Elly Elisa Sørensen Smed (27 November 1914 – 24 November 1944) was a Danish film and stage actress. At 19, she made her debut in ''Den lille Butik'' at

Det Ny Teater Det Ny Teater (English: The New Theatre) is an established theatre in Copenhagen, Denmark, first opened in 1908. It is based in a building which spans a passage between Vesterbrogade and Gammel Kongevej in Copenhagen's theatre district on the borde ...

in Copenhagen. Among her most successful films were ''Thummelumsen'' (1941) and ''Biskoppen'' (1944). As a result of trying to reduce weight, she died of eating disorders when she was only 30, a month after she had performed to full houses at

Folketeatret Folketeateret is a theatre in Oslo, Norway. The building has been used as a movie theatre and as an opera house. The theatre has 1,400 seats. History The theatre itself operated from 1952 to 1959, but the institution has a much longer history. ...

William Saroyan William Saroyan (; August 31, 1908 – May 18, 1981) was an Armenian-American novelist, playwright, and short story writer. He was awarded the Pulitzer Prize for Drama in 1940, and in 1943 won the Academy Award for Best Story for the film ''The ...

's '' Livet er jo dejligt''.

Early life

Born on 27 November 1914 in

Horsens Horsens () is a city on the east coast of Jutland region of Denmark. It is the seat of the Horsens municipality. The city's population is 61,074 (1 January 2022) and the municipality's population is 94,443 (), making it the 8th largest city in De ...

, Elly Elisa Smed Sørensen was the daughter of the electricity works manager Jørgen Sørensen Smed and his wife Johanne Pouline née Hansen. When she was 17 she moved to Copenhagen where she received basic training in ballet and in acting under Viggo Friederichsen (1875–1940) but she was above all naturally talented as an actress.

Career

When she was 19 she made a sensational debut in August 1934 at Copenhagen's

in the Viennese comedy ''Den lille Butik'' together with

Erling Schroeder Erling Schroeder (1 March 1904 – 17 October 1989), was a Danish film actor. Filmography *''I kantonnement'' – 1932 *''Han, hun og Hamlet'' – 1932 *'' Med fuld musik'' – 1933 *''Københavnere'' – 1933 *''Fem raske piger'' – 1933 * '' ...

and

Ib Schønberg Ib Christian Albert von Cotta Schønberg (23 October 1902 – 24 September 1955) was a Danish film actor, and is considered one of the leading actors of Danish film in the 20th century. Early life The son of a chemist, Ib Schønberg was int ...

. Her success was instantaneous. After the play, the audience assembled outside the theatre shouting "Vi vil se Lis" (We want to see Lis). In 1937, she underwent training at the

Royal Danish Theatre The Royal Danish Theatre (RDT, Danish: ') is both the national Danish performing arts institution and a name used to refer to its old purpose-built venue from 1874 located on Kongens Nytorv in Copenhagen. The theatre was founded in 1748, first ser ...

but thereafter performed only in a series of private theatres where she continued her success. From the mid-1930s, she acted mainly in films but it was not until the 1940s that she reached her peak, starring in ''Thummelumsen'' (1941) and ''Biskoppen'' (1944). In 1943–44, she appeared for a year and a half at the Riddersalen Theatre as Kitty in Soroyan's ''Livet er jo dejligt'' but as her health deteriorated many performances had to be cancelled. The problem was that she had been putting on weight and was trying to slim, frequently refusing to eat anything at all. This led to increasingly serious disorders, making it impossible for her to act. Aged 29, Lis Smed died in the early hours of 24 November 1944 in

Frederiksberg Hospital Frederiksberg Hospital is a medium-sized government-owned general hospital located in Frederiksberg, Denmark. It has 380 beds (2005) and an emergency department. The hospital is a teaching hospital for medical students from Copenhagen Univers ...

, only a month after she had last appeared on stage. Large crowds gathered for her funeral, hoping for a last glimpse of her coffin. She was buried in

Frederiksberg Ældre Kirkegård Frederiksberg Ældre Kirkegård is a cemetery in Frederiksberg, Copenhagen. It was established in 1734 behind Frederiksberg Church. Burials * C.F. Gerner Andersen * Kai Normann Andersen * Peter Andersen * Christian Augustinus * Ludvig Augusti ...

References

External links

Lis Smed at IMDb
{{DEFAULTSORT:Smed, Lis 1914 births 1944 deaths People from Horsens 20th-century Danish actresses Danish film actresses Deaths by starvation