Wenche Elena Riosianu Medbøe (born July 3, 1940) is a

Norwegian Norwegian, Norwayan, or Norsk may refer to: *Something of, from, or related to Norway, a country in northwestern Europe * Norwegians, both a nation and an ethnic group native to Norway * Demographics of Norway *The Norwegian language, including ...

actress.

Family

Medbøe was born in

Oslo Oslo ( , , or ; sma, Oslove) is the capital and most populous city of Norway. It constitutes both a county and a municipality. The municipality of Oslo had a population of in 2022, while the city's greater urban area had a population ...

, the daughter of the public relations officer Odd Medbøe (1914–1989) and Ecaterina (Katja) Medbøe (née Riosianu) (1911–2011). She is the sister of the actress

Katja Medbøe Katja Maria Riosianu Medbøe (3 December 1945 – c. 13 November 1996) was a Norway, Norwegian actress. She graduated from the Norwegian National Academy of Theatre in 1968, and acted both at Den Nationale Scene and at the Nationalthea ...

. She married the physician

Erik Thorsby Erik Stein Thorsby (July 13, 1938 – March 23, 2021) was a Norwegian physician and professor at the University of Oslo and Oslo University Hospital. He carried out research in immunology, specializing in transplant immunology. Career Thorsby s ...

in 1961 (divorced 1965), and she is the mother of the visual artists Anne Kristine Thorsby and Katerina Medbøe Eriksen, and the chief physician Per Medbøe Thorsby.

Career

Medbøe studied at the

Oslo National Academy of the Arts The Oslo National Academy of the Arts ( no, Kunsthøgskolen i Oslo, ''KHiO'') is a university college in Oslo, Norway, that provides education in visual arts, design and performing arts. It is one of two public institutes of higher learning in ...

from 1959 to 1963 and began her career at

NRK NRK, an abbreviation of the Norwegian ''Norsk Rikskringkasting AS'', generally expressed in English as the Norwegian Broadcasting Corporation, is the Norwegian government-owned radio and television public broadcasting company, and the largest ...

's Television Theater, where she worked from 1963 to 1965. There her roles included Minne in Arild Brinchmann's production of

Leck Fischer Otto Peter Leck Fischer (March 26, 1904 – June 17, 1956) was a Danish writer and playwright. He was the brother of the politician Viggo Kampmann. Fischer was a socially conscious writer that portrayed the modern urban man with a sad, gray ever ...

's ''Frisøndag'' (1961), Borghild in

Cora Sandel Sara Cecilia Görvell Fabricius (20 December 1880 – 3 April 1974), better known by her pen name Cora Sandel, was a Norwegian writer and painter who lived most of her adult life abroad. Her best-known works are the novels now known as the ''Alb ...

's ''Kranes konditori'' (1963), and Ariel in

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 ...

's '' The Tempest'' (Norwegian title: ''Stormen'', 1964). She was engaged at the Norwegian Theater from 1969 to 2010. In her early years at the Norwegian Theater, her roles included Electra in ''

Oresteia The ''Oresteia'' ( grc, Ὀρέστεια) is a trilogy of Greek tragedies written by Aeschylus in the 5th century BCE, concerning the murder of Agamemnon by Clytemnestra, the murder of Clytemnestra by Orestes, the trial of Orestes, the end o ...

'' (1970), Thea Elvsted in Henrik Ibsen's ''

Hedda Gabler ''Hedda Gabler'' () is a play written by Norwegian playwright Henrik Ibsen. The world premiere was staged on 31 January 1891 at the Residenztheater in Munich. Ibsen himself was in attendance, although he remained back-stage. The play has been ca ...

'' (1971), Gerd in Ibsen's ''

Brand A brand is a name, term, design, symbol or any other feature that distinguishes one seller's good or service from those of other sellers. Brands are used in business, marketing, and advertising for recognition and, importantly, to create ...

'' (1973), Nina in Anton Chekhov's ''

The Seagull ''The Seagull'' ( rus, Ча́йка, r=Cháyka, links=no) is a play by Russian dramatist Anton Chekhov, written in 1895 and first produced in 1896. ''The Seagull'' is generally considered to be the first of his four major plays. It dramatises th ...

'' (1974), the title role in

Jean Giraudoux Hippolyte Jean Giraudoux (; 29 October 1882 – 31 January 1944) was a French novelist, essayist, diplomat and playwright. He is considered among the most important French dramatists of the period between World War I and World War II. His wo ...

's '' Ondine'', Siri von Essen in

Per Olov Enquist Per Olov Enquist, also known as P. O. Enquist, (23 September 1934 – 25 April 2020) was a Swedish author. He had worked as a journalist, playwright and novelist. Biography Enquist was born and raised in , a village in present-day Skellef ...

