Katariina Unt (born Katariina Lauk; 6 December 1971) is an Estonian stage, television, and film actress.

Early life and education

Katariina Unt was born in

Tallinn Tallinn () is the most populous and capital city of Estonia. Situated on a bay in north Estonia, on the shore of the Gulf of Finland of the Baltic Sea, Tallinn has a population of 437,811 (as of 2022) and administratively lies in the Harju ' ...

. Her mother is interior decorator Malle Lauk and her father is artist Tõnu Lauk, who works mainly with metals. The youngest of four siblings, she grew up mostly in

Pärnu Pärnu () is the fourth largest city in Estonia. Situated in southwest Estonia, Pärnu is located south of the Estonian capital, Tallinn, and west of Estonia's second largest city, Tartu. The city sits off the coast of Pärnu Bay, an inlet o ...

. She graduated in 1990 from Pärnu Hansa Secondary School, then completed her studies in Tallinn at the Estonian Academy of Music and Theatre Drama School in 1994 (now, the

Estonian Academy of Music and Theatre The Estonian Academy of Music and Theatre (''Eesti Muusika- ja Teatriakadeemia'') began as a mixed choir of the Estonia Society Musical Department (EMD) on the eve of World War I. The assembly of the Estonia Society created the Tallinn Higher Musi ...

). Her graduating classmates included

Mait Malmsten Mait Malmsten (born 6 September 1972 in Viljandi) is an Estonian actor. Malmsten comes from a family of actors. His father is actor Rein Malmsten. His paternal grandparents were actors Franz Malmsten and Eva Meil. His great-uncle was actor Hugo ...

, Ain Mäeots, Liisa Aibel,

Ago Anderson Ago Anderson (born 8 April 1972 in Pärnu) is an Estonian actor. Since 1994 he is working at Endla Theatre. He has also played in several films and television series. Selected roles in films and television series * 1995 '' Wikmani poisid'' (telev ...

Indrek Sammul Indrek Sammul (born 28 January 1972) is an Estonian actor. He has graduated Estonian Academy of Music's Higher Theatre School in 1994 (now, the Estonian Academy of Music and Theatre The Estonian Academy of Music and Theatre (''Eesti Muusika- ...

, and

Andres Puustusmaa Andres Puustusmaa (born 19 July 1971) is an Estonian film director, actor, screenwriter, professor, and photographer who began his career in the early 1990s. He has worked extensively in his native Estonia, as well as in Russia. Early life and e ...

Stage career

Between 1994 and 2001, she was engaged at the

Tallinn City Theatre Tallinn City Theatre ( et, Tallinna Linnateater) is a repertory theatre located in the medieval old town of Tallinn, Estonia. Tallinn City Theatre was established in 1965 as Estonian SSR State Youth Theatre. In 1992, after the reindependence of ...

. Following her departure, she worked for a while as a freelance actor, performing at the

Estonia Theatre Estonia Theatre is an historic building in Tallinn, Estonia, which houses the Estonian National Opera and the Estonian National Symphony Orchestra. The original Jugendstil building was designed by Finnish architects Armas Lindgren and Wivi L� ...

Endla Theatre Endla ( et, Endla teater) is a professional theatre in city of Pärnu, Estonia. The theatre was opened in 1911. The first performance was "Libahunt" ("Werewolf") by Estonian writer August Kitzberg. The Estonian Declaration of Independence was p ...

and the

Kuressaare Kuressaare () is a town on Saaremaa island in Estonia. It is the administrative centre of Saaremaa Parish and the capital of Saare County. Kuressaare is the westernmost town in Estonia. The recorded population on 1 January 2018 was 13,276. Th ...

Town Theatre, among others. In 2007, she joined the VAT Theatre in Tallinn, where she still currently performs. Among her more memorable roles in theater were in works by:

William Shakespeare 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 ...

