Thecla Ottilia Åhlander (3 June 1855 – 8 April 1925) was a Swedish stage and film actress whose career began on the stage in the late 19th century and lasted through the early 1920s.

Early life and stage career

Thecla Åhlander was born in

Norrköping Norrköping ( , ) is a city in the province of Östergötland in eastern Sweden and the seat of Norrköping Municipality, Östergötland County, about 160 km southwest of the national capital Stockholm, 40 km east of county seat Lin ...

and initially studied drama as pupil of Frans Hedberg in 1872. She continued her studies at the Royal Dramatic Theatre School from 1874 to 1877. She made her stage debut at the Royal Dramatic Theatre in 1877 in a play titled ''Ett namn''. She was engaged at the theatre until 1922 and from 1908 to 1915 was also a drama teacher at the theatre. Åhlander became one of Scandinavia's premier stage actresses, appearing in roles by

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 ...

Bjørnstjerne Bjørnson Bjørnstjerne Martinius Bjørnson ( , ; 8 December 1832 – 26 April 1910) was a Norwegian writer who received the 1903 Nobel Prize in Literature "as a tribute to his noble, magnificent and versatile poetry, which has always been distinguished ...

Ludvig Holberg Ludvig Holberg, Baron of Holberg (3 December 1684 – 28 January 1754) was a writer, essayist, philosopher, historian and playwright born in Bergen, Norway, during the time of the Denmark–Norway, Dano–Norwegian dual monarchy. He was infl ...

, August Blanche, Axel Emil Betzonich, amongst others. She became the theatre's premier actress in 1888 and received the

Litteris et Artibus Litteris et Artibus is a Swedish royal medal established in 1853 by Charles XV of Sweden, who was then crown prince. It is awarded to people who have made important contributions to culture, especially music, dramatic art and literature. The ob ...

in 1891.Projekt Runeberg
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Film career

Åhlander also appeared in three Swedish

silent film A silent film is a film without synchronized recorded sound (or more generally, no audible dialogue). Though silent films convey narrative and emotion visually, various plot elements (such as a setting or era) or key lines of dialogue may, w ...

s in the early 1920s; Gunnar Klintberg's 1921 ''Elisabet'',

Mauritz Stiller Mauritz Stiller (born Moshe Stiller, 17 July 1883 – 8 November 1928) was a Finnish film director of Jewish origin, best known for discovering Greta Garbo and bringing her to America. Stiller was a pioneer of the Swedish film industry, writing ...

's 1923 '' Gunnar Hedes saga'' and

Victor Sjöström Victor David Sjöström (; 20 September 1879 – 3 January 1960), also known in the United States as Victor Seastrom, was a pioneering Swedish film director, screenwriter, and actor. He began his career in Sweden, before moving to Hollywood, ...

's 1923 ''The Hell Ship'' ( Swedish: ''Eld ombord'').

References

External links

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Svenska Filminstitutet''Idun'', 7 April, 1893
1855 births 1925 deaths Actors from Norrköping Swedish stage actresses Swedish film actresses Swedish silent film actresses 19th-century Swedish actresses 20th-century Swedish actresses Litteris et Artibus recipients Actresses from Östergötland County {{Sweden-stage-actor-stub