Pernilla August (; born Mia Pernilla Hertzman-Ericson; 13 February 1958) is a

Swedish Swedish or ' may refer to: Anything from or related to Sweden, a country in Northern Europe. Or, specifically: * Swedish language, a North Germanic language spoken primarily in Sweden and Finland ** Swedish alphabet, the official alphabet used by ...

actress An actor or actress is a person who portrays a character in a performance. The actor performs "in the flesh" in the traditional medium of the theatre or in modern media such as film, radio, and television. The analogous Greek term is (), li ...

, director and

screenwriter A screenplay writer (also called screenwriter, scriptwriter, scribe or scenarist) is a writer who practices the craft of screenwriting, writing screenplays on which mass media, such as films, television programs and video games, are based. ...

. Being one of

Sweden Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden,The United Nations Group of Experts on Geographical Names states that the country's formal name is the Kingdom of SwedenUNGEGN World Geographical Names, Sweden./ref> is a Nordic countries, Nordic c ...

's leading actresses and a longtime collaborator with director

Ingmar Bergman Ernst Ingmar Bergman (14 July 1918 – 30 July 2007) was a Swedish film director, screenwriter, producer and playwright. Widely considered one of the greatest and most influential filmmakers of all time, his films are known as "profoun ...

, she won the Best Actress Award at the

1992 Cannes Film Festival The 45th Cannes Film Festival was held from 7 to 18 May 1992. The Palme d'Or went to the '' Den goda viljan'' by Bille August. The festival opened with ''Basic Instinct'', directed by Paul Verhoeven and closed with ''Far and Away'', directed by R ...

for her role in his '' The Best Intentions''. She is best known internationally for portraying

Shmi Skywalker The Skywalker family is a fictional legendary human family in the '' Star Wars'' franchise. Within the series' fictional universe, the Skywalkers are presented as a bloodline with strong inherent capabilities related to the Force and sometimes ...

in ''

Star Wars: Episode I – The Phantom Menace ''Star Wars: Episode I – The Phantom Menace'' is a 1999 American Epic film, epic space opera film written and directed by George Lucas. It stars Liam Neeson, Ewan McGregor, Natalie Portman, Jake Lloyd, Ahmed Best, Ian McDiarmid, Anthony Dan ...

'' and '' Star Wars: Episode II – Attack of the Clones''.

Career

Actor

August started acting during her childhood in theatre and at school. Her professional acting career started in 1975 when director

Roy Andersson Roy Arne Lennart Andersson (born 31 March 1943) is a Swedish film director, best known for ''A Swedish Love Story'' (1970), '' About Endlessness'' (2019) and his "Living trilogy," which includes ''Songs from the Second Floor'' (2000), ''You, th ...

cast her in a minor role in the film ''

Giliap ''Giliap'' is a 1975 Swedish drama film directed by Roy Andersson, starring Thommy Berggren as a man who takes a job as a waiter at a run-down hotel. It was a financial and critical failure, and it led to Andersson's not making another feature fil ...

'' the same year, followed from 1979 by films by other directors,

Vilgot Sjöman David Harald Vilgot Sjöman (2 December 1924 – 9 April 2006) was a Swedish writer and film director. His films deal with controversial issues of social class, morality, and sexual taboos, combining the emotionally tortured characters of Ingm ...

(among them, the film about

Alfred Nobel Alfred Bernhard Nobel ( , ; 21 October 1833 – 10 December 1896) was a Swedish chemist, engineer, inventor, businessman, and philanthropist. He is best known for having bequeathed his fortune to establish the Nobel Prize, though he al ...

, 1983) and

Lasse Hallström Lars Sven "Lasse" Hallström (; born 2 June 1946) is a Swedish film director. He first became known for directing almost all the music videos by the pop group ABBA, and subsequently became a feature film director. He was nominated for an Academ ...

. She studied acting at Swedish National Academy of Mime and Acting in

Stockholm Stockholm () is the capital and largest city of Sweden as well as the largest urban area in Scandinavia. Approximately 980,000 people live in the municipality, with 1.6 million in the urban area, and 2.4 million in the metropo ...

1979–82. Before finishing her studies, she attracted the attention of

, who cast her in his film '' Fanny and Alexander'' (1982), playing the nanny in the director's romanticised portrait of his childhood. That marked the beginning of two decades of collaboration, collecting several international awards, including television series '' The Best Intentions'' (1991), where she portrayed Bergman's mother and met her second husband to be, director

Bille August Bille August (born 9 November 1948) is a Danish director, screenwriter, and cinematographer of film and television. In a career spanning over four decades, he has been the recipient of numerous accolades, making him one of the most acclaimed co ...