Anton Chekhov Anton Pavlovich Chekhov (; 29 January 1860 Old Style date 17 January. – 15 July 1904 Old Style date 2 July.) was a Russian playwright and short-story writer who is considered to be one of the greatest writers of all time. His career ...

Madis Kõiv Madis Kõiv (5 December 1929, Tartu, Estonia – 24 September 2014, Tartu, Estonia) was an Estonian writer, philosopher and physicist. Education Kõiv attended school in Tartu after the second World War, graduating in the early 1950s with a d ...

Molière Jean-Baptiste Poquelin (, ; 15 January 1622 (baptised) – 17 February 1673), known by his stage name Molière (, , ), was a French playwright, actor, and poet, widely regarded as one of the greatest writers in the French language and world ...

Tadeusz Różewicz Tadeusz Różewicz (9 October 1921 – 24 April 2014) was a Polish poet, playwright, writer, and translator. Różewicz was in the first generation of Polish writers born after Poland regained its independence in 1918, following the century of f ...

Luchino Visconti Luchino Visconti di Modrone, Count of Lonate Pozzolo (; 2 November 1906 – 17 March 1976) was an Italian filmmaker, stage director, and screenwriter. A major figure of Italian art and culture in the mid-20th century, Visconti was one of the fat ...

Tom Stoppard Sir Tom Stoppard (born , 3 July 1937) is a Czech born British playwright and screenwriter. He has written for film, radio, stage, and television, finding prominence with plays. His work covers the themes of human rights, censorship, and politi ...

Andrus Kivirähk Andrus Kivirähk (born 17 August 1970) is an Estonian writer, a playwright, topical satirist, and screenwriter. As of 2004, 25,000 copies of his novel ''Rehepapp ehk November'' (''Old Barny or November'') had been sold, making him the most popul ...

August Kitzberg August Kitzberg ( in Laatre Parish, Governorate of Livonia, Russian Empire – 10 October 1927 in Tartu) was an Estonian writer. Life Until 1863, August Kitzberg was known as August Kits. He grew up in Niitsaadu farmstead in Penuja village, A ...

and

Friedrich Reinhold Kreutzwald Friedrich Reinhold Kreutzwald ( – ) was an Estonian writer who is considered to be the father of the national literature for the country. He is the author of Estonian national epic ''Kalevipoeg''. Life Friedrich Reinhold Kreutzwald's pare ...

, among many others.

Film and television

Katariina Unt made her film debut as Mari in the 1994

Jaan Kolberg Jaan Kolberg (born 21 November 1958) is an Estonian film director and producer. Jaan Kolberg was born in Pärnu, where he attended primary and secondary schools. In 1976, he enrolled at Tartu State University, majoring in English. While at unive ...

-directed film ''Jüri Rumm''. This was followed by a recurring role on the popular

ETV ETV may stand for: Television * e.tv, a South African terrestrial television channel * Educational Television (Hong Kong), a television series * Educational television, the use of television in education * Enhanced TV, an interactive television ap ...

drama series ''

Õnne 13 Õnne 13 is an Estonian dramatic TV series that airs on ETV. The series first aired on 30 October 1993 and was written by Astrid Reinla and as of 1996 by Teet Kallas Teet Kallas (born 6 April 1943, Tallinn) is an Estonian writer and former ...

''. In 2013, she appeared in the

Kanal 2 Kanal 2 is a privately owned Estonian television channel. Its literal name in English is "Channel 2". The channel was established by Ilmar Taska. The channel began broadcasting on 1 October 1993. History The channel started broadcasting on O ...

paranormal-thriller television series ''Süvahavva''. Her first large film role was that of Eetla in the 2003 Sulev Keedus-directed war drama ''Somnambuul'' (English: ''Somnambulance''). Other popular roles were in films such as

Katrin Laur Katrin Laur (née Poola, born in 1955, in Tartu, Estonia) is an author, film director, and professor who currently lives in Estonia and Germany. In 1973 in Soviet-occupied Tallinn she graduated from a school that gave an excellent command of En ...

