Ülle Kaljuste (born Ülle Side; 10 April 1957) is an

Estonia Estonia, officially the Republic of Estonia, is a country in Northern Europe. It is bordered to the north by the Gulf of Finland across from Finland, to the west by the Baltic Sea across from Sweden, to the south by Latvia, and to the east by Ru ...

n stage, film, television and radio actress.

Early life

Born Ülle Side in Tallinn, she attended Tallinn Secondary School No. 2 (), graduating in 1975. Afterward, she attended the Tallinn State Conservatory of Performing Arts Department (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 ...

), under the instruction of Merle Karusoo and graduating in 1980. Graduating classmates included actors

Roman Baskin Roman Baskin (25 December 1954 – 13 September 2018) was an Estonian actor and director of stage and screen. His parents were Eino Baskin and Ita Ever. Baskin's credits as an actor included '' Lotte from Gadgetville'' (2006), '' 186 Kilometres' ...

, Guido Kangur, Arvo Kukumägi, Ain Lutsepp, Anne Veesaar, and Paul Poom.Eesti Teatri- ja Muusikamuuseum
''Lennud'' Retrieved 21 September 2018.

Stage career

Shortly after graduation, she began an engagement at the Vanalinnastuudio which lasted from 1980 until 1989. Since 1998, she has been a performer at the Estonian Drama Theatre in Tallinn. Among her more memorable international roles in theatre were in works by:

William Shakespeare William Shakespeare ( 23 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 ...

Eugene O'Neill Eugene Gladstone O'Neill (October 16, 1888 – November 27, 1953) was an American playwright. His poetically titled plays were among the first to introduce into the U.S. the drama techniques of Realism (theatre), realism, earlier associated with ...

Edward Albee Edward Franklin Albee III ( ; March 12, 1928 – September 16, 2016) was an American playwright known for works such as ''The Zoo Story'' (1958), ''The Sandbox (play), The Sandbox'' (1959), ''Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?'' (1962), ''A Delicat ...

Henrik Ibsen Henrik Johan Ibsen (; ; 20 March 1828 – 23 May 1906) was a Norwegian playwright, poet and actor. Ibsen is considered the world's pre-eminent dramatist of the 19th century and is often referred to as "the father of modern drama." He pioneered ...

Bertolt Brecht Eugen Berthold Friedrich Brecht (10 February 1898 – 14 August 1956), known as Bertolt Brecht and Bert Brecht, was a German theatre practitioner, playwright, and poet. Coming of age during the Weimar Republic, he had his first successes as a p ...

Anton Chekhov Anton Pavlovich Chekhov (; ; 29 January 1860 – 15 July 1904) was a Russian playwright and short-story writer, widely considered to be one of the greatest writers of all time. His career as a playwright produced four classics, and his b ...

Neil Simon Marvin Neil Simon (July 4, 1927 – August 26, 2018) was an American playwright, screenwriter and author. He wrote more than 30 plays and nearly the same number of movie screenplays, mostly film adaptations of his plays. He received three ...

Tennessee Williams Thomas Lanier Williams III (March 26, 1911 – February 25, 1983), known by his pen name Tennessee Williams, was an American playwright and screenwriter. Along with contemporaries Eugene O'Neill and Arthur Miller, he is considered among the three ...

and

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 ...

, among many others. Roles Estonian playwrights and authors include works by:

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 ...

, Paul-Eerik Rummo, Jaan Kross, Madis Kõiv and Hendrik Toompere.

Film and television

Ülle Kaljuste made her film debut in the 1981 Estonian television movie ''Onu Tik-Taki seiklused'', directed by Virve Koppel. In 1985, she made her screen debut in the 1985 musical comedy ''Savoy Ball'', directed by Ago-Endrik Kerge. In 1992 Kaljuste was cast in the role of Emma in the Mati Põldre-directed biographical drama '' Need vanad armastuskirjad'' which explored the life of Raimond Valgre, an Estonian composer of the 1930s and the 1940s. In 1990, she played the title role in the Aimée Beekman and

Vladimir Beekman Vladimir Beekman (23 August 1929 – 3 October 2009) was an Estonian writer, poet and translator. Early life and education After completing his primary education, he attended the Tallinn University of Technology and graduated in 1953 with a degre ...

penned and Kaljo Kiisk directed feature film drama '' Regina'' for

Tallinnfilm Tallinnfilm () is the oldest surviving film studio in Estonia. It was founded as Estonian Culture Film in 1931, and was nationalized in 1940 after Estonia was integrated into the Soviet Union. During the first year of Soviet occcupation (1940 ...

. She would go one to appear in numerous films and television series. From 2006 until 2009 she appeared on the Kanal 2 television series '' Kelgukoerad'' as the character Signe.

Personal life

In 1980, she married conductor Tõnu Kaljuste; the couple later divorced. She currently resides in Tallinn and Laulasmaa.

Awards

*1986 annual award of the Estonian Theatre Association *1996 Best Actress Award of 1993 ('' Hedda Gabler'') *1996 Best Supporting Actress for Estonian Film Week, Pärnu (''Noorelt õpitud'' and ''Need vanad armastuskirjad'') *2000 Little Ants, Estonian Drama Theatre Prize *2001 2001 Drama Festival (role of Judith, ''Aristocrats'') *2002 Big Ants, Estonian Drama Theatre Prize *2005 Big Ants, Estonian Drama Theatre Prize *2006 Estonian Theatre Award *2008 Big Ants, Estonian Drama Theatre Prize *2009 Radio Theatre Actor Award *2011

Order of the White Star The Order of the White Star (; ) was instituted in 1936. The Order of the White Star is bestowed on Estonian citizens and foreigners to give recognition for services rendered to the Estonian state. Design Classes The Order of the White Star ...

, IV Class *2011 Little Ants, Estonian Drama Theatre PrizeEesti Draamateater
Retrieved 21 November 2016.

Selected filmography

*'' Äratus'' (''Awakening'', 1989) *'' Need vanad armastuskirjad'' (''Those Old Love Letters'', 1992) *'' Vana daami visiit'' (''The Visit of the Old Lady'', 2006) * '' Ruudi'' (2006) *'' Idioot'' (''The Idiot'', 2011) *'' Surnuaiavahi tütar'' (''Graveyard Keeper's Daughter'', 2011) *'' Goodbye Soviet Union'' (2020)

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Kaljuste, Ulle 1957 births Living people Estonian stage actresses Estonian film actresses Estonian television actresses Estonian radio actresses Actresses from Tallinn Estonian Academy of Music and Theatre alumni 20th-century Estonian actresses 21st-century Estonian actresses Recipients of the Order of the White Star, 4th Class