Sofia Margareta Götschenhjelm-Helin is a Swedish actress. She was nominated for a

Guldbagge Award The Guldbagge Awards (, ) is an official and annual Sweden, Swedish film awards ceremony honoring achievements in the Swedish film industry. Winners are awarded a statuette depicting a Cetonia aurata, rose chafer, better known by the name Guldbagg ...

for her role in '' Dalecarlians'', and stars as Saga Norén in the Danish/Swedish co-produced TV series ''

The Bridge The Bridge may refer to: Art, entertainment and media Art * ''The Bridge'' (sculpture), a 1997 sculpture in Atlanta, Georgia, US * Die Brücke (''The Bridge''), a group of German expressionist artists * ''The Bridge'' (M. C. Escher), a lithograph ...

'' (Danish: Broen; Swedish: Bron).

Early life and education

Sofia Margareta Helin was born on 25 April 1972 in Hovsta in

Örebro Örebro ( ; ) is the seventh-largest city in Sweden, the seat of Örebro Municipality, and capital of Örebro County. It is situated by the Närke Plain, near the lake Hjälmaren, a few kilometers inland along the small river Svartån, and ...

Närke Närke () is a Swedish traditional province, or ''landskap'', situated in Svealand in south central Sweden. It is bordered by Västmanland to the north, Södermanland to the east, Östergötland to the southeast, Västergötland to the sou ...

. Her father was a salesman and her mother a nurse. When she was 10 days old, her grandmother and her six-year-old brother had a car accident; her grandmother survived, but her brother was killed. She grew up in

Linghem Linghem is a commune in the Pas-de-Calais department in the Hauts-de-France region of France about northwest of Béthune and west of Lille. Population See also *Communes of the Pas-de-Calais department The following is a list of the 8 ...

, near

Linköping Linköping ( , ) is a city in southern Sweden, with around 167,000 inhabitants as of 2024. It is the seat of Linköping Municipality and the capital of Östergötland County. Linköping is also the episcopal see of the Diocese of Linköping (Chu ...

. From 1994 to 1996, she went to Calle Flygares theatre school and graduated from the Stockholm Theatre Academy in 2001.

Career

Helin played the leading role of Chief Inspector Klara in the film '' At Point Blank'' (''Rånarna'') in 2003. In 2004, she took the leading role of Mia in the Swedish comedy drama film ''

Masjävlar ''Dalecarlians '' () is a 2004 Swedish comedy drama film starring Sofia Helin. The word "masjävlar" is a derogatory term for Dalecarlian dialects, Dalecarlians, who are usually known as ''masar''. Cast * Sofia Helin as Mia * Kajsa Ernst as Eiv ...

'', and was nominated for a Guldbagge award. In 2007 she played the leading role of Cecilia Algottsdotter in '' Arn'', an adaptation of

Jan Guillou Jan Oskar Sverre Lucien Henri Guillou (, ; born 17 January 1944) is a French-Swedish author and journalist. Guillou's fame in Sweden was established during his time as an investigative journalist, most notably in 1973 when he and co-reporter Pet ...

's '' The Knight Templar'', about Arn Magnusson. She also featured in the Swedish animated film '' Metropia'' (2009). She became famous outside Sweden after 2012, when the first series of the highly successful TV crime drama series ''

'' went to air. In it, she played Saga Norén, a

homicide Homicide is an act in which a person causes the death of another person. A homicide requires only a Volition (psychology), volitional act, or an omission, that causes the death of another, and thus a homicide may result from Accident, accidenta ...

detective from

Malmö Malmö is the List of urban areas in Sweden by population, third-largest city in Sweden, after Stockholm and Gothenburg, and the List of urban areas in the Nordic countries, sixth-largest city in Nordic countries, the Nordic region. Located on ...

. In the UK, the series attracted more than a million viewers per episode, and she was called a role model for women with

Asperger syndrome Asperger syndrome (AS), also known as Asperger's syndrome or Asperger's, is a diagnostic label that has historically been used to describe a neurodevelopmental disorder characterized by significant difficulties in social interaction and no ...

. The fourth season of the series aired in 2018. In 2015, she starred in a Danish

science fiction film Science fiction (or sci-fi) is a film genre that uses Speculative fiction, speculative, fictional science-based depictions of phenomena that are not fully accepted by mainstream science, such as Extraterrestrial life in fiction, extraterrestria ...

called ''Fang Rung''. In the same year, she acted in a British/German TV series directed by

Oliver Hirschbiegel Oliver Hirschbiegel (born 29 December 1957) is a German film director. His works include and the Oscar-nominated film about Adolf Hitler, '' Downfall''. Early life and education Oliver Hirschbiegel was born in Hamburg, West Germany on 29 Dece ...

