Livia Millhagen | |
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![]() Millhagen in 2014 | |
Born | Stockholm, Sweden | 23 May 1973
Alma mater | Malmö Theater Academy |
Occupation | Actress |
Spouse | Oscar Norbeck |
Children | 2 |
Parents | |
Awards |
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Livia Maria Millhagen (born 23 May 1973) is a Swedish actress known for her roles on stage and screen. She has received various accolades for her work, including the Thalia Prize from Svenska Dagbladet and the Litteris et Artibus royal medal in recognition of outstanding contributions to theater. She has also been nominated for a Guldbagge Award for Best Actress.
The daughter of artist Lars Millhagen and The House of Culture director Beate Sydhoff , Millhagen attended Kungsholmens gymnasium and began participating in Stockholm Student Theater productions. After graduating from the Malmö Theater Academy in 1999, she appeared in productions at Uppsala City Theater and made her feature film debut in Miffo (2003), for which she received critical praise and a Guldbagge nomination. The same year, she became a member of the Royal Dramatic Theater's permanent ensemble, and since appeared in numerous productions. Some of her most critically acclaimed stage performances were playing Lydia Stille in The Serious Game at Stockholm City Theater (2008) and Blanche DuBois in A Streetcar Named Desire at the Royal Dramatic Theater (2019).
In addition to her stage roles, she has continued to appear in film and television productions. She was featured in romantic comedies such as Bus to Italy (2005) and Fishy (2008), as well as the historical drama films Everlasting Moments (2008) and Fågelfångarens son (2019). She had a major television roles in Molanders (2013), Veni Vidi Vici (2017), and the first season of Bäckström (2020). She also appeared in Young Royals (2021). Millhagen has also worked as a voice actress for Swedish dubs of Disney/Pixar films including The Good Dinosaur (2015), The Lion King (2019), and Raya and the Last Dragon (2021).
Livia Maria Millhagen was born in Stockholm on 23 May 1973 to Lars Millhagen and Beate Sydhoff . [1] [2] [3] Her father was a sculptor and cartoonist, while her mother was an art critic and writer who also served as director for The House of Culture. [2] [4] Millhagen has an older sister, and also had an older brother who died shortly after he was born. [5] She was raised in Gamla Stan, until her family moved to Washington, D.C. for three years while her mother worked at the Swedish embassy there. After moving back to Sweden, she attended Kungsholmens gymnasium. [6] [7]
She had roles in several Stockholm Student Theater productions before being admitted to the Malmö Theater Academy in the autumn of 1995. [8] [9] [10] In May 1996, about a year into her studies, her father died of cancer. [11] [5] During a 1997 internship at the Royal Dramatic Theater, she appeared in their production of August Strindberg's Fadren, directed by Staffan Valdemar Holm. [12] [13] She graduated from the Malmö Theater Academy in 1999. [12]
After completing her acting training, Millhagen appeared in two plays directed by Birgitta Englin at the Uppsala City Theater, Ur funktion (1999) and Electra (2001). [14] [15] Also at Uppsala City Theater, she appeared in Phyllis Nagy's Las Vegas as Loretta. The 2001 production, directed by Dritëro Kasapi , marked the first time that Las Vegas had been staged in Sweden. Millhagen's performance was described as "remarkably good" by Pia Huss in Dagens Nyheter . [16] The following year, she made her first screen appearance with a supporting role in the television film Beck – Annonsmannen . [17]
She joined the Royal Dramatic Theater's permanent ensemble in 2003. [3] The same year, she made her feature film debut in Miffo (2003), directed and written by Daniel Lind Lagerlöf and Malin Lagerlöf, respectively. Millhagen played Carola, a wheelchair user living in a run-down flat with her alcoholic mother, who meets and begins a relationship with a sheltered, upper-class minister. Millhagen's performance garnered critical praise. In Variety , Gunnar Rehlin wrote that she was the "real find" of the film, who "makes Carola one of the most charming and vigorous women seen in Swedish film for a long time." [18] She was also praised by Eva af Geijerstam in Dagens Nyheter. Millhagen was nominated for a Guldbagge Award for Best Actress for her work in Miffo. [19]
