Sonja ''Gunilla'' Persson (born 31 December 1958) is a Swedish former fashion model and current television personality. She is the daughter of Nils Erik Persson (1920–1998) and Iris Strid (born 1926).

Career

Persson worked as a tour leader and after journalistic studies started her career at

Sveriges Radio Sveriges Radio AB (, "Sweden's Radio") is Sweden's national publicly funded radio broadcaster. Sveriges Radio is a public limited company, owned by an independent foundation, previously funded through a licensing fee, the level of which is d ...

where she worked as a presenter of a one-hour celebrity entertainment show conducting interviews with celebrities.

Modelling

Persson participated in 1983 ''

Damernas Värld ''Damernas Värld'' (Swedish: ''Women's World'') is a Swedish language monthly fashion and women's magazine published in Stockholm, Sweden. It is one of the oldest magazines in the country. History and profile The magazine was started with the n ...

'' (Swedish women's magazine) modelling competition ''The Face of the 80's'' after her boyfriend submitted pictures of her without her knowledge.

Eileen Ford Eileen ( or ) is an Irish feminine given name anglicised from Eibhlín and may refer to: People Artists *Eileen Agar (1899–1991), British Surrealist painter and photographer *Eileen Fisher (born 1950), clothing retailer and designer *Eileen ...

, one of the judges of the competition, contacted her and signed her to her agency in

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in 1983, even though Persson did not win the competition. She was also signed at and worked for

Elite Model Management Elite Model Management (MM) refers to two independent chain modeling agencies that originated as one in Paris, France in 1972 with subsequent locations in New York, Los Angeles, Miami, London and Toronto. In 2004, the agencies in New York, Miami, ...

. She has appeared on the cover of a number of magazines including notably for the German edition of ''

Bazaar A bazaar () or souk (; also transliterated as souq) is a marketplace consisting of multiple small Market stall, stalls or shops, especially in the Middle East, the Balkans, North Africa and India. However, temporary open markets elsewhere, suc ...

'', and has modelled lingerie for La Perla. In the late 1970s, Persson moved from Sweden to

Dallas Dallas () is the List of municipalities in Texas, third largest city in Texas and the largest city in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, the List of metropolitan statistical areas, fourth-largest metropolitan area in the United States at 7.5 ...

, US, later moving to

where she lived for many years. She studied at Stella Adler's acting school. She moved to California to participate in ''Svenska Hollywoodfruar'', and in early 2015 Persson was forced to leave her

Manhattan Manhattan (), known regionally as the City, is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the five boroughs of New York City. The borough is also coextensive with New York County, one of the original counties of the U.S. state ...

, New York apartment by her landlord.

Television

Persson appeared in a small role in the 1980s soap opera ''

'' while living in Dallas. Persson made her television debut in 2010 in the reality series ''Svenska New holllywoodfruar'' (''Swedish New hollywoodwives''): the series lasted one season and was broadcast on

TV3 Channel 3 or TV 3 may refer to: Television *Canal 3 (Burkina Faso), a commercial television channel in Burkina Faso *Canal 3 (Guatemala), a commercial television channel in Guatemala *Channel 3 (Algeria), a public Algerian TV channel owned by EPTV ...

. She has also participated in eight seasons of ''

Svenska Hollywoodfruar ''Svenska Hollywoodfruar'' (English: ''Swedish Hollywood Wives'') was a Swedish reality TV series from 2009 to 2019 that followed Swedish women in Hollywood and their glamorous lives. The first episode aired on TV3 on September 14, 2009, and b ...

'' (''Swedish Hollywood-wives'') as of 2017, also at TV3. Persson participated in the celebrity reality series ''Realitystjärnorna på godset'' (''Reality Stars at the Manor'') in 2014, and in 2015 got her own show called ''Gunilla tycker till'' (''Gunilla states her opinion'') where her fans got to vote on different jobs she had to try out. Persson also got a News show in 2017 called ''The Gunilla Show'' on viafree. In February 2013, Persson was a guest on ''The Schulman Show'' which is aired on ''

Aftonbladet ''Aftonbladet'' (, lit. "The evening paper") is a Swedish daily newspaper published in Stockholm, Sweden. It is one of the largest daily newspapers in the Nordic countries. History and profile The newspaper was founded by Lars Johan H ...

''s website and presented by Alex Schulman. Persson recorded a music video with rapper

Dogge Doggelito Douglas León, known by his stage name Dogge Doggelito (born 24 July 1975) is a Swedish rapper, lecturer, author and artist. He is also among the founders of '' The Latin Kings'' (TLK) -- one of Sweden's most successful rap groups. Doggelito is ...

in 2015. In October 2015, Persson was a guest on the Norwegian talk show '' God kveld Norge!''. On 13 April 2017, Persson's home in Pacific Palisades that has appeared in ''Svenska Hollywoodfruar'' was badly damaged by fire. Persson's 91-year-old mother was injured during the incident. In 2018, Persson participated in the celebrity version of ''

Biggest Loser ''The Biggest Loser'' is a reality television format which started with the American TV show ''The Biggest Loser'' in 2004. The show centers on overweight and obese contestants attempting to lose the most weight; the winner receives a cash prize ...

'', broadcast on

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 ...

Personal life

Gunilla Persson was married to Stephen Linville 1984–1990, whom she met at an acting class in

. She lived in Francis Kellogg's apartment in New York in late 1980's, during which she also had a romance with

Prince Albert of Monaco Albert II – Website of the Palace of Monaco (Albert Alexandre Louis Pierre Grimaldi; born 14 March 1958) is Prince of Monaco, since 2005. Albert was born at the Prince's Palace of Monaco, and he is the second child and only son of Prince Rai ...

. Her boyfriend was hotel developer Patrick Ellis from 1990 until 1995. She has a daughter whose name is Erika, who was born in August 2002. Her mother Iris lives with her daughter. On 22 May 2018, Persson was arrested by Palm Beach police on a

felony A felony is traditionally considered a crime of high seriousness, whereas a misdemeanor is regarded as less serious. The term "felony" originated from English common law (from the French medieval word "félonie") to describe an offense that resu ...

grand-theft charge for stealing sunglasses. She was released the following morning after posting a $5,000 bond.

References

External links

Gunilla Persson's blog
on Amelia
Gunilla Persson
on

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* {{DEFAULTSORT:Persson, Gunilla 1958 births Living people People from Norrköping Swedish expatriates in the United States Swedish female models Swedish television personalities Swedish women journalists Swedish women television presenters