, and TV-productions ''

Private Confessions ''Private Confessions'' ( sv, Enskilda samtal) is a 1996 Swedish drama film directed by Liv Ullmann and written by Ingmar Bergman. It was screened in the Un Certain Regard section at the 1997 Cannes Film Festival. ''Private Confessions'' is a ...

'' (1996), directed by

Liv Ullmann Liv Johanne Ullmann (born 16 December 1938) is a Norwegian actress and film director. Recognised as one of the greatest European actresses of all time, Ullmann is known as the muse and frequent partner of filmmaker Ingmar Bergman. She acted in m ...

and Bergman's own '' In the Presence of a Clown'' (1997). She also starred in

Bo Widerberg Bo Gunnar Widerberg (; 8 June 1930 – 1 May 1997) was a Swedish film director, writer, editor and actor. Biography Early life Widerberg was born in Malmö, Malmöhus County, Sweden. Career Widerberg was the director of films such as ''Rave ...

's ''

The Serpent's Way ''The Serpent's Way'' ( sv, Ormens väg på hälleberget) is a 1986 Swedish drama film directed by Bo Widerberg. It is based on the novel The Way of a Serpent by Torgny Lindgren. The film was screened in the Un Certain Regard section at the 1987 ...

'' (1986) as well as his TV-production of

Henrik Ibsen Henrik Johan Ibsen (; ; 20 March 1828 – 23 May 1906) was a Norwegian playwright and theatre director. As one of the founders of modernism in theatre, Ibsen is often referred to as "the father of realism" and one of the most influential pla ...

's '' The Wild Duck'' (1989). Among the many

Scandinavia Scandinavia; Sámi languages: /. ( ) is a subregion in Northern Europe, with strong historical, cultural, and linguistic ties between its constituent peoples. In English usage, ''Scandinavia'' most commonly refers to Denmark, Norway, and S ...

n and international films are also Bille August's ''

Jerusalem Jerusalem (; he, יְרוּשָׁלַיִם ; ar, القُدس ) (combining the Biblical and common usage Arabic names); grc, Ἱερουσαλήμ/Ἰεροσόλυμα, Hierousalḗm/Hierosóluma; hy, Երուսաղեմ, Erusałēm. i ...

'' (1996),

Richard Hobert Richard Hobert (born 1 December 1951, in Kalmar) is a Swedish scriptwriter and film director. Career Hobert studied political science, languages and film and theatre at the Lund University from 1970 to 1973. He debuted as a radio playwright in 1 ...

's ''Where the Rainbow Ends'' (1999) ranted_her_a_Guldbagge_Award_as_Best_actress.html" ;"title="Guldbagge_Award.html" ;"title="ranted her a Guldbagge Award">ranted her a Guldbagge Award as Best actress">Guldbagge_Award.html" ;"title="ranted her a Guldbagge Award">ranted her a Guldbagge Award as Best actressand ''The Birthday'' (2000], ''I Am Dina'' (2002), Björn Runge's ''Om jag vänder mig om''/''If I Turn Around'' (2003) [a Silver Bear at Berlin International Film Festival 2004 and more Best actress awards], [ er Fly's ''

Manslaughter Manslaughter is a common law legal term for homicide considered by law as less culpable than murder. The distinction between murder and manslaughter is sometimes said to have first been made by the ancient Athenian lawmaker Draco in the 7th ce ...

'' (2005), Swedish-

Taiwan Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a country in East Asia, at the junction of the East and South China Seas in the northwestern Pacific Ocean, with the People's Republic of China (PRC) to the northwest, Japan to the no ...

ese '' Miss Kicki'' (2009) and

Jan Troell Jan Gustaf Troell (born 23 July 1931) is a Swedish writer-director, and cinematographer. His realistic films, with a lyrical photography in which nature is prominent, have placed him in the first rank of modern Swedish film directors along with ...

's ''Truth and Consequence'' (2012). At the Royal Dramatic Theatre in Stockholm, she has acted in several plays, starting 1981, several directed by Ingmar Bergman and touring internationally. These include

Ophelia Ophelia () is a character in William Shakespeare's drama '' Hamlet'' (1599–1601). She is a young noblewoman of Denmark, the daughter of Polonius, sister of Laertes and potential wife of Prince Hamlet, who, due to Hamlet's actions, ends u ...

William Shakespeare William Shakespeare ( 26 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 ''

Hamlet ''The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark'', often shortened to ''Hamlet'' (), is a tragedy written by William Shakespeare sometime between 1599 and 1601. It is Shakespeare's longest play, with 29,551 words. Set in Denmark, the play depicts ...

'' (1986) part she has also played in another Swedish television film, 1985

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 sixty p ...

