Taina Elisabeth Elg (9 March 1930 – 15 May 2025) was a Finnish and American actress and dancer. She appeared on stage, television and in film.

Early life and career

Elg was born on 9 March 1930 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 ...

, and raised in

Turku Turku ( ; ; , ) is a city in Finland and the regional capital of Southwest Finland. It is located on the southwestern coast of the country at the mouth of the Aura River (Finland), River Aura. The population of Turku is approximately , while t ...

by her parents, Åke Elg (né Ludwig), a Finnish pianist, and Helena Doroumova (who was of

Russian Russian(s) may refer to: *Russians (), an ethnic group of the East Slavic peoples, primarily living in Russia and neighboring countries *A citizen of Russia *Russian language, the most widely spoken of the Slavic languages *''The Russians'', a b ...

descent). She was signed to a seven-year contract to

Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios Inc. (also known as Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Pictures, commonly shortened to MGM or MGM Studios) is an American Film production, film and television production and film distribution, distribution company headquartered ...

in the mid-1950s. In 1957, she won the

Golden Globe 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 Januar ...

for the Foreign Newcomer Award – Female. She won another Golden Globe in 1958 for Best Motion Picture Actress – Musical/Comedy for her performance in ''

Les Girls ''Les Girls'' (also known as ''Cole Porter's Les Girls'') is a 1957 American CinemaScope musical comedy film directed by George Cukor and produced by Sol C. Siegel, with Saul Chaplin as associate producer. The screenplay is by John Patrick a ...

'', tying with her co-star,

Kay Kendall Justine Kay Kendall McCarthy (21 May 1927 – 6 September 1959) was an English actress and singer. She began her film career in the musical film ''London Town (1946 film), London Town'' (1946), a financial failure. Kendall worked regularly unti ...

. In 1958, she was nominated for a Golden Laurel as Top New Female Personality. In 1959, she starred alongside

Kenneth More Kenneth Gilbert More (20 September 1914 – 12 July 1982) was an English actor. Initially achieving fame in the comedy ''Genevieve (film), Genevieve'' (1953), he appeared in many roles as a carefree, happy-go-lucky gent. Films from this period ...

in '' The 39 Steps''. In 1975, she was nominated for a

Tony Award The Antoinette Perry Award for Excellence in Broadway Theatre, more commonly known as a Tony Award, recognizes excellence in live Broadway theatre. The awards are presented by the American Theatre Wing and The Broadway League at an annual ce ...

for her performance as Donna Lucia D'Alvadorez in ''

Where's Charley? ''Where's Charley?'' is a musical with music and lyrics by Frank Loesser and book by George Abbott. The story was based on the 1892 play '' Charley's Aunt'' by Brandon Thomas. The musical debuted on Broadway in 1948 and was revived on Broadway ...

''. She appeared in the original Broadway production of ''

Nine 9 (nine) is the natural number following and preceding . Evolution of the Hindu–Arabic digit Circa 300 BC, as part of the Brahmi numerals, various Indians wrote a digit 9 similar in shape to the modern closing question mark without the bot ...

'' as Guido Contini's mother. In 1989, she had the title role as Lea in ''Chéri'', from a

Colette Sidonie-Gabrielle Colette (; 28 January 1873 – 3 August 1954), known as Colette or Colette Willy, was a French author and woman of letters. She was also a Mime artist, mime, actress, and journalist. Colette is best known in the English-speaki ...

novel as adapted by

Anita Loos Corinne Anita Loos (April 26, 1888 – August 18, 1981) was an American actress, novelist, playwright and screenwriter. In 1912, she became the first female staff screenwriter in Hollywood (film industry), Hollywood, when D. W. Griffith put h ...

. In 1980, she played Dr. Ingrid Fischer on

CBS CBS Broadcasting Inc., commonly shortened to CBS (an abbreviation of its original name, Columbia Broadcasting System), is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the CBS Entertainme ...

daytime drama soap opera ''

Guiding Light ''Guiding Light'' (known as ''The Guiding Light'' before 1975) is an American radio and television soap opera. ''Guiding Light'' aired on CBS for 57 years between June 30, 1952, and September 18, 2009, overlapping a 19-year broadcast on radio ...

''. From 1980 to 1982, she played Olympia Buchanan, first wife of tycoon Asa Buchanan, on the ABC soap opera ''

One Life to Live ''One Life to Live'' (often abbreviated as ''OLTL'') is an American soap opera broadcast on the American Broadcasting Company, ABC television network for more than 43 years, from July 15, 1968, to January 13, 2012, and then on the internet as ...

''. Her character, held prisoner by Asa for months, had a memorable death sequence, falling over a balcony at a costume party.

Personal life and death

Her son by her first marriage to Carl-Gustav Björkenheim, which ended in divorce in 1960, is the jazz guitarist

Raoul Björkenheim Raoul Melvin Björkenheim (born February 11, 1956) is a Finnish-American jazz guitarist, who has lived in Helsinki, New York, and Los Angeles. His mother is Finnish-American actress Taina Elg.''Finlands ridderskaps och adels kalender 1992'', pp ...

. In 1985, Elg married Rocco Caporale, an Italian-born educator and professor of sociology. Elg lived for a long time on the

Upper East Side The Upper East Side, sometimