Piret Laurimaa (married name Piret Palu; born 3 November 1971), 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 sea across from Sweden, to the south by Latvia, a ...

n stage, television, radio, and film actress.

Early life and education

Piret Laurimaa was born 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 ...

to Tiit Laurimaa and Aave Uus (''née'' Meriluht). She has three half-siblings. She graduated from secondary school in 1990, then studied acting at

Aare Laanemets Aare Laanemets (6 February 1954 – 28 October 2000) was an Estonian actor and theatre director, who is possibly best recalled for his role as Joosep Toots in three film adaptations of novels penned by author Oskar Luts: '' Kevade'' (1969), ''S ...

' theatre school in Pärnu. She graduated from Tallinn Pedagogical University (now,

Tallinn University Tallinn University (TLU; et, Tallinna Ülikool, ''TLÜ'') is a public research university in Estonia. Located in the centre of Tallinn, the capital city of Estonia, Tallinn University is one of the three largest institutions of higher education ...

) in 1995.

Stage career

Following graduation, she joined the

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 ...

in Pärnu in 1996 and was engaged at the theatre until 2014. Among her more memorable international roles at the Endla were in productions of works by:

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 ...

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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 ...

, Marc Camoletti,

William Gibson William Ford Gibson (born March 17, 1948) is an American-Canadian speculative fiction writer and essayist widely credited with pioneering the science fiction subgenre known as ''cyberpunk''. Beginning his writing career in the late 1970s, his ...

Maria Blom ''Maria'' Margareta Blom, (born 28 February 1971) is a Swedish film director, dramatist and screenwriter. She is perhaps best known for the film ''Masjävlar'' from 2004. Blom has written and directed more than ten theater plays among them "Rabar ...

Luigi Pirandello Luigi Pirandello (; 28 June 1867 – 10 December 1936) was an Italian dramatist, novelist, poet, and short story writer whose greatest contributions were his plays. He was awarded the 1934 Nobel Prize in Literature for "his almost magical power ...

Mikhail Lermontov Mikhail Yuryevich Lermontov (; russian: Михаи́л Ю́рьевич Ле́рмонтов, p=mʲɪxɐˈil ˈjurʲjɪvʲɪtɕ ˈlʲɛrməntəf; – ) was a Russian Romantic writer, poet and painter, sometimes called "the poet of the Caucas ...

Leea Klemola Leea Elisabet Klemola (born 16 August 1965 in Veteli) is a Finnish actress, director and playwright. She studied at the Theatre Academy Helsinki 1987–1991 and has also been teaching acting. Career Klemola has worked on stage and in films. She s ...

, and

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, among others. Roles in productions of Estonian playwrights and authors include works by:

Karl Ristikivi Karl Ristikivi (; in Pärnumaa, Saulepi Parish, Lääne County (now Kilgi, Varbla Parish, Pärnu County) – 19 July 1977 in Solna, Stockholm) was an Estonian writer. He is among the best Estonian writers for his historical novels. Early lif ...

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A. H. Tammsaare Anton Hansen (18 (O.S.)/30 January 1878 – 1 March 1940), better known by his pseudonym A. H. Tammsaare and its variants, was an Estonian writer whose pentalogy '' Truth and Justice'' (''Tõde ja õigus''; 1926–1933) is considered one of ...

Friedebert Tuglas Friedebert Tuglas, born Friedebert Mihkelson or Michelson (2 March 1886 – 15 April 1971) was an Estonian writer and critic who introduced Impressionism and Symbolism to Estonian literature.August Gailit August Gailit (9 January 1891 – 5 November 1960) was an Estonian writer.Endel Nirk, Arthur Robert Hone, Oleg Mutt, ''Estonian Literature: Historical Survey with Biobibliographical Appendix'', Published by Perioodika, 1987, p177 Life Georg ...

, and Illar Mõttus.Vanemuine
Retrieved 22 December 2016. During her time at the Endla, Laurimaa was awarded the Estonian Theatre Award for Best Actress in 2008 and the Best Actress in 2009. She was voted the audience favorite in 2003, 2005, 2009, 2010, 2011, and 2014. She also received the Endla Colleague Award in 2002, 2005, 2007, and 2009. In 2014, she left the Endla and joined the

Vanemuine Vanemuine () is a theatre in Tartu, Estonia. It was the first Estonian language theatre. History ''1870–1906 The Beginning of the Beginning. Koidula’s Theatre, Wiera’s Theatre.'' On June 24, 1870 was the first day in Estonian theatre ...

theatre in

Tartu Tartu is the second largest city in Estonia after the Northern European country's political and financial capital, Tallinn. Tartu has a population of 91,407 (as of 2021). It is southeast of Tallinn and 245 kilometres (152 miles) northeast of ...

. Roles at the Vanemuine have been in productions of works by

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, and

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Television and film career

Laurimaa made her feature film debut as the character Gerli in the 2003 Rando Pettai directed, Peep Pedmanson penned comedy ''Vanad ja kobedad saavad jalad alla'' (English release title: ''Made in Estonia''). The film was based on the popular Estonian television comedy series ''Vanad ja kobedad''. In 2013, she appeared as Kaarin in the

Ilmar Raag Ilmar Raag (born 21 May 1968 in Kuressaare) is an Estonian media executive, actor, screenwriter and film director, best known for his socio-critical film '' The Class''. He has served as CEO of Estonian Television from 2002 to 2005. He is a we ...

directed romantic drama '' Kertu'', released in English-speaking countries as ''Love Is Blind''. She has also appeared in two film shorts: ''Perebisnes'' in 2003, and ''Haiguste ravi'' in 2011. In 2019, she appeared as Laura in the

Gerda Kordemets Gerda Kordemets (real name Gerda Kulli-Kordemets, until 1982 Raud; born 25 June 1960 in Tallinn) is an Estonian theatre and film director, playwright, theatre critic, and culture journalist. In 1986 she graduated from Tallinn Pedagogical Institut ...

directed comedy film ''Mehed''. She has made appearances on a number of Estonian television programs, including: ''Ohtlik lend'' in 2006, ''Kelgukoerad'' in 2008, ''

Kättemaksukontor ''Kättemaksukontor'' (English: ''Revenge Office'') is an Estonian comedy-crime television series. In the series, a group of women have the organization called "Kättemaksukontor". This organization helps to solve murder cases for the police. The ...

'' in 2009 and again in 2015, and ''Viimane võmm'' in 2015. From 2009 until 2010, she appeared on the

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 ...

improvisational comedy series ''Vilde tee'', adapted from the German television series ''

Schillerstraße ''Schillerstraße'' (''Schiller Street'') was a German improvisational comedy show that aired weekly on Sat.1. It was recorded without a script and broadcast unedited to a large extent. The American broadcaster Fox has earned the licence for ''Sc ...

''.

Personal life

Piret Laurimaa married actor Tiit Palu in 1998. The couple have two children; a son and a daughter.Õhtuleht
''Piret Laurimaa: "Mulle meeldib mängida räsitud tiivaga inimesi."'' 10 August 2009. Retrieved 22 December 2016.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Laurimaa, Piret 1971 births Living people Estonian stage actresses Estonian film actresses Estonian television actresses 20th-century Estonian actresses 21st-century Estonian actresses People from Pärnu