She collaborated again with Lagerlöfs for Bus to Italy (2005), where she played the lead role of Ylva, a woman who learns about her husband's affair right before taking her choir group on a trip. Her performance was commended by Rehlin in Variety and Jens Peterson in Aftonbladet. [20] [21] She played Isabella in Measure for Measure at the Royal Dramatic Theater, and the following year had television appearances in 27 sekundmeter snö and Mästerverket . [22] [23] [24] She also had roles in two Royal Dramatic Theater productions in 2006: In the Shadow of Hamlet as Gertrud and the titular role in Lulu . [25] [26]
In 2007, Millhagen appeared in Sam Shepard's Buried Child, known in Swedish as Hem till gården, which premiered at the Elverket stage of the Royal Dramatic Theater. The production marked her first of many theater collaborations with director Stefan Larsson . [27] [28] [29]
In 2008, she played Lydia Stille opposite Gustaf Skarsgård's Arvid Stjärnblom in Lagerlöf's stage directing debut of The Serious Game at Stockholm City Theater. [30] [31] Although the production itself received mixed reviews, Millhagen's performance was universally lauded by critics. Jenny Aschenbrenner of Dagens Nyheter stated that it was Lydia's "accurately portrayed rebellion and vulnerability that cuts through the game and makes it serious." [32] In Expressen, Nils Schwartz criticized the direction and Skarsgård's performance but wrote that Millhagen had delivered "an absolutely superb interpretation of the role." [33] She had a supporting role in Maria Blom's Fishy (2008). [34]
She and Jonas Karlsson co-starred as Marianne and Johan in a 2009 stage adaptation of Ingmar Bergmans's 1973 miniseries Scenes from a Marriage. The production premiered at the Royal Dramatic Theater. [35] Expressen theater critic Margareta Sörenson praised the performances of both Millhagen and Karlsson. [36]
She appeared in a stage adaptation of Fanny and Alexander by the Royal Dramatic Theater. It had an American premiere at the Kennedy Center from 7–9 March 2013, as part of the Nordic Cool Festival. [37] She had a leading role as cardiologist Fanny Molander in Molanders (2013). The series focused on the titular family moving from Stockholm to Alingsås. [38] [39] The same year, she was one of several actors given the Carl Åkermark Award . [40]
Millhagen was awarded with a Litteris et Artibus royal medal in 2015 by King Carl XVI Gustaf, in recognition of outstanding contributions to theater. [41] She played the titular characters in productions of Medea (2016) and Anna Karenina (2017), both staged at the Royal Dramatic Theater. She had a supporting role in Helena Bergström's 2017 dramatic comedy Mending Hugo's Heart . [42] In 2018, she appeared in two television series, Veni Vidi Vici and Sisters 1968 . [43] [44]
Millhagen played Blanche DuBois in A Streetcar Named Desire, which premiered at the Royal Dramatic Theater in 2019. The production was highly praised; Leif Zern wrote for Dagens Nyheter that it was "one of the best Royal Dramatic Theater performances in many years." He highlighted Millhagen's performance as "continuously captivating and gut-wrenching." [45] Her work in A Streetcar Named Desire also earned her the Thalia Prize from Svenska Dagbladet . [46] The same year, she also appeared in Richard Hobert's Faroese drama Fågelfångarens son (2019). In a generally negative review for Dagens Nyheter, Johan Croneman praised Millhagen's "brilliant" work as a "lively and domineering innkeeper." [47]
