Eleonora Josephine Selmer (née Nielsen, October 15, 1851 – February 12, 1930) was a

Norwegian Norwegian, Norwayan, or Norsk may refer to: *Something of, from, or related to Norway, a country in northwestern Europe * Norwegians, both a nation and an ethnic group native to Norway * Demographics of Norway *The Norwegian language, including ...

theater actress. Leonora Selmer was born in

Kragerø Kragerø () is a town and municipality in Vestfold og Telemark county, Norway. It is part of the traditional regions of Grenland and the smaller Vestmar. The administrative centre of the municipality is the town of Kragerø. The city of Kragerø ...

, the daughter of the printer Johan Peter Nielsen and Karoline Krøger. On January 25, 1873, she married her fellow actor

Jens Selmer Jens Andreas Ludvig Selmer (July 14, 1845 – May 21, 1928) was a Norwegian stage actor and a film actor from the silent-film era. Selmer made his debut in 1865 at the Christiania Theater, where he remained until 1899, except for two seasons at ...

, and they were the parents of the actor and painter

Ulf Selmer Ulf Selmer (December 10, 1885 – September 24, 1961) was a Norwegian actor and painter. Selmer was the son of the actor Jens Selmer (1845–1928) at the Christiania Theater and his wife, the actress Eleonora Josephine Nielsen (1850–1930), wh ...

. According to Liv Jensson, she debuted at the New Christiania Norwegian Theatre (a.k.a. the Møllergaden Theater) between 1870 and 1873. She had her first major role in the fall of 1870 as Alice de Rochegune in

Ernest Legouvé Gabriel Jean Baptiste Ernest Wilfrid Legouvé (; 14 February 180714 March 1903) was a French dramatist. Biography Son of the poet Gabriel-Marie Legouvé (1764–1812), he was born in Paris. His mother died in 1810, and almost immediately after ...

's ''Par droit de conquête'' (Norwegian title: ''En Brud ved Erobring''). She later worked at the

Christiania Theater Hotel Christiania Teater – is a historic Oslo city hotel and landmark built in 1918, known primarily for the notability of its theater inside the hotel and recently its unique hotel design by Annemone Wille Waage. The 102-unit hotel is locat ...

and after that at the National Theatre. In the summer of 1899 she participated in the Christiania Tour ( no, Christianiaturneen), in which she played the role of Mathilde in ''Hans Huckebein '' (Norwegian title: ''Damen fra Ostende'') by

Gustav Kadelburg Gustav Kadelburg (26 January 1851, in Pest – 11 September 1925, in Berlin) was a Hungarian-German Jewish actor, dramatist, writer. He made his first appearance at Leipzig in 1869, and two years later played at the Wallnertheater in Berlin. ...

and

Oscar Blumenthal Oscar Blumenthal or Oskar Blumenthal (13 March 1852 Berlin - 24 April 1917, Berlin) was a German playwright and drama critic. Biography Blumenthal was educated at the gymnasium and the university of his native town, and at Leipzig University, w ...

. Leonora Selmer is buried at the

Cemetery of Our Saviour The Cemetery of Our Saviour ( no, Vår Frelsers gravlund) is a cemetery in Oslo, Norway, located north of Hammersborg in Gamle Aker district. It is located adjacent to the older Old Aker Cemetery and was created in 1808 as a result of the grea ...

in Oslo.

Selected roles

*Alice de Rochegune in ''Par droit de conquête'' (Norwegian title: ''En Brud ved Erobring'') by

(1870) *Stine Isenkræmmers in ''Barselstuen'' by

Ludvig Holberg Ludvig Holberg, Baron of Holberg (3 December 1684 – 28 January 1754) was a writer, essayist, philosopher, historian and playwright born in Bergen, Norway, during the time of the Dano-Norwegian dual monarchy. He was influenced by Humanism, ...

( National Theatre, 1899) *Clementine in ''Le Testament de César Girodot'' (Norwegian title: ''César Girodots Testamente'') by Edmond Villetard and

Adolphe Belot Louis Marc Adolphe Belot was a French playwright and novelist. He was born on 6 November 1829 in Pointe-à-Pitre, and died on 18 December 1890 in Paris. Biography Adolphe Belot was the son of an attorney employed by the Pointe-à-Pitre cour ...

( National Theatre, 1899) *Mathilde in ''Hans Huckebein '' (Norwegian title: ''Damen fra Ostende'') by

and

(Christiania Tour, 1899)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Selmer, Leonora 1851 births 1930 deaths 19th-century Norwegian actresses Norwegian stage actresses People from Kragerø Burials at the Cemetery of Our Saviour