, about divided Berlin in the 1970s, called '' The Same Sky'', in which she spoke in both German and English. The series was shot in Prague. Helin plays an

archaeologist Archaeology or archeology is the study of human activity through the recovery and analysis of material culture. The archaeological record consists of Artifact (archaeology), artifacts, architecture, biofact (archaeology), biofacts or ecofacts, ...

in series 2 of the 2020 Australian TV crime drama ''

Mystery Road Mystery Road may refer to: * ''Mystery Road'' (film), a 2013 Australian neo-western crime film * ''Mystery Road'' (TV series), an Australian television drama series beginning in 2018 * ''Mystery Road'' (album), a 1989 album by Drivin N Cryin * '' ...

''. She plays the lead role in the 2023 Swedish TV crime drama '' Fallen'', again working with the director of ''The Bridge''. Helin plays Julia Rothman, the head of Scorpia, in the UK's third season of ''

Alex Rider ''Alex Rider'' is a series of spy novels by the English author Anthony Horowitz. The novels revolve around the teenaged spy Alex Rider and are primarily aimed towards young adults. The series comprises 14 novels, as well as seven graphic ...

'', airing on 5 April 2024 on Amazon Freevee in the UK, Germany, and the US.

Personal life

Helin has a facial scar resulting from a cycling accident when she was 24. Helin married Daniel Götschenhjelm, a priest in the

Church of Sweden The Church of Sweden () is an Evangelical Lutheran national church in Sweden. A former state church, headquartered in Uppsala, with around 5.5 million members at year end 2023, it is the largest Christian denomination in Sweden, the largest List ...

and former actor, whom she met at drama school. They have a son and a daughter. In 2015 she was living 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 ...

. Helin is a

Christian A Christian () is a person who follows or adheres to Christianity, a Monotheism, monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus in Christianity, Jesus Christ. Christians form the largest religious community in the wo ...

Filmography

*''

Rederiet ''Rederiet'' (''High Seas'' or ''The Shipping Company'') was a (318 episodes) Swedish soap opera that aired on Sveriges Television between August 1992 and April 2002. The cast featured many popular and renowned Swedish actors. The 45-minute epis ...

'' (1997) *''

Tusenbröder ''Tusenbröder'' is a drama TV-series on Swedish Television in three seasons, from 2002 (season 1), 2003 (season 2) and 2006 (season 3). The third installment of the series first opened on the big screen, March 10, 2006, edited together as one fil ...

'' (2002) *''

Beck – Sista vittnet ''Beck – Sista vittnet'' (English: ''Beck – The Last Witness'') is a 2002 film about the Swedish police detective Martin Beck directed by Harald Hamrell. Cast * Peter Haber as Martin Beck * Mikael Persbrandt as Gunvald Larsson * Malin Birge ...

'' (2002) *'' At Point Blank'' (2003) *''

Four Shades of Brown ''Four Shades of Brown'' () is a 2004 Swedish film written by the comedy group Killinggänget and directed by their member Tomas Alfredson. The film stars Robert Gustafsson, Johan Rheborg, Henrik Schyffert, Jonas Inde, Maria Kulle and Ulf Brunnbe ...

'' (2004) *'' Dalecarlians'' (''Masjävlar'') (2004) *'' Blodsbröder'' (2005) *'' Nina Frisk'' (2007) *''

Arn – The Knight Templar ''Arn: The Knight Templar'' () is an epic film based on Jan Guillou's trilogy about the fictional Swedish Knight Templar Arn Magnusson. The film was released to cinemas in Sweden on 17 December 2007 and the sequel, '' Arn – The Kingdom at R ...

'' (2007) *''

Arn – The Kingdom at Road's End ''Arn – The Kingdom at Road's End'' () is an epic film based on Jan Guillou's The Knight Templar (Crusades trilogy), trilogy about the fictional Sweden, Swedish Knights Templar, Knight Templar Arn Magnusson. It was released to cinemas in Sweden ...

'' (2008) *'' Metropia'' - Swedish animated film (2009) *''

Gåten Ragnarok ''Gåten Ragnarok '' (lit. "The Riddle Ragnarok") or just simply ''Ragnarok'' is a 2013 Norwegian fantasy adventure film about the legendary story of Ragnarök. Archaeologist Sigurd Swenson sets off to Finnmark in search of new physical evidence ...

'' (2013) *''

'' (''Broen/Bron'') - TV series (2011–2018) *'' The Same Sky'' - TV series (2017) *'' That Good Night'' (2017) *''

The Snowman ''The Snowman'' is a 1982 British animated television film and symphonic poem based on Raymond Briggs's 1978 picture book '' The Snowman.'' It was directed by Dianne Jackson for Channel 4. It was first shown on 26 December 1982, and was an ...

'' (2017) *''

'' (series 2) - TV series (2020) *'' Atlantic Crossing'' - TV series (2020) *''Exit'' (series 2) - Norwegian TV series (2021) * ''Fallen'' (''Sanningen''; 2023), a six-part TV series co-created by ''The Bridge'' lead writer Camilla Ahlgren *'' Alex Rider (Season 3)'' (2024)

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Helin, Sofia 1972 births Living people People from Örebro Municipality Swedish film actresses Swedish television actresses 20th-century Swedish actresses Swedish Christians 21st-century Swedish actresses