's '' Ruudi'' (2006),

Veiko Õunpuu Veiko Õunpuu (born 16 March 1972, in Saaremaa) is an Estonian film director and screenwriter who is best known for his artistic movies '' Autumn Ball'' (''Sügisball'', 2007) and ''The Temptation of St. Tony'' (''Püha Tõnu kiusamine'', 2009). ...

's '' Sügisball'' (''Autumn Ball'', 2007), Sulev Keedus' ''Kirjad Inglile'' (''Letters to Angel'', 2011) and

Rainer Sarnet Rainer Sarnet (born March 3, 1969) is an Estonia Estonia, formally the Republic of Estonia, is a country by the Baltic Sea in Northern Europe. It is bordered to the north by the Gulf of Finland across from Finland, to the west by the ...

's ''Idioot'' (''The Idiot'', 2011), and a starring role as Viivi in the 2016 Mart Kivastik directed romantic drama ''Õnn tuleb magades'' opposite actor

Ivo Uukkivi Ivo Uukkivi (born 11 October 1965) is an Estonian stage, film, radio, and television actor, television producer and, under the nickname Munk, founder of and singer with the punk rock, punk band Velikije Luki. Early life and education Ivo Uukkivi ...

. In many of her earlier film and television appearances, she is credited as Katariina Lauk (her birthname) and Katariina Lauk-Tamm (while married to Raivo E. Tamm).

Personal life

In 1993 she married actor

, the couple divorced in 1995. In 1997, she wed actor Raivo E. Tamm, however, the two would divorce in 2003. Unt and Tamm have a daughter. In 2011, she remarried once again, taking her husband's surname Unt.Naistekas
''Katariina Lauk-Tamm abiellus kolmas kord'' 17 February 2011. Retrieved 23 November 2016.

Selected filmography

*''

Somnambuul ''Somnambuul'' ( en, Somnambulance) is a 2003 Estonian drama film directed by Sulev Keedus. The film is set in autumn 1944 in Estonia. Thousands of people are fleeing to the west in order to free from Soviet occupation. A young woman, Eetla, is ...

'' (English: ''Somnambulance'', 2003) *'' Sügisball'' (English: ''Autumn Ball'', 2007) *''

Püha Tõnu kiusamine ''The Temptation of St. Tony'' ( et, Püha Tõnu kiusamine) is a 2009 Estonian film written and directed by Veiko Õunpuu, starring Taavi Eelmaa. The plot has been described as a black comedy and centers around a successful, middle aged man who be ...

'' (English: ''The Temptation of St. Tony'', 2009) *'' Kirjad Inglile'' (English: ''Letters to Angel'', 2010) *'' Idioot'' (English: ''The Idiot'', 2011) *'' Lõvikuningas'' (English: ''The Lion King'', 2012; voice) *''

November November is the eleventh and penultimate month of the year in the Julian and Gregorian Calendars, the fourth and last of four months to have a length of 30 days and the fifth and last of five months to have a length of fewer than 31 days. No ...

'' (2017)

Awards and recognition

Voldemar Panso Voldemar Panso (30 November 1920 Tomsk, Russia – 27 December 1977 Tallinn) was Estonian stage director, actor and theatrical teacher. 1941 he graduated from Tallinn Conservatory State Stage Art School and 1955 Moscow State Theatre Art Instit ...

Prize (1993) * (2002) *Helmi Tohvelman Prize (2010) *Estonian Theatre Critics' Union award of "Good Theatre" (2011) *"Monomaffia" Theatre Festival prize (2011) *Theatre Association Awards, lead actress (''Niisa'', 2012) *Monobaltija International Theatre festival award (''Niisa'', 2012)

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Unt, Katariina 1971 births Living people Actresses from Tallinn Estonian stage actresses Estonian film actresses Estonian television actresses Estonian Academy of Music and Theatre alumni Academic staff of the Estonian Academy of Music and Theatre 20th-century Estonian actresses 21st-century Estonian actresses