Steinunn Ólína Þorsteinsdóttir (born 2 July 1969) is an

Iceland Iceland is a Nordic countries, Nordic island country between the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic and Arctic Oceans, on the Mid-Atlantic Ridge between North America and Europe. It is culturally and politically linked with Europe and is the regi ...

ic actress, TV show host, producer and writer.

Biography

Early life

Ólína grew up in Reykjavík with her mother, actress Bríet Héðinsdóttir, and her father Þorsteinn Þorsteinsson, a writer and translator of dramatic literature. She first found fame with a starring stage role at the age of fifteen. At seventeen, she moved to

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

to study drama at the

Drama Centre London Drama Centre London (often abbreviated as Drama Centre) was a British drama school in Kings Cross, London, King's Cross, London, where it moved in 2011 after a major reshaping of the University of the Arts London. It was part of Central Saint ...

, from which she graduated in 1990. She subsequently moved back to Iceland to re-launch a career on the stage and television as a mature artist, making her debut at the National Theatre of Iceland in the role of Solveig in

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 ...

's ''

Peer Gynt ''Peer Gynt'' (, ) is a five-Act (drama), act play in verse written in 1867 by the Norwegian dramatist Henrik Ibsen. It is one of Ibsen's best known and most widely performed plays. ''Peer Gynt'' chronicles the journey of its title character fr ...

''.

National Theatre and elsewhere

Eventually, Ólína was hired as a contracted star player at the National Theatre of Iceland, where she spent the next fourteen years appearing in over 50 productions and portraying a range of leading characters in contemporary and classical plays. Her many significant roles at the National included

Eliza Doolittle Eliza Doolittle is a fictional character and the protagonist in George Bernard Shaw's play '' Pygmalion'' (1913) and its 1956 musical adaptation, ''My Fair Lady''. Eliza (from Lisson Grove, London) is a Cockney flower seller, who comes to Prof ...

in ''

My Fair Lady ''My Fair Lady'' is a musical theatre, musical with a book and lyrics by Alan Jay Lerner and music by Frederick Loewe. The story, based on George Bernard Shaw's 1913 play ''Pygmalion (play), Pygmalion'' and on the Pygmalion (1938 film), 1938 film ...

'' by

Lerner and Loewe Lerner and Loewe is the partnership between lyricist and librettist Alan Jay Lerner and composer Frederick Loewe. Spanning three decades and nine musicals from 1942 to 1960 and again from 1970 to 1972, the pair are known for being behind the cr ...

and Hodel in

Fiddler on the Roof ''Fiddler on the Roof'' is a musical theatre, musical with music by Jerry Bock, lyrics by Sheldon Harnick, and musical theatre#Book musicals, book by Joseph Stein, set in the Pale of Settlement of Russian Empire, Imperial Russia in or around 19 ...

. She also contributed to several stage productions of comedy and farce, such as

Ray Cooney Raymond George Alfred Cooney Order of the British Empire, OBE (born 30 May 1932) is an English playwright, actor, and director. His biggest success, ''Run for Your Wife (play), Run for Your Wife'' (1983), ran for nine years in London's West E ...

's ''Two for One'' and in

Michael Frayn Michael Frayn, FRSL (; born 8 September 1933) is an English playwright and novelist. He is best known as the author of the farce ''Noises Off'' and the dramas ''Copenhagen (play), Copenhagen'' and ''Democracy (play), Democracy''. Frayn's novel ...

's '' Noises Off'' as the misfortunate actress Dotty Otley. She has interpreted many classical characters such as Irena, in

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 ...

's '' Three Sisters'', Aglaja in a dramatization of ''

The Idiot ''The Idiot'' (Reforms of Russian orthography, pre-reform Russian: ; post-reform ) is a novel by the 19th-century Russian author Fyodor Dostoevsky. It was first published serially in the journal ''The Russian Messenger'' in 1868–1869. The titl ...

'' by Dostoyevsky and Queen Margaret in

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 natio ...

's ''

Richard III Richard III (2 October 1452 – 22 August 1485) was King of England from 26 June 1483 until his death in 1485. He was the last king of the Plantagenet dynasty and its cadet branch the House of York. His defeat and death at the Battle of Boswor ...

'' for which she garnered the prestigious “Grima awards” (The Mask) in 2004. Ólína has been featured in numerous high-profile stage productions with several different acting companies, tackling leading roles in plays by masters of the absurd such as in

Eugène Ionesco Eugène Ionesco (; ; born Eugen Ionescu, ; 26 November 1909 – 28 March 1994) was a Romanian-French playwright who wrote mostly in French, and was one of the foremost figures of the French avant-garde theatre#Avant-garde, French avant-garde th ...

's '' The Lesson'', her portrayal of Roxie Hart in ''

Chicago Chicago is the List of municipalities in Illinois, most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. With a population of 2,746,388, as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of Unite ...

'' by

Kander and Ebb Kander and Ebb were a highly successful American songwriting team consisting of composer John Kander (born March 18, 1927) and lyricist Fred Ebb (April 8, 1928 – September 11, 2004). Known primarily for their stage musical theatre, musicals, whi ...

as a guest star with the Reykjavík Theatre Ensemble.

Television and film work

Ólína produced, wrote, directed and hosted her own live talk show, ''Over My Dead Body with Steinunn Ólína'', on the Icelandic State Broadcasting Television Channel 1. She has also contributed to other television shows as a comedian and writer, such as the RUV-TV's "New Year's Eve Comedy Hour Variety Show", the most preeminent annual event on national television in Iceland, to which she has rendered her services on several occasions. Ólína has also appeared in a handful of television plays, sitcoms and feature films, including '' Beowulf & Grendel'' in 2005. In 2019, she appeared in the Icelandic drama film ''Eden''.

Personal life

She became a novelist with the publishing of her semi-autobiographical novella ''Parental Guidance'', which was a number one bestseller in Iceland in 2006. In 2004, she moved to the United States and where she resided in

Los Angeles Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...

with her husband Stefán Karl Stefánsson and four children. Her husband died on 21 August 2018.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Thorsteinsdóttir, Steinunn Olina Steinunn Olina Thorsteinsdóttir Steinunn Olina Thorsteinsdóttir Steinunn Olina Thorsteinsdóttir Steinunn Olina Thorsteinsdóttir Steinunn Olina Thorsteinsdóttir Steinunn Olina Thorsteinsdóttir Living people 1969 births Steinunn Olina Thorsteinsdóttir Steinunn Olina Thorsteinsdóttir Steinunn Olina Thorsteinsdóttir Steinunn Olina Thorsteinsdóttir