's ''Tribadernas natt'' (1976), and the title role in

August Strindberg Johan August Strindberg (, ; 22 January 184914 May 1912) was a Swedish playwright, novelist, poet, essayist and painter.Lane (1998), 1040. A prolific writer who often drew directly on his personal experience, Strindberg wrote more than sixty p ...

's ''

Miss Julie ''Miss Julie'' ( sv, Fröken Julie) is a naturalistic play written in 1888 by August Strindberg. It is set on Midsummer's Eve and the following morning, which is Midsummer and the Feast Day of St. John the Baptist. The setting is an estate of ...

'' (1978). Her later roles included the mother in ''The Mother of David S.'' by Yvonne Keuls (1990) and Greta in ''Tiden är vårt hem'' by

Lars Norén Lars Göran Ingemar Norén (9 April 1944 – 26 January 2021) was a Swedish playwright, novelist and poet. His plays are realistic and often revolve around family and personal relations, either among people who are impoverished and rooted at th ...

(1995). In 2005, she played Mor Åse in Robert Wilson's production of '' Peer Gynt'', a performance that received the

Hedda Award The Hedda Award (''Heddaprisen'') is a Norwegian theatre award, first presented in 1998. It is named after the character "Hedda" from Ibsen's play ''Hedda Gabler''. Among its categories, which have varied over the years, are: Best Theatre Producti ...

in the production of the year category. In 2010, after 41 years at the Norwegian Theater, she gave her farewell performance in ''Oscar og den rosa dama''. She co-founded the Fairy Tale Theater Hour (''Eventyrforteljeteaterstund'') at the Norwegian Theater in 1999, which was nominated for the Hedda Award in 2013. In 2017, she returned to the Norwegian Theater to play a psychologist and researcher in ''Overføring''.

Filmography

*1961: '' Line'' as Veslemøy *1961: ''Frisøndag'' (TV movie) as Minne, a young woman *1961: ''

Et øye på hver finger ''Et øye på hver finger'' (Keep Your Eyes Peeled) is a Norwegian comedy film from 1961 directed by Nils-Reinhardt Christensen. He also wrote the script for the film based on Ingeborg Storm's novel of the same name. The film stars Georg Løkkebe ...

'' as Kari *1963:'' Kranes konditori'' (TV movie) as Borghild Stordal *1963: ''Læraren'' (TV movie) as Evelinde *1964: ''Stormen'' (TV movie) as Ariel *1964: ''Bernardas hus'' (TV movie) as Adela *1965: ''Det angår ikke oss'' (TV movie) *1965: ''Smeltedigelen'' (TV movie) as Susanna Walcott *1966: ''

Reisen til havet ''Journey to the Sea'' ( no, Reisen til havet) is a Norway, Norwegian drama film from 1966 directed by Arne Skouen, who was also the screenwriter. Skouen's daughter Synne Skouen played Pinne, a teenage girl wanted by the authorities. Plot The tru ...

'' as the curator *1969: ''

Taxi A taxi, also known as a taxicab or simply a cab, is a type of vehicle for hire with a driver, used by a single passenger or small group of passengers, often for a non-shared ride. A taxicab conveys passengers between locations of their choic ...

'' (TV miniseries) as Vibeke *1976: '' Nitimemordet'' (TV miniseries) as Monica Søderstrøm *1978: ''

Operasjon Cobra ''Operasjon Cobra'' (Operation Cobra) is a Norwegian thriller film from 1978 directed by Ola Solum. The film is about a Norwegian family living in Fornebu who are held captive in their own home by terrorists. The goal is to have a base near where ...

'' as Fredrik's mother *1980: '' Arme, syndige menneske'' as a nurse *1995: ''

Kristin Lavransdatter ''Kristin Lavransdatter'' is a trilogy of historical novels written by Nobel Prize, Nobel laureate Sigrid Undset. The individual novels are ''Kransen'' (''The Wreath''), first published in 1920, ''Husfrue'' (''The Wife''), published in 1921, and ...

'' as Gunnhild *2007: ''Hva skjer 'a Jonatan'' as Marie *2013: ''

Hotel Cæsar ''Hotel Cæsar'' is a Norwegian soap opera that aired on TV 2 from 24 October 1998 until 14 December 2017. From the start in 1998, the show was broadcast Monday to Friday, except during the autumn of 2006, where the show was broadcast Monday t ...

'' (TV series) as Sister Maria *2018: ''Rekyl'' (TV miniseries) as a nun

References

External links

*
Wenche Medbøe
at Filmfront {{DEFAULTSORT:Medboe, Wenche 1940 births Living people 20th-century Norwegian actresses Actresses from Oslo