's ''

A Dream Play ''A Dream Play'' ( sv, Ett drömspel) is a fantasy play in 14 scenes written in 1901 by the Swedish playwright August Strindberg. It was published in Swedish in 1902 and first performed in Stockholm on 17 April 1907. It remains one of Strindberg ...

'' (1986), Nora in

's ''

A Doll's House ''A Doll's House'' ( Danish and nb, Et dukkehjem; also translated as ''A Doll House'') is a three-act play written by Norwegian playwright Henrik Ibsen. It premiered at the Royal Theatre in Copenhagen, Denmark, on 21 December 1879, having be ...

'' (1989), Hermione in Bergman's special version of ''

A Winter's Tale ''The Winter's Tale'' is a play by William Shakespeare originally published in the First Folio of 1623. Although it was grouped among the comedies, many modern editors have relabelled the play as one of Shakespeare's late romances. Some criti ...

'' (1994), the title role in

Schiller Johann Christoph Friedrich von Schiller (, short: ; 10 November 17599 May 1805) was a German playwright, poet, and philosopher. During the last seventeen years of his life (1788–1805), Schiller developed a productive, if complicated, friends ...

's '' Mary Stuart'' (2000) and Helene Alving in

Ibsen Henrik Johan Ibsen (; ; 20 March 1828 – 23 May 1906) was a Norwegian playwright and theatre director. As one of the founders of modernism in theatre, Ibsen is often referred to as "the father of realism" and one of the most influential playw ...

's ''

Ghosts A ghost is the soul or spirit of a dead person or animal that is believed to be able to appear to the living. In ghostlore, descriptions of ghosts vary widely from an invisible presence to translucent or barely visible wispy shapes, to re ...

'' (2002). She also worked with Russian director Jurij Ljubimov in

Alexander Pushkin Alexander Sergeyevich Pushkin (; rus, links=no, Александр Сергеевич ПушкинIn pre-Revolutionary script, his name was written ., r=Aleksandr Sergeyevich Pushkin, p=ɐlʲɪkˈsandr sʲɪrˈɡʲe(j)ɪvʲɪtɕ ˈpuʂkʲɪn, ...

's ''A Feast in the Time of Plague'' (1996). In 1983-84, she worked at Folkteatern i Gävleborg (The Folk Theatre in Gävleborg) with director

Peter Oskarson Peter Oskarson (born 1951) is a Swedish theatre director and actor from Stockholm.Anton Chekhov Anton Pavlovich Chekhov (; 29 January 1860 Old Style date 17 January. – 15 July 1904 Old Style date 2 July.) was a Russian playwright and short-story writer who is considered to be one of the greatest writers of all time. His career ...

's '' Three Sisters''. In 2008, she acted in the stage production of '' Steel Magnolias'' in Stockholm. She had appeared in two episodes of ''

The Young Indiana Jones Chronicles ''The Young Indiana Jones Chronicles'' is an American television series that aired on ABC from March 4, 1992, to July 24, 1993. Filming took place in various locations around the world, with "Old Indy" bookend segments filmed in Wilmington, Nort ...

'' in 1993. Many in the

English-speaking world Speakers of English are also known as Anglophones, and the countries where English is natively spoken by the majority of the population are termed the '' Anglosphere''. Over two billion people speak English , making English the largest languag ...

know her best as

, the mother of

Anakin Skywalker Darth Vader is a fictional character in the '' Star Wars'' franchise. The character is the central antagonist of the original trilogy and, as Anakin Skywalker, is one of the main protagonists in the prequel trilogy. ''Star Wars'' creator Geor ...

, from ''

'' (1999), and its sequel ''

Attack of the Clones Attack may refer to: Warfare and combat * Offensive (military) * Charge (warfare) * Attack (fencing) * Strike (attack) * Attack (computing) * Attack aircraft Books and publishing * ''The Attack'' (novel), a book * ''Attack No. 1'', comic an ...

'' (2002). She shared the role as Virgin Mary in ''

Mary, Mother of Jesus Mary; arc, ܡܪܝܡ, translit=Mariam; ar, مريم, translit=Maryam; grc, Μαρία, translit=María; la, Maria; cop, Ⲙⲁⲣⲓⲁ, translit=Maria was a first-century Jews, Jewish woman of Nazareth, the wife of Saint Joseph, Jose ...

'' (1999) with

Melinda Kinnaman Melinda Rosalie Kinnaman (born 9 November 1971) is a Swedish-American actress. Life and career Kinnaman was born in Stockholm, Sweden, to American parents Dee and Steve Kinnaman. Her paternal half-brother Joel Kinnaman is also an actor. By a ...