In 2020, she appeared in the first season of Bäckström as prosecutor Hanna Hwass. [48] She also had a minor role in the first season of Young Royals (2021). [49] She starred opposite Rolf Lassgård as a divorcing couple clearing out their summer home in Love Proof (2022). [50] She played Rita in Little Eyolf at the Royal Dramatic Theater in 2024. In a somewhat mixed review for Dagens Nyheter, Maina Arvas described Millhagen as the production's greatest asset. She also wrote that her take on Rita was "an example of what can be done with Ibsen's female roles." [51]
She and her husband Oscar Norbeck have two children. [7]
Year | Title | Role | Notes | Ref. |
---|---|---|---|---|
2003 | Miffo | Carola | Main role | [18] |
2005 | Rubinbröllop | Short film | [52] | |
Bus to Italy | Ylva | Main role | [53] | |
2008 | Fishy | [34] | ||
Everlasting Moments | [54] | |||
2009 | Oskar, Oskar | Sonja | [55] | |
2015 | The Good Dinosaur | Voice (Swedish dub) | [56] | |
2017 | Mending Hugo's Heart | |||
2019 | The Lion King | Shenzi | Voice (Swedish dub) | [57] |
Fågelfångarens son | Livia | [47] | ||
2021 | Raya and the Last Dragon | Voice (Swedish dub) | [58] | |
2022 | Love Proof | Marie | [50] |
Year | Title | Role | Notes | Ref. |
---|---|---|---|---|
2002 | Beck – Annonsmannen | Television film | [17] | |
2005 | 27 sekundmeter snö | Television film | [23] | |
2006 | Mästerverket | Sara | [24] | |
2008 | Häxdansen | Li | [59] | |
2013 | Molanders | Fanny Molander | [38] | |
2018 | Veni Vidi Vici | Jonna | [43] | |
Sisters 1968 | Ulla | [60] | ||
2020 | Bäckström | Hanna Hwass | Season 1 | [48] |
2021 | Young Royals | Smysan | Season 1 | [49] |
Year | Title | Role | Venue | Notes | Ref. |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
1994 | Skuggan av Mart | Teater Blå at Folkkulturcentrum | Stockholm Student Theater | [8] | |
1995 | Woyzeck | Teater Blå at Folkkulturcentrum | Stockholm Student Theater | [9] | |
1997 | Fadren | Royal Dramatic Theater | Målarsalen stage | [13] | |
1999 | Ur Funktion | Uppsala City Theater | [14] | ||
2000 | Lage | Scalateatern | [61] | ||
2001 | Las Vegas | Loretta | Uppsala City Theater | [16] | |
Electra | Uppsala City Theater | [15] | |||
2002 | Född skyldig | Uppsala City Theater | Little stage | [62] | |
2003 | Ett litet drömspel | Royal Dramatic Theater | Lejonkulan stage | [63] | |
Mother Courage and Her Children | Kattrin | Royal Dramatic Theater | Målarsalen stage | [64] | |
2004 | Valpen | Siri von Essen | Strindberg's Intimate Theater | [65] | |
2005 | Measure for Measure | Isabella | Royal Dramatic Theater | [22] | |
2006 | In the Shadow of Hamlet | Gertrud | Royal Dramatic Theater | Lejonkulan stage | [25] |
Lulu | Lulu | Royal Dramatic Theater | [26] | ||
2007 | Buried Child | Royal Dramatic Theater | [66] | ||
Fördold | Metta | Royal Dramatic Theater | [67] | ||
2008 | The Serious Game | Lydia Stille | Stockholm City Theater | Little stage | [32] |
Den ömhet jag är värd | Sanna | Royal Dramatic Theater | [68] | ||
2009 | Scenes from a Marriage | Marianne | Royal Dramatic Theater | Little stage | [69] |
Autumn Sonata | Helena | Royal Dramatic Theater | Main stage | [70] | |
2010 | August: Osage County | Karen Weston | Royal Dramatic Theater | [71] | |
2011 | The Misanthrope | Celimène | Royal Dramatic Theater | [72] | |
2012 | The Red and the Black | Sveriges Radio Drama | [73] | ||
2013 | Fanny and Alexander | Emelie Ekdahl | Kennedy Center | Nordic Cool 2013 Festival | [37] |
2014 | Rosmersholm | Rebekka West | Royal Dramatic Theater | [74] | |
2016 | Medea | Medea | Royal Dramatic Theater | [75] | |
2017 | Anna Karenina | Anna Karenina | Royal Dramatic Theater | [76] | |
2019 | A Streetcar Named Desire | Blanche DuBois | Royal Dramatic Theater | Little stage | [45] |
2022 | Så enkel är kärleken | Hedda | Maximteatern | [77] | |
2021 | Cat on a Hot Tin Roof | Maggie | Maximteatern | [78] | |
2024 | Little Eyolf | Rita | Royal Dramatic Theater | [51] | |
2025 | Blank | Royal Dramatic Theater | [79] |
Year | Award | Work | Result | Ref. |
---|---|---|---|---|
2003 | Guldbagge Award for Best Actress in a Leading Role | Miffo | Nominated | [19] |
2006 | Gunn Wållgren Award | Won | [80] | |
2013 | Carl Åkermark Award | Won | [40] | |
2015 | Litteris et Artibus | Won | [41] | |
2019 | Svenska Dagbladet Thalia Prize | A Streetcar Named Desire | Won | [46] |