Gerda Alexandra Havertong (

Paramaribo Paramaribo ( , , ) is the capital city, capital and largest city of Suriname, located on the banks of the Suriname River in the Paramaribo District. Paramaribo has a population of roughly 241,000 people (2012 census), almost half of Suriname's p ...

, Surinam - 23 October 1946) is a Dutch-

Suriname Suriname, officially the Republic of Suriname, is a country in northern South America, also considered as part of the Caribbean and the West Indies. It is a developing country with a Human Development Index, high level of human development; i ...

se actress, television presenter, actress and singer. She is well known for being a recurring character in ''

Sesamstraat () is a Dutch television series in the Netherlands, and a localized version of the U.S. children's program ''Sesame Street''. In its early days, the show was broadcast in Flanders (Belgium) as well. It is the second longest-running foreign ada ...

'', the Dutch version of

Sesame Street ''Sesame Street'' is an American educational television, educational children's television series that combines live-action, sketch comedy, animation, and puppetry. It is produced by Sesame Workshop (known as the Children's Television Worksh ...

, since 1984.

Biography

Early life

Havertong was born in 1946 in Paramaribo, Surinam when it was still a Dutch colony. In 1966 Havertong moved to

The Hague The Hague ( ) is the capital city of the South Holland province of the Netherlands. With a population of over half a million, it is the third-largest city in the Netherlands. Situated on the west coast facing the North Sea, The Hague is the c ...

, the Netherlands. She studied to become a schoolteacher at the

University of Amsterdam The University of Amsterdam (abbreviated as UvA, ) is a public university, public research university located in Amsterdam, Netherlands. Established in 1632 by municipal authorities, it is the fourth-oldest academic institution in the Netherlan ...

and graduated 1974. After her studies she worked as a preschool teacher in Amsterdam. During her time in Amsterdam she played in

amateur theatre Amateur theatre, also known as amateur dramatics, is theatre performed by amateur actors and singers. Amateur theatre groups may stage plays, revues, musicals, light opera, pantomime or variety shows, and do so for the social activity as well as f ...

groups. In 1975 Havertong returned to Surinam with her husband. In 1977 she sang a song in the

Sranan Tongo Sranan Tongo (Sranantongo, "Surinamese tongue", Sranan, Surinamese Creole) is an English-based creole language from Suriname, in South America, where it is the first or second language for 519,600 Surinamese people (approximately 80% of the popu ...

language in the television series ''Kon hesi baka - Kom gauw terug''. She also joined the Doe-theater

troupe Troupe may refer to: General *Comedy troupe, a group of comedians *Dance troupe, a group of dancers **Fire troupe, a group of fire dancers *Troupe system, a method of playing role-playing games *Theatrical troupe, a group of theatrical performers ...

in Paramaribo.

Professional career

In 1979 Havertong returned to the Netherlands and started her professional career as an actress. In 1984 she appeared for the first time in the 2.500th episode of ''

''. In 1988 and 1989 she acted in the Dutch educational show '' Het Klokhuis'', where she also sang the theme tune. In 1987 Havertong spoke out against the character of Zwarte Piet (Black Pete) in an episode of ''Sesamstraat'', more than thirty years before this became a large public debate in the Netherlands. In 1999 Havertong founded ''Stichting Wiesje'' (Wiesje Foundation), a foundation that helps people in Surinam who suffer from

dementia Dementia is a syndrome associated with many neurodegenerative diseases, characterized by a general decline in cognitive abilities that affects a person's ability to perform activities of daily living, everyday activities. This typically invo ...

, as a remembrance for her mother who suffered from the disease. In 2020 the foundation opened a centre for dementia patients in Paramaribo.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Havertong, Gerda Living people 1946 births Dutch television actresses Dutch film actresses Dutch children's television presenters Surinamese television actresses Surinamese television presenters Surinamese film actresses People from Paramaribo Actresses from The Hague