Lena Maria Jonna Olin (; born 22 March 1955) is a Swedish actress. She has received nominations for an

Academy Award The Academy Awards, commonly known as the Oscars, are awards for artistic and technical merit in film. They are presented annually by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS) in the United States in recognition of excellence ...

, a

Golden Globe Award The Golden Globe Awards are awards presented for excellence in both international film and television. It is an annual award ceremony held since 1944 to honor artists and professionals and their work. The ceremony is normally held every Janua ...

, a BAFTA Award, and a

Primetime Emmy Award The Primetime Emmy Awards, or Primetime Emmys, are part of the extensive range of Emmy Awards for artistic and technical merit for the American television industry. Owned and operated by the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences (ATAS), the P ...

. Mentored by filmmaker

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 ...

, she made her screen debut with a small role in his film '' Face to Face'' (1976). After graduating from drama school, Olin joined the Royal Dramatic Theatre, followed by roles in Bergman's films ''

Fanny and Alexander ''Fanny and Alexander'' () is a 1982 Historical drama, period drama film written and directed by Ingmar Bergman. The plot focuses on two siblings and their large family in Uppsala, Sweden during the first decade of the twentieth century. Follow ...

'' (1982) and '' After the Rehearsal'' (1984). She made her international breakthrough in the role of a free-spirited artist in '' The Unbearable Lightness of Being'' (1988), which earned her a nomination for the

Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actress – Motion Picture The Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actress – Motion Picture is a Golden Globe Awards, Golden Globe Award that was first awarded by the Hollywood Foreign Press Association in 1944 for a performance in a motion picture released in the pre ...

. Olin garnered further critical acclaim for her portrayals of a traumatized

Holocaust survivor Holocaust survivors are people who survived the Holocaust, defined as the persecution and attempted annihilation of the Jews by Nazi Germany and Collaboration with Nazi Germany and Fascist Italy, its collaborators before and during World War II ...

in the

dramedy Comedy drama (also known by the portmanteau dramedy) is a hybrid genre of works that combine elements of comedy and Drama (film and television), drama. In film, as well as scripted television series, serious dramatic subjects (such as death, il ...

'' Enemies, A Love Story'' (1989), based on the novel by Isaac Bashevis Singer, for which she received a nomination for the

Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress The Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress is an award presented annually by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS). It has been awarded since the 9th Academy Awards to an actress who has delivered an outstanding performanc ...

, and an abused wife in the comedy-drama '' Chocolat'' (2000), for which she received a nomination for the BAFTA Award for Best Actress in a Supporting Role. Her other film roles include '' The Adventures of Picasso'' (1978), ''

Havana Havana (; ) is the capital and largest city of Cuba. The heart of La Habana Province, Havana is the country's main port and commercial center.Romeo Is Bleeding'' (1993), '' Mr. Jones'' (1993), '' The Ninth Gate'' (1999), '' Queen of the Damned'' (2002), '' Casanova'' (2005), '' The Reader'' (2008), '' Remember Me'' (2010), '' Maya Dardel'' (2017), and '' The Artist's Wife'' (2019). On television, Olin starred as KGB agent Irina Derevko on the spy thriller '' Alias'' (2002–2006), which earned her a nomination for the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama Series. Her other television roles include the sitcom '' Welcome to Sweden'' (2014–2015), the drama series '' Riviera'' (2017–2020), and the drama series '' Hunters'' (2020–2023).

Early life and education

Lena Maria Jonna Olin was born on 22 March 1955, in

Stockholm Stockholm (; ) is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in Sweden by population, most populous city of Sweden, as well as the List of urban areas in the Nordic countries, largest urban area in the Nordic countries. Approximately ...

, Sweden, the youngest of three children of actors Britta Holmberg and Stig Olin. Olin worked as a nursing assistant and as a substitute teacher before starting drama school. She studied at Sweden's National Academy of Dramatic Art from 1976 to 1979. In October 1974, at age 19, Olin was crowned Miss Scandinavia in

Helsinki Helsinki () is the Capital city, capital and most populous List of cities and towns in Finland, city in Finland. It is on the shore of the Gulf of Finland and is the seat of southern Finland's Uusimaa region. About people live in the municipali ...

Finland Finland, officially the Republic of Finland, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe. It borders Sweden to the northwest, Norway to the north, and Russia to the east, with the Gulf of Bothnia to the west and the Gulf of Finland to the south, ...

Career

Olin performed for over a decade with Sweden's Royal Dramatic Theatre-ensemble (1980–1994) in plays by

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 ...

and August Strindberg, and appeared in smaller roles of several Swedish films directed by Bergman and in productions of Swedish Television's TV-Theatre Company.

cast Olin in '' Face to Face'' (1976). A year later, she began acting on the national stage in Stockholm in productions directed by Bergman. She toured internationally with Bergman's production of ''

King Lear ''The Tragedy of King Lear'', often shortened to ''King Lear'', is a Shakespearean tragedy, tragedy written by William Shakespeare. It is loosely based on the mythological Leir of Britain. King Lear, in preparation for his old age, divides his ...