. She played a significant role in the Swedish film '' Sprängaren'' (2001) alongside Helena Bergström. In 2011, she reprised her role as Shmi Skywalker in the third season of '' Star Wars: The Clone Wars'' for the episode "Overlords", which aired in 2011. She played the recurring character of Queen Kristina of Sweden in the

Netflix Netflix, Inc. is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service and production company based in Los Gatos, California. Founded in 1997 by Reed Hastings and Marc Randolph in Scotts Valley, California, it offers a ...

series ''

Young Royals ''Young Royals'' is a Swedish teen drama romance streaming television series on Netflix. Set at the fictional elite boarding school Hillerska, the plot primarily follows the fictional Prince Wilhelm of Sweden (Edvin Ryding), his romance with ...

'', which premiered in 2021.

Director

After her directorial debut with the 2005 short film ''Time Bomb'' (''Blindgångare''), she debuted as feature-film director and

in 2010 with ''

Beyond Beyond may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Films * ''Beyond'' (1921 film), an American silent film * ''Beyond'' (2000 film), a Danish film directed by Åke Sandgren, OT: ''Dykkerne'' * ''Beyond'' (2010 film), a Swedish film directed ...

'', starring

Noomi Rapace Noomi Rapace (; ; born 28 December 1979) is a Swedish actress.Karen Olsson, ''The New York Times Magazine'', 27 May 2012, p. 26. She achieved international fame with her portrayal of Lisbeth Salander in the Swedish film adaptations of the ''Mil ...

and

Ola Rapace Ola may refer to: Places Panama *Olá, a subdistrict in Coclé Province *Olá District Russia *Ola, Russia, an urban settlement in Magadan Oblast *Ola District, an administrative division in Magadan Oblast *Ola (river), a river in Magadan Obla ...

. The film was selected as the Swedish entry for the

Best Foreign Language Film This is a list of categories of awards commonly awarded through organizations that bestow film awards, including those presented by various film, festivals, and people's awards. Best Actor/Best Actress *See Best Actor#Film awards, Best Actress#F ...

at the

84th Academy Awards The 84th Academy Awards ceremony, presented by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS), honored the best films of 2011 in the United States and took place on February 26, 2012, at the Hollywood and Highland Center Theatre in H ...

and was much awarded with Swedish

Guldbagge Award The Guldbagge Awards ( sv, Guldbaggen, en, Gold scarab) is an official and annual Swedish film awards ceremony honoring achievements in the Swedish film industry. Winners are awarded a statuette depicting a rose chafer, better known by the nam ...

s and more; August won for Best Director and Best Script. In October 2011, August was asked to direct a new Danish drama series, ''Arvingerne'', an offer she accepted. The series premiered on DR on 1 January 2014. Her two youngest daughters have cameos in the series.

Awards

Among many international awards and nominations, at the

she won the award for

Best Actress Best Actress is the name of an award which is presented by various film, television and theatre organisations, festivals, and people's awards to leading actresses in a film, television series, television film or play. The first Best Actress aw ...

, for her role in

's '' The Best Intentions''. For the same film she also won the

award at the

28th Guldbagge Awards The 28th Guldbagge Awards ceremony, presented by the Swedish Film Institute, honored the best Swedish films of 1992, and took place on 1 March 1993. ''House of Angels'' directed by Colin Nutley was presented with the award for Best Film This is ...

. In 2002 she was honored with the Royal Swedish medal

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 ...

for her artistic work.

Personal life

August was born in

. She has been married twice and changed her name both times. Her first marriage was in 1982 to

Klas Östergren Klas Östergren (born 20 February 1955) is a Swedish novelist, short story writer, screenwriter, and translator. Östergren had a breakthrough with his fourth novel ''Gentlemen'' in 1980. He has been awarded numerous Swedish literary prizes, su ...

, with whom she has one daughter; the marriage ended in divorce in 1989. The second marriage was in 1991 to

, with whom she has two daughters; this marriage also ended in divorce, this time in 1997. She has three daughters: Agnes, Asta, and

Alba ''Alba'' ( , ) is the Scottish Gaelic name for Scotland. It is also, in English language historiography, used to refer to the polity of Picts and Scots united in the ninth century as the Kingdom of Alba, until it developed into the Kin ...

References

External links

* * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:August, Pernilla 1958 births Living people Actresses from Stockholm Swedish film actresses Swedish film directors Swedish stage actresses Swedish television actresses Eugene O'Neill Award winners Litteris et Artibus recipients Best Actress Guldbagge Award winners Best Supporting Actress Guldbagge Award winners Best Director Guldbagge Award winners Cannes Film Festival Award for Best Actress winners Swedish women film directors 20th-century Swedish actresses 21st-century Swedish actresses