Laine Mägi (born Laine Mihelson-Adamson; 3 February 1959) 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 and television actress, dancer and choreographer and dance pedagogue who began her career as a teenager. She is the founder of the Laine Mägi School of Dance, based 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 of ...

Early life

Laine Mihelson-Adamson was born in

Kehra Kehra is a town in Anija Parish, Harju County, Estonia, best known for its Kehra pulp and paper mill, pulp and paper mill. The town stands on the banks of the Jägala (river), Jägala River, and it has a station on the Tallinn–Narva railway. A ...

to Peeter and Elli-Anniki Mihelson-Adamson (née Pennie). She has one brother, who is two years younger. Her first cousin is the actress Terje Pennie-Kolberg. She became interested in ballet at an early age and began taking lessons at the Tallinn Ballet School at age nine, taking the train from Kehra to

Tallinn Tallinn is the capital city, capital and List of cities in Estonia, most populous city of Estonia. Situated on a Tallinn Bay, bay in north Estonia, on the shore of the Gulf of Finland of the Baltic Sea, it has a population of (as of 2025) and ...

. She made her debut at the Estonia Theatre at the age of ten in a stage production of

Astrid Lindgren Astrid Anna Emilia Lindgren (; ; 14 November 1907 – 28 January 2002) was a Swedish writer of fiction and screenplays. She is best known for several children's book series, featuring Pippi Longstocking, Emil i Lönneberga, Emil of Lönneberga, ...

's ''

Pippi Longstocking Pippi Longstocking () is the fictional main character in a series of children's books by Swedish author Astrid Lindgren. Pippi was named by Lindgren's daughter Karin, who asked her mother for a get-well story when she was off school. Pippi is ...

''. She later had to abandon ballet classes in 1973 due to poor health. From 1976 until 1981, she performed as a dancer in various venues throughout Tallinn. She attended secondary school in Tallinn, graduating in 1977, then enrolling in the Tallinn State Conservatory (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 ...

) to study acting under the instruction of Aarne Üksküla, graduating in 1982. Among her graduating classmates were

Margus Oopkaup Margus Oopkaup (11 March 1959 – 6 January 2025) was an Estonian stage, film and television actor and playwright who was engaged at the Endla Theatre from 1982 to 2000. In 1983, he was awarded the Best Young Actor award for his performance in ...

, Jaan Rekkor, Anu Lamp, Sulev Teppart, Andrus Vaarik, and Viire Valdma.

Stage career

In 1982, shortly after graduation from the Tallinn State Conservatory, she began an engagement at the Endla Theatre in

that would last until 1999. She made her stage debut in the role of Susan at the Endla in a production of

Stephen Poliakoff Stephen Poliakoff (born 1 December 1952) is a British playwright, Film director, director and screenwriter. In 2006 Gerard Gilbert of ''The Independent'' described him as the UK's "pre-eminent TV dramatist" and that he had "inherited Dennis Po ...

's ''City Sugar'' in 1982. Other notable roles at the Endla have been in works by:

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 60 pla ...

Selma Lagerlöf Selma Ottilia Lovisa Lagerlöf (, , ; 20 November 1858 – 16 March 1940) was a Swedish writer. She published her first novel, ''Gösta Berling's Saga'', at the age of 33. She was the first woman to win the Nobel Prize in Literature, which she was ...

Oskar Luts Oskar Luts ( – 23 March 1953) was an Estonian writer and playwright. Biography Oskar Luts was born into a middle-class family in Järvepera, central Estonia, at that time in the governorate of Livonia (Russian Empire). His younger brother was ...

Alexandre Dumas Alexandre Dumas (born Alexandre Dumas Davy de la Pailleterie, 24 July 1802 – 5 December 1870), also known as Alexandre Dumas , was a French novelist and playwright. His works have been translated into many languages and he is one of the mos ...

Jean-Paul Sartre Jean-Paul Charles Aymard Sartre (, ; ; 21 June 1905 – 15 April 1980) was a French philosopher, playwright, novelist, screenwriter, political activist, biographer, and literary criticism, literary critic, considered a leading figure in 20th ...

and

Brian Friel Brian Patrick Friel (c. 9 January 1929 – 2 October 2015) was an Irish dramatist, short story writer and founder of the Field Day Theatre Company. He had been considered one of the greatest living English-language dramatists. (subscription requ ...

. Since 1999, she has been engaged as an actress and choreographer at the

Estonian Drama Theatre The Estonian Drama Theatre () is a theatre in Tallinn, Estonia. It has the role of a national theatre for Estonia. The Estonia Theatre is located next door. History The building that houses the Estonian Drama Theatre was originally built for the ...

in Tallinn. Prominent roles as an actress at the Estonian Drama Theatre have been 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 ...

, A. H. Tammsaare, Enn Vetemaa, Madis Kõiv, Oskar Luts, Peter Shaffer,

Juan Rulfo Juan Nepomuceno Carlos Pérez Rulfo Vizcaíno, best known as Juan Rulfo (; 16 May 1917 – 7 January 1986), was a Mexican writer, screenwriter, and photographer. He is best known for two literary works, the 1955 novel ''Pedro Páramo'', and the ...

and Jane Bowles. She has also appeared in stage productions at the R.A.A.A.M. theatre and the

Vanalinnastuudio Vanalinnastuudio (literally 'Old Town Studio') was a theatre in Tallinn, 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 b ...

in Tallinn, as well as smaller theatres throughout Estonia.

