Eva Püssa (born Eva Ütt; 16 June 1971) is an

Estonia Estonia, officially the Republic of Estonia, is a country in Northern Europe. It is bordered to the north by the Gulf of Finland across from Finland, to the west by the Baltic Sea across from Sweden, to the south by Latvia, and to the east by Ru ...

n stage, film, voice and television actress and radio personality.

Early life and education

Eva Püssa was born Eva Ütt in

Tartu Tartu is the second largest city in Estonia after Tallinn. Tartu has a population of 97,759 (as of 2024). It is southeast of Tallinn and 245 kilometres (152 miles) northeast of Riga, Latvia. Tartu lies on the Emajõgi river, which connects the ...

. Her father was Helmut-Endel Ütt and her mother's maiden name was Kalaus. She is the youngest of three siblings; her eldest sister is journalist Maire Aunaste and her next eldest sister is Tiina Prentsel. She attended Tartu 5 Secondary School (now, Tartu Tamme Gymnasium), graduating in 1990. Afterwards, she applied and was accepted to study at the EMA Higher Drama School (now, the

Estonian Academy of Music and Theatre The Estonian Academy of Music and Theatre (''Eesti Muusika- ja Teatriakadeemia'') began as a mixed choir of the Estonia Society Musical Department (EMD) on the eve of World War I. The assembly of the Estonia Society created the Tallinn Higher Musi ...

), graduating in 2000. Among her graduating classmates were actors

Kersti Heinloo Kersti Heinloo (born 26 September 1976) is an Estonian stage, film and television actress who began her career in radio. Early life and education Born in Tartu, Kersti Heinloo received her secondary education at the Pärnu Koidula Gymnasium, grad ...

Margus Prangel Margus Prangel (born 7 July 1974 in Tallinn) is an Estonian actor. In 2000 he graduated from the Estonian Academy of Music and Theatre. From 2000 until 2011, he worked at the Estonian Drama Theatre. Since 2011, he has been a freelancer actor. Besi ...

Maarja Jakobson Maarja Jakobson (born 8 December 1977) is an Estonian television, stage and film actress whose career began in the late 1990s. Early life and education Maarja Jakobson was born in Tartu in 1977. She is distantly related to 19th-century writer and ...

Katrin Pärn Katrin Pärn (born 20 May 1977) is an Estonian stage, film and television actress and singer. Early life and education Katrin Pärn was born in Tallinn to actor, theatre founder, and director Eino Baskin (1929–2015) and actress and politician ...

Tambet Tuisk Tambet Tuisk (born 23 May 1976) is an Estonian actor. He has appeared in more than twenty films since 1999. Selected filmography References External links * 1976 births Living people Estonian male film actors {{Estonia-actor-stub ...

, Piret Simson and directors

Urmas Lennuk Urmas Lennuk (born 16 October 1971, in Tamsalu) is an Estonian theatre director, playwright and dramaturg. In 2000, he graduated from the Estonian Academy of Music and Theatre's Stage Art Department. In 2000–11, he worked at Rakvere Theatre and ...

, Tiit Ojasoo and Vahur Keller.

Stage career

Following her graduation from drama school, Püssa began an engagement as an actress at the Estonian State Puppet and Youth Theatre (

NUKU Theatre Estonian Theatre for Young Audiences, formerly ''Estonian State Puppet Theatre, Estonian Puppet and Youth Theatre and NUKU'') is an Estonian theatre located in Tallinn. The institution focuses on visual theatre and theatre for the young viewer. I ...

) in

Tallinn Tallinn is the capital city, capital and List of cities in Estonia, most populous city of Estonia. Situated on a Tallinn Bay, bay in north Estonia, on the shore of the Gulf of Finland of the Baltic Sea, it has a population of (as of 2025) and ...

in 2000. She remained at the NUKU until 2003, becoming a freelance actress until 2010 when she became engaged at the

Vanemuine Vanemuine () is a theatre in Tartu, Estonia. It is the first Estonian language, Estonian-language theatre. Stemming from the Vanemuine Society (1865), the theatre's first performance was Lydia Koidula's ''Saaremaa Onupoeg'' ("The cousin from S ...

theatre in Tartu. Püssa remained at the Vanemuine until August 2014 when she once again became a freelance actress. Throughout her stage career she has appeared in a number of roles in productions by such varied authors and playwrights as:

Ronald Harwood Sir Ronald Harwood ( né Horwitz; 9 November 1934 – 8 September 2020) was a South African-born British author, playwright, and screenwriter, best known for his plays for the British stage as well as the screenplays for '' The Dresser'' (for ...

Ingmar Bergman Ernst Ingmar Bergman (14 July 1918 – 30 July 2007) was a Swedish film and theatre director and screenwriter. Widely considered one of the greatest and most influential film directors of all time, his films have been described as "profoun ...

Tim Firth Tim Firth (born 13 October 1964) is an English dramatist, screenwriter and songwriter. Life and career Firth was born in Frodsham, England. He spent much of his time at school writing songs and it was only a few weeks before going to King's ...

Mati Unt Mati Unt (1 January 1944 in Linnamäe, Voore Parish ow Voore, Jõgeva County, Voore, Mustvee Parish Jõgeva County – 22 August 2005 in Tallinn) was an Estonian writer, essayist and theatre director. Biography His first novel, written at ...