'' (in which Olin played Cordelia), including

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

Berlin Berlin ( ; ) is the Capital of Germany, capital and largest city of Germany, by both area and List of cities in Germany by population, population. With 3.7 million inhabitants, it has the List of cities in the European Union by population withi ...

, New York,

Copenhagen Copenhagen ( ) is the capital and most populous city of Denmark, with a population of 1.4 million in the Urban area of Copenhagen, urban area. The city is situated on the islands of Zealand and Amager, separated from Malmö, Sweden, by the ...

Moscow Moscow is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Russia by population, largest city of Russia, standing on the Moskva (river), Moskva River in Central Russia. It has a population estimated at over 13 million residents with ...

, and

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 ...

. Critically acclaimed stage performances by Olin at Sweden's Royal Dramatic Theatre included the leading part as The Daughter in '' A Dream Play'' by Strindberg; Margarita in the stage adaptation of ''

The Master and Margarita ''The Master and Margarita'' () is a novel by Mikhail Bulgakov, written in the Soviet Union between 1928 and 1940. A censored version, with several chapters cut by editors, was published posthumously in ''Moscow (magazine), Moscow'' magazine in ...

'' by Mikhail Bulgakov; Carlo Goldoni's '' The Servant of Two Masters''; Ann in Edward Bond's ''Summer''; Titania in '' A Midsummer Night's Dream'' by

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 natio ...

;

Ben Jonson Benjamin Jonson ( 11 June 1572 – ) was an English playwright, poet and actor. Jonson's artistry exerted a lasting influence on English poetry and stage comedy. He popularised the comedy of humours; he is best known for the satire, satirical ...

's '' The Alchemist''; the title role in Ingmar Bergman's rendition of Strindberg's '' Miss Julie'', and the neurotic Charlotte in the contemporary drama ''Nattvarden'' (''The Last Supper'') by Lars Norén. In 1980, Olin was one of the earliest winners of the Ingmar Bergman Award at the Guldbagge Awards, initiated in 1978 by the director himself, who was also one of the two judges. Olin's international debut in film was a small role in Bergman's ''

'' (1980), with Bergman later casting her in her first international lead role, '' After the Rehearsal'' (1984). In 1988, Olin starred with Daniel Day-Lewis and Juliette Binoche in her first major role in an English-speaking and internationally produced film, '' The Unbearable Lightness of Being.'' She also appeared in Sydney Pollack's ''

Havana Havana (; ) is the capital and largest city of Cuba. The heart of La Habana Province, Havana is the country's main port and commercial center.Roman Polanski Raymond Roman Thierry Polański (; born 18 August 1933) is a Polish and French filmmaker and actor. He is the recipient of List of awards and nominations received by Roman Polanski, numerous accolades, including an Academy Award, three Britis ...

's '' The Ninth Gate'' (1999). In 1989, Olin was nominated for the

, for '' Enemies: A Love Story'', in which she portrayed the survivor of a Nazi death camp. She starred in the 1993 thriller '' Romeo Is Bleeding'', and in the 1999 American superhero comedy film '' Mystery Men''. Olin and director

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 music, pop group ABBA, but came to international attention with his 1985 feature film ''My L ...

collaborated on the film '' Chocolat'' (2000), which received five Academy Award nominations. She worked with him again on '' Casanova'' (2005) and in the 2024 TV series '' The Darkness''. In 2002, Olin appeared in her first American television role, joining the main cast of '' Alias'' for its second season, playing the role of Irina Derevko. For her work on the series, Olin was nominated for the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama Series in 2003. In 2005, Olin returned to Sweden for a brief period of filming and starred in a supporting role in Danish director Simon Staho's film, '' Bang Bang Orangutang''. In 2008, Olin appeared in the Oscar-nominated film '' The Reader'', playing a Jewish survivor of the Auschwitz death march at a trial in the 1960s, and as the woman's daughter twenty years later. Between 2014 and 2015, Olin starred in Swedish sitcom '' Welcome to Sweden''. In 2017 she starred in the American-Polish independent drama film '' Maya Dardel'', which screened at

SXSW South by Southwest (SXSW) is an annual conglomeration of parallel film, interactive media, and music festivals and Convention (meeting), conferences organized jointly that take place in mid-March in Austin, Texas. It began in 1987 and has conti ...

. From 2020 to 2023 she played Eva Braun-Hitler / The Colonel, leader of the Fourth Reich and Hitler's wife, in '' Hunters'', an American conspiracy drama television series. In 2024 she played the lead role as Detective Hulda Hermannsdóttir in the Icelandic/American Nordic Noir TV series '' The Darkness'', directed by

, with whom she had previously collaborated.

Personal life

Olin has a son, August, from a relationship with actor Örjan Ramberg. Since 1994, she has been married to filmmaker

, with whom she has a daughter, Tora. They reside in Bedford, New York.

Filmography

Film

Television

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Olin, Lena Maria Jonna 1955 births 20th-century Swedish actresses 21st-century Swedish actresses Actresses from Stockholm Living people Swedish beauty pageant winners Swedish emigrants to the United States Swedish film actresses Swedish stage actresses Swedish television actresses