Kerstin Elizabeth Hilldén (; born 22 June 1989) is a Swedish singer and actress.

Early life and education

Kerstin Elizabeth Hilldén was born at Mölndal Hospital in

Mölndal Mölndal () is the seat and administrative centre of Mölndal Municipality and a part of the Gothenburg urban area on the west coast of Sweden. About 40,000 of the municipality's 60,000 inhabitants live in Mölndal proper. Geography Mölndal is l ...

on 22 June 1989, the second child to Arne Hilldén, a

doctor Doctor, Doctors, The Doctor or The Doctors may refer to: Titles and occupations * Physician, a medical practitioner * Doctor (title), an academic title for the holder of a doctoral-level degree ** Doctorate ** List of doctoral degrees awarded b ...

in geology, and Mary-Ann Hopkins, a

music Music is the arrangement of sound to create some combination of Musical form, form, harmony, melody, rhythm, or otherwise Musical expression, expressive content. Music is generally agreed to be a cultural universal that is present in all hum ...

and

mathematics teacher In contemporary education, mathematics education—known in Europe as the didactics or pedagogy of mathematics—is the practice of teaching, learning, and carrying out scholarly research into the transfer of mathematical knowledge. Although r ...

. She is the younger sister of Johan Hilldén who was born in 1986, both siblings grew up in

Mölnlycke Mölnlycke is a small town nearby Greater Gothenburg, a locality and the seat of Härryda Municipality, Västra Götaland County, Sweden. It had 17,499 inhabitants in 2019. The urban area stretches over two municipalities. Mölndal Municipalit ...

, about 10 km (6.2 miles) from

Gothenburg Gothenburg ( ; ) is the List of urban areas in Sweden by population, second-largest city in Sweden, after the capital Stockholm, and the fifth-largest in the Nordic countries. Situated by the Kattegat on the west coast of Sweden, it is the gub ...

. Hilldén's maternal grandparents, Mary and George Hopkins, were both singers in a church choir in

Karlskrona Karlskrona (, , ) is a locality and the seat of Karlskrona Municipality, Blekinge County, Sweden with a population of 66,675 in 2018. It is also the capital of Blekinge County. Karlskrona is known as Sweden's only baroque city and is host to ...

Blekinge Blekinge () is one of the traditional Swedish provinces (), situated in the southern coast of the geographic region of Götaland, in southern Sweden. It borders Småland, Scania and the Baltic Sea. It is the country's second-smallest provin ...

. George Hopkins was of English origin while Mary was born in

Jämtland Jämtland () is a historical provinces of Sweden, province () in the centre of Sweden in northern Europe. It borders Härjedalen and Medelpad to the south, Ångermanland to the east, Lapland, Sweden, Lapland to the north and Trøndelag and Norw ...

. As a child, Hilldén had already been on scene at the

Gothenburg Opera The Gothenburg opera house () is an opera house at Lilla Bommen in Gothenburg, Sweden. The Artistic Director for opera is Henning Ruhe since 2019, while Katrín Hall leads the ballet and dance company. History The Gothenburg opera house is re ...

. In 2011, Hilldén attended , later, in 2014, studying at in Gothenburg. In 2015, Hilldén was accepted into the

Royal Academy of Music The Royal Academy of Music (RAM) in London, England, is one of the oldest music schools in the UK, founded in 1822 by John Fane and Nicolas-Charles Bochsa. It received its royal charter in 1830 from King George IV with the support of the firs ...

in London.

Career

Hilldén's first musical was the adaptation of

Victor Hugo Victor-Marie Hugo, vicomte Hugo (; 26 February 1802 – 22 May 1885) was a French Romanticism, Romantic author, poet, essayist, playwright, journalist, human rights activist and politician. His most famous works are the novels ''The Hunchbac ...

's ''

Les Misérables ''Les Misérables'' (, ) is a 19th-century French literature, French Epic (genre), epic historical fiction, historical novel by Victor Hugo, first published on 31 March 1862, that is considered one of the greatest novels of the 19th century. '' ...

'', which was played in Swedish at the Wermland Opera in 2016. Hilldén played the role of Eponine which she described as "one of erfavourite characters along with

Javert Javert (), no first name given in the source novel, is a fictional character and a main antagonist of Victor Hugo's 1862 novel ''Les Misérables.'' He was presumably born in 1780 and died on June 7, 1832. First a prison guard, and then a police i ...

and Valjean". She further stated that Eponine was a character with "which hecould identify erselfwith". Hilldén has played major roles in other musicals such as Sophia in ''Sound of Music'', Miss Honey in the musical adaptation of

Roald Dahl Roald Dahl (13 September 1916 – 23 November 1990) was a British author of popular children's literature and short stories, a poet, screenwriter and a wartime Flying ace, fighter ace. His books have sold more than 300 million copies ...

's novel ''

Matilda Matilda or Mathilda may refer to: Animals * Matilda (chicken) (1990–2006), World's Oldest Living Chicken record holder * Mathilda (gastropod), ''Mathilda'' (gastropod), a genus of gastropods in the family Mathildidae * Matilda (horse) (1824–1 ...

'', and ''Cabaret'' based on the 1966 musical of the same name. ''Sound of Music'' and ''Matilda'' were both played at the

Malmö Opera 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 Theatre accommodating sever ...

, however ''Cabaret'' debuted on 2 October 2022 at the Gothenburg Opera. While still working at the Malmö Opera she played minor roles such as Bex and Natalie Goodman in the Swedish versions of ''

Everybody's Talking About Jamie ''Everybody's Talking About Jamie'' is a Musical theatre, stage musical centred around a coming-of-age story, with score by Dan Gillespie Sells and book and lyrics by Tom MacRae. The musical is inspired by the 2011 British television documentar ...

'' and ''

Next to Normal ''Next to Normal'' is a 2008 American rock musical with book and lyrics by Brian Yorkey and music by Tom Kitt. The story centers on a mother who struggles with worsening bipolar disorder and the effects that managing her illness has on her fam ...

'', respectively. Hilldén has also played minor parts/roles in several other musicals such as ''Festkväll'' () at the Gothenburg Opera, ''A Talent to Amuse'' at St. James Theatre, and ''Curtain Up!''

Prince of Wales Theatre The Prince of Wales Theatre is a West End theatre in Coventry Street, near Leicester Square in London. It was established in 1884 and rebuilt in 1937, and extensively refurbished in 2004 by Sir Cameron Mackintosh, its current owner. The theatre ...

. In 2020, she was part of a group of members of the Gothenburg Opera to participate and performed at '' Lotta på Liseberg''.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hilldén, Kerstin 1988 births Living people People from Härryda Municipality Swedish musicians Swedish singers Swedish women singers Alumni of the Royal Academy of Music Swedish actresses Swedish musical theatre actresses Swedish people of English descent Musicians from Västra Götaland County