Dance

Since 1982, Mägi has been teaching dance; initially with a small number of students. In 1989, Mägi founded the dance troupe Lancy. In 1996, she founded the Laine Mägi Dance School (''Laine Mägi Tantsukool'') where she acts as an instructor. Based in Pärnu, the school grew to over three hundred students and another school was opened in Tallinn. Since 1993, she has been a faculty member at the Estonian Drama Theatre's school of dance and choreography and an associate professor at the school since 1998. Mägi has also worked as a choreographer for stage productions at the Endla Theatre, Estonian Drama Theatre, Vanalinnastuudio,

Vanemuine Vanemuine () is a theatre in Tartu, Estonia. It is the first Estonian language, Estonian-language theatre. Stemming from the Vanemuine Society (1865), the theatre's first performance was Lydia Koidula's ''Saaremaa Onupoeg'' ("The cousin from S ...

Ugala Ugala is a theatre in Viljandi, Estonia. The theatre was founded in 1920 opening on January 10 of that year. The first production was Oscar Wilde's "Salome (play), Salome". Ugala's Artistic Directors *1925 - 1926: Andres Särev *1926 – 1928 ...

and smaller theatres.

Film and television

Laine Mägi made her television film debut as Miili in the 1987 Peeter Simm directed historical drama '' Tants aurukatla ümber'', based on the 1971 novel of the same name by Estonian author Mats Traat. This was followed by the role of Mimi in the Peeter Urbla directed drama ''Ma pole turist, ma elan siin'' in 1989; the role of Lagle in the 1991

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' ...

directed drama '' Rahu tänav''; and in the Rao Heidmets directed comedy ''Kallis härra Q'' in 1998. Some of Mägi's more prominent film roles were in

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 was CEO of Estonian Television from 2002 to 2005. He is a well known ...

's 2007 film '' Klass'' as Laine, the teacher, which explores school bullying and violence; and a starring role as Anne in Ilmar Raag's 2012 drama '' Eestlanna Pariisis'' ( French: ''Une Estonienne à Paris''), which paired Mägi opposite French actress

Jeanne Moreau Jeanne Moreau (; 23 January 1928 – 31 July 2017) was a French actress, singer, screenwriter, director, and socialite. She made her theatrical debut in 1947, and established herself as one of the leading actresses of the Comédie-Française. Mo ...

. Mägi's performance in ''Une Estonienne à Paris'' garnered her a Best Actress award at the 2012 Le Festival International des Jeunes Réalisateurs de Saint-Jean-de-Luz. Some of her more notable television appearances have been the recurring role of Eve in the popular

ETV ETV may stand for: Television * Educational television, the use of television in education * Enhanced TV, an interactive television application specification Africa * e.tv, South Africa * ETV (Ethiopia), Ethiopian Broadcasting Corporation * ETV G ...

dramatic series ''

Õnne 13 Õnne 13 is an Estonian dramatic TV series that airs on ETV. The series first aired on 30 October 1993 and was written by Astrid Reinla and as of 1996 by Teet Kallas. Rainer Kerge. Vabandage, proua, kas see maja on Õnne tänav 13?'. Õhtule ...

'' in 2003; as Sirje Kadak in the historical comedy ''ENSV'', which reflects on life during the 1980s in the

Estonian Soviet Socialist Republic The Estonian Soviet Socialist Republic, (abbreviated Estonian SSR, Soviet Estonia, or simply Estonia ) was an administrative subunit (Republics of the Soviet Union, union republic) of the former Soviet Union (USSR), covering the Occupation o ...

; and as Helve in the 2015 Kanal 2 drama series ''Restart''.

Personal life

Laine Mägi was married to musician and actor Tõnis Mägi from 1980 until they divorced in 1988; they have one daughter, Liis-Katrin, born in 1983, who is married to actor Märt Avandi. She is a grandmother.

Acknowledgments

*Estonian Theatre Award (2000) *2000 Helmi Tohvelmann award (2000) *Pärnu Women's award (2000) *Väike Ants, Estonian Drama Theatre Prize (2008) *

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 ...

, Class IV (2012) *Le Festival International des Jeunes Réalisateurs de Saint-Jean-de-Luz Best Actress Award (2012) *Foreign Ministry of Culture award (2012) *Cultural Endowment of Estonia (2012) *Pärnu Coat of Arms (2012) *Väike Ants, Estonian Drama Theatre Prize (2014) *Order of Merit of Pärnu (2022)Eest Draamateater
Retrieved 2 December 2016.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Magi, Laine 1959 births Living people Estonian film actresses Estonian stage actresses Estonian television actresses Estonian female dancers Estonian choreographers Estonian women choreographers People from Kehra Estonian Academy of Music and Theatre alumni Recipients of the Order of the White Star, 4th Class 20th-century Estonian actresses 21st-century Estonian actresses