Wenche Elena Riosianu Medbøe (born July 3, 1940) is a Norwegian actress.

Family

Medbøe was born in

Oslo Oslo ( or ; ) is the capital and most populous city of Norway. It constitutes both a county and a municipality. The municipality of Oslo had a population of in 2022, while the city's greater urban area had a population of 1,064,235 in 2022 ...

, the daughter of the public relations officer Odd Medbøe (1914–1989) and Ecaterina (Katja) Medbøe (née Riosianu) (1911–2011). She is the sister of the actress

Katja Medbøe Katja Maria Riosianu Medbøe (3 December 1945 – c. 13 November 1996) was a Norwegian actress. She graduated from the Norwegian National Academy of Theatre in 1968, and acted both at Den Nationale Scene and at the National Theatre. ...

. She married the physician

Erik Thorsby Erik Stein Thorsby (13 July 1938 – 23 March 2021) was a Norwegian physician and professor at the University of Oslo and Oslo University Hospital. He carried out research in immunology, specializing in transplant immunology. Career Thorsby stud ...

in 1961 (divorced 1965), and she is the mother of the visual artists Anne Kristine Thorsby and Katerina Medbøe Eriksen, and the chief physician Per Medbøe Thorsby.

Career

Medbøe studied at the

Oslo National Academy of the Arts The Oslo National Academy of the Arts (, ''KHiO'') is a tertiary institution in Oslo, Norway, that provides education in visual arts, design and performing arts. It is one of two public institutes of higher learning in Norway that teaches in v ...

from 1959 to 1963 and began her career at

NRK The Norwegian Broadcasting Corporation (), commonly known by its initialism NRK, is a Norwegian state-run, government-influenced radio and television public broadcasting company. The NRK broadcasts three national TV channels and thirteen nat ...

's Television Theater, where she worked from 1963 to 1965. There her roles included Minne in

Arild Brinchmann Arild Brinchmann (31 January 1922 – 9 October 1986) was a Norwegian stage producer, film producer and theatre director. He was born in Kristiania son of psychologist and writer Alex Brinchmann. He produced the films '' Blodveien'' (1955), ...

's production of

Leck Fischer Otto Peter Leck Fischer (March 26, 1904 – June 17, 1956) was a Danish writer and playwright. He was the brother of the politician Viggo Kampmann. Fischer was a socially conscious writer that portrayed the modern urban man with a sad, gray ever ...

's ''Frisøndag'' (1961), Borghild in

Cora Sandel Sara Cecilia Görvell Fabricius (20 December 1880 – 3 April 1974), better known by her pen name Cora Sandel, was a Norwegian writer and painter who lived most of her adult life abroad. Her best-known works are the novels now known as the ''Alber ...

's ''Kranes konditori'' (1963), and Ariel in

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 ...

's ''

The Tempest ''The Tempest'' is a Shakespeare's plays, play by William Shakespeare, probably written in 1610–1611, and thought to be one of the last plays that he wrote alone. After the first scene, which takes place on a ship at sea during a tempest, th ...

'' (Norwegian title: ''Stormen'', 1964). She was engaged at the Norwegian Theater from 1969 to 2010. In her early years at the Norwegian Theater, her roles included

Electra Electra, also spelt Elektra (; ; ), is one of the most popular Greek mythology, mythological characters in tragedies.Evans (1970), p. 79 She is the main character in two Greek tragedies, ''Electra (Sophocles play), Electra'' by Sophocles and ''Ele ...

in ''

Oresteia The ''Oresteia'' () is a trilogy of Greek tragedies written by Aeschylus in the 5th century BC, concerning the murder of Agamemnon by Clytemnestra, the murder of Clytemnestra by Orestes, the trial of Orestes, the end of the curse on the House ...

'' (1970), Thea Elvsted 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 ''

Hedda Gabler ''Hedda Gabler'' () is a play written by Norwegian playwright Henrik Ibsen. The world premiere was staged on 31 January 1891 at the Residenztheater in Munich. Ibsen himself was in attendance, although he remained back-stage.Meyer, Michael Lever ...

'' (1971), Gerd in Ibsen's ''

Brand A brand is a name, term, design, symbol or any other feature that distinguishes one seller's goods or service from those of other sellers. Brands are used in business, marketing, and advertising for recognition and, importantly, to create and ...

'' (1973), Nina in

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 ...

's ''

The Seagull ''The Seagull'' () is a play by Russian dramatist Anton Chekhov, written in 1895 in literature, 1895 and first produced in 1896 in literature#Drama, 1896. ''The Seagull'' is generally considered to be the first of his four major plays. It dramati ...

'' (1974), the title role in

Jean Giraudoux Hippolyte Jean Giraudoux (; ; 29 October 1882 – 31 January 1944) was a French novelist, essayist, diplomat and playwright. He is considered among the most important French dramatists of the period between World War I and World War II. His wo ...

's ''

Ondine Ondine is a variation of undine, the category of elemental beings associated with water Ondine may also refer to: Literature * ''Ondine'' (novel), a novel by Shannon Drake (1988) * ''Ondine'' (play), a play by Jean Giraudoux (1938) * ''Ondine ...

