Corporation TV4, a channel operated by the st ...

, ''TV-huset'', ''

Så ska det låta ''Så ska det låta'' is a Swedish game show, based on the Irish ''The Lyrics Board''. The show was introduced in 1997 and led by Peter Harryson until Peter Settman took over in 2006. In 2014, Kalle Moraeus became the third host of the show. In ...

'', '' Sing along'', ''

Doobidoo ''Doobidoo'' is a Swedish musical game show first aired on 26 August 2005 on the public service network SVT. There is also a Polish, TVP2, version called ''Dubidu'' - show host Piotr Gasowski - and an Australian version that goes by ''You may ...

'', ''Nationaldagen'' and ''Nyårsfirande'' from

Skansen Skansen (; "the Sconce") is the oldest open-air museum and zoo in Sweden located on the island Djurgården in Stockholm, Sweden. It was opened on 11 October 1891 by Artur Hazelius (1833–1901) to show the way of life in the different parts of S ...

. She also had a part in the so-called Melodifestivalmusikalen which was the break show at

Melodifestivalen 2007 Melodifestivalen 2007 was the selection for the 47th song to represent Sweden at the Eurovision Song Contest. It was the 46th time that this system of picking a song has been used. Five heats took place to select the ten songs for the final, in J ...

Discography

*2005 – ''Mamma Mia!'' *2006 – ''Nära mig'' *2006 – ''Julens ljus'' *2006 – ''Julskivan 2006'' *2010 – ''Gunilla Backman sings Andrew Lloyd-Webber''

Filmography

*Babar och hans vänner (voice) *Tummelisa (voice)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Backman, Gunilla Living people 1965 births Balettakademien 20th-century Swedish women singers 21st-century Swedish women singers