John Kander John Harold Kander (born March 18, 1927) is an American composer, known largely for his work in the musical theater. As part of the songwriting team Kander and Ebb (with lyricist Fred Ebb), Kander wrote the scores for 15 musicals, including ''Cab ...

, and

Richard Rodgers Richard Charles Rodgers (June 28, 1902 – December 30, 1979) was an American Musical composition, composer who worked primarily in musical theater. With 43 Broadway theatre, Broadway musicals and over 900 songs to his credit, Rodgers wa ...

. As a freelance actress, she has appeared onstage at several theatres throughout Estonia, including: the

Von Krahl Theatre Von Krahl Theatre () is a theatre in Tallinn, Estonia Estonia, officially the Republic of Estonia, is a country in Northern Europe. It is bordered to the north by the Gulf of Finland across from Finland, to the west by the Baltic Sea across f ...

Theatre NO99 Theatre NO99 was a theatre in Tallinn, Estonia that began to operate in February 2005. It was a state-owned repertoire theatre that has its own building with two theatre halls in central Tallinn. The theatre closed in 2019. The theatre's name ...

, Arena Theatre,

Rakvere Theatre Rakvere Theatre is a professional theatre in Rakvere, Estonia. History Rakvere Theatre was established in the fall of 1921, when ''Rakvere Näitlejate Ring'' was formed. The building of the Rakvere Theatre was opened with a public ceremony on 24 ...

, and the

VAT Theatre VAT Theatre () is an Estonian theatre which is located in Tallinn, Estonia. The theatre was established on 1 October 1987. At that time, the theatre was unique in Estonian SSR The Estonian Soviet Socialist Republic, (abbreviated Estonian S ...

Television, film and radio

Eva Püssa's film debut was in the 2009 Tiiu-Ann Pello directed short film ''Kord aastas''. She would go on to appear in a number of short films and provide voices for animated films. In 2012, she made her feature-length film debut as Inga in the

Ain Mäeots Ain Mäeots (born 25 December 1971) is an Estonian stage, film, and television actor and stage, film, and television director and producer. Early life and education Ain Mäeots was born in Võru, Võru County, in 1971. He has one brother. He is ...

directed and Kopli Theater Company and

Exitfilm Exitfilm is an Estonian movie studio established in 1992 that produces and distributes feature films, short films and documentaries. Exitfilm's international co-productions include Lilja 4-Ever by Lukas Moodysson (Sweden), ''Unforgettable'' by A ...

produced drama ''Deemonid'', which focuses on the lives of three individuals who enter a casino and have to face their inner-demons. In 2018, she had a starring role as Marge, the winner of a ten million euro lottery, in the Toomas Kirss-directed drama ''Õigus õnnele''. Between 2007 and 2008, Püssa made two appearances as the character Anna on the popular

Kanal 2 Kanal 2 is a privately owned Estonian television channel. Its literal name in English is "Channel 2". History The channel was established by Ilmar Taska. The channel started broadcasting on 1 October 1993, the first program seen on the new ...

crime-drama ''

Kelgukoerad ''Kelgukoerad'' is an Estonian criminal television series, which aired on the Kanal 2 television channel. The series is directed by . The series was on the air from 2006-2013. Cast * Kalju Komissarov as Mati Kelk (2006–2013) * Madis Millin ...

''. In 2012, she was cast as Helena on the

TV3 Channel 3 or TV 3 may refer to: Television *Canal 3 (Burkina Faso), a commercial television channel in Burkina Faso * Canal 3 Niger, a commercial television channel in Niger * Canal 3 (Guatemala), a commercial television channel in Guatemala * Can ...

comedy-drama ''Nurjatud tüdrukud''; a role she would play for the duration of the series. In 2014, she also made an appearance on the Kanal 2 crime-drama series ''Viimane võmm'', and the Kanal 2 comedy reality series ''Peitusemeistrid''. Eva Püssa has performed in a number of radio play productions. Among her more memorable roles was in a 2002 production of

Andrus Kivirähk Andrus Kivirähk (born 17 August 1970) is an Estonian writer, a playwright, topical satirist, and screenwriter. As of 2004, 25,000 copies of his novel ''Rehepapp ehk November'' (''Old Barny or November'') had been sold, making him the most popul ...

's ''Püha Graal''. Since 2015, Püssa has hosted a

talk radio Talk radio is a radio format containing discussion about topical issues and consisting entirely or almost entirely of original spoken word content rather than outside music. They may feature monologues, dialogues between the hosts, Interview (jo ...

program on Raadio 2 –

Estonian Public Broadcasting Estonian may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to Estonia, a country in the Baltic region in northern Europe * Estonians, people from Estonia, or of Estonian descent * Estonian language * Estonian cuisine * Estonian culture See also * ...

(ERR).

Personal life

Eva Püssa was married and is now divorced. She has two daughters, Marta and Sanna. She currently resides in Tallinn.Õhtuleht
''Eva Püssa: "Olin kui enesetapja. Hakkasin töötuks."'' 11 April 2007. Retrieved 7 February 2017.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Pussa, Eva 1971 births Living people Estonian stage actresses Estonian film actresses Estonian television actresses Estonian voice actresses Estonian talk radio hosts Actresses from Tartu Estonian Academy of Music and Theatre alumni 21st-century Estonian actresses