Amelie "Malla" Höök (1811–1882) was a Swedish actress and courtesan. She was engaged at the

Royal Dramatic Theatre The Royal Dramatic Theatre (, colloquially ''Dramaten'') is Sweden's national stage for "spoken drama", founded in 1788. Around one thousand shows are put on annually on the theatre's five running stages. The theatre has been at its present lo ...

in Stockholm in 1828–1842, and also a well known courtesan. She is often mentioned in theater history for her friendship with Emilie Högqvist.

Life

Malla Höök's father is unknown. She was a student of the

Royal Swedish Ballet The Royal Swedish Ballet is one of the oldest ballet companies in Europe. Based in Stockholm, Sweden, Gustav III of Sweden, King Gustav III founded the ballet in 1773 as a part of his national cultural project in response to the French and Italian ...

in 1825–26, a member of the travelling Berggren theater in 1826–28, debuted at the Royal Dramatic theater in 1828, and was active there from 1829 until 1842. She was a personal friend of her colleague Emilie Högqvist, and often mentioned as such. As a stage artist, Malla Höök was described as a dutiful worker and a gifted

soubrette A soubrette is a female minor stock character in opera and theatre, often a pert lady's maid. By extension, the term can refer generally to any saucy or flirtatious young woman. The term arrived in English from Provençal via French, and means " ...

actress. She was however more famed as a courtesan, and was for several years the mistress of a noble diplomat. In 1842, she ended her career at the age of 31, had herself declared of

legal majority The age of majority is the threshold of legal adulthood as recognized or declared in law. It is the moment when a person ceases to be considered a minor, and assumes legal control over their person, actions, and decisions, thus terminating the ...

by royal petition (by the

Civil Code of 1734 The Civil Code of 1734 ( Swedish: ''1734 års lag''), was a code of law passed by the Swedish Riksdag of the Estates in 1734, and put in effect after it had been ratified by Frederick I of Sweden 23 January 1736. It became the foundation of the lat ...

, unmarried women were legal minors unless they petitioned for legal majority) and retired with a great fortune to a comfortable life with her own house in Stockholm and country villa outside

Drottningholm Drottningholm, literally "Queen's Islet", is a locality situated in Ekerö Municipality, Stockholm County, Sweden, with 398 inhabitants in 2010. It is on the island Lovön in lake Mälaren on the outskirts of Stockholm. Drottningholm Palace, ...

, which she eventually left to the official Ludvig Hegardt, who was likely her biological son.

References

* Ingeborg Nordin Hennel: ''Mod och Försakelse. Livs- och yrkesbetingelser för Konglig Theaterns skådespelerskor 1813-1863.'' Stockholm: Gidlunds (1997) .
Nordisk familjeboks månadskrönika / Andra årgången. 1939 /
* Fredrik August Dahlgren:
Förteckning öfver svenska skådespel uppförda på Stockholms theatrar 1737-1863 och Kongl. Theatrarnes personal 1773-1863. Med flera anteckningar
' p. 477 {{DEFAULTSORT:Hook, Malla 1811 births 1882 deaths 19th-century Swedish actresses Swedish stage actresses Swedish courtesans