'', Siri von Essen in

Per Olov Enquist Per Olov Enquist, also known as P. O. Enquist, (23 September 1934 – 25 April 2020) was a Swedish author. He had worked as a journalist, playwright and novelist. Biography Enquist was born and raised in Hjoggböle, a village in present ...

's ''Tribadernas natt'' (1976), and the title role in

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 ...

's ''

Miss Julie ''Miss Julie'' () is a naturalistic play written in 1888 by August Strindberg. It is set on Midsummer's Eve and the following morning, which is Midsummer and the Feast Day of St. John the Baptist. The setting is an estate of a count in Sweden. ...

'' (1978). Her later roles included the mother in ''The Mother of David S.'' by

Yvonne Keuls Yvonne Keuls ( Batavia (Jakarta), December 17, 1931) is a Dutch Indo writer. She writes novels about social problems, as well as about herself and her family. Her writing style is realistic and sometimes humorous. Her work has received several a ...

(1990) and Greta in ''Tiden är vårt hem'' by

Lars Norén Lars Göran Ingemar Norén (9 April 1944 – 26 January 2021) was a Swedish playwright, novelist and poet. He was a director at the Royal Dramatic Theatre, artistic director of Riksteatern 1999–2007, and artistic director of Folkteatern in Go ...

(1995). In 2005, she played Mor Åse in Robert Wilson's production of ''

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 ...

'', a performance that received the

Hedda Award The Hedda Award (''Heddaprisen'') is a Norwegian theatre award, first presented in 1998. It is named after the character "Hedda" from Henrik Ibsen, Ibsen's play ''Hedda Gabler''. Among its categories, which have varied over the years, are: Best Th ...

in the production of the year category. In 2010, after 41 years at the Norwegian Theater, she gave her farewell performance in ''Oscar og den rosa dama''. She co-founded the Fairy Tale Theater Hour (''Eventyrforteljeteaterstund'') at the Norwegian Theater in 1999, which was nominated for the Hedda Award in 2013. In 2017, she returned to the Norwegian Theater to play a psychologist and researcher in ''Overføring''.

Filmography

*1961: '' Line'' as Veslemøy *1961: ''Frisøndag'' (TV movie) as Minne, a young woman *1961: ''

Et øye på hver finger ''Et øye på hver finger'' (Keep Your Eyes Peeled) is a Norwegian comedy film from 1961 directed by Nils-Reinhardt Christensen. He also wrote the script for the film based on Ingeborg Storm's novel of the same name. The film stars Georg Løkkeb ...

'' as Kari *1963:'' Kranes konditori'' (TV movie) as Borghild Stordal *1963: ''Læraren'' (TV movie) as Evelinde *1964: ''Stormen'' (TV movie) as Ariel *1964: ''Bernardas hus'' (TV movie) as Adela *1965: ''Det angår ikke oss'' (TV movie) *1965: ''Smeltedigelen'' (TV movie) as Susanna Walcott *1966: ''

Reisen til havet ''Journey to the Sea'' () is a Norwegian drama film from 1966 directed by Arne Skouen, who was also the screenwriter. Skouen's daughter Synne Skouen played Pinne, a teenage girl wanted by the authorities. Plot The truck driver Hilmar offers fif ...

'' as the curator *1969: ''

Taxi A taxi, also known as a taxicab or simply a cab, is a type of vehicle for hire with a Driving, driver, used by a single passenger or small group of passengers, often for a non-shared ride. A taxicab conveys passengers between locations of thei ...

'' (TV miniseries) as Vibeke *1976: '' Nitimemordet'' (TV miniseries) as Monica Søderstrøm *1978: ''

Operasjon Cobra ''Operasjon Cobra'' (Operation Cobra) is a Norway, Norwegian thriller film from 1978 directed by Ola Solum. The film is about a Norwegian family living in Fornebu who are held captive in their own home by terrorists. The goal is to have a base nea ...

'' as Fredrik's mother *1980: ''

Arme, syndige menneske ''Arme, syndige menneske'' () is a 1980 Norwegian drama film directed by Egil Kolstø, starring Svein Scharffenberg and Anne Marie Ottersen. Journalist Erik Mogensen (Scharffenberg) from Oslo travels to Copenhagen Copenhagen ( ) is th ...

'' as a nurse *1995: ''

Kristin Lavransdatter ''Kristin Lavransdatter'' is a trilogy of historical novels written by Sigrid Undset. The individual novels are ''Kransen'' (''The Wreath''), first published in 1920, ''Husfrue'' (''The Wife''), published in 1921, and ''Korset'' (''The Cross''), ...

'' as Gunnhild *2007: ''Hva skjer 'a Jonatan'' as Marie *2013: ''

Hotel Cæsar ''Hotel Cæsar'' is a Norwegian soap opera that aired on TV 2 from October 24, 1998 to December 14, 2017. From 1998, the show was broadcast Monday to Friday, except during the autumn of 2006, when the show was only broadcast Monday to Thursday ...

'' (TV series) as Sister Maria *2018: ''Rekyl'' (TV miniseries) as a nun

References

External links

*
Wenche Medbøe
at Filmfront {{DEFAULTSORT:Medboe, Wenche 1940 births Living people 20th-century Norwegian actresses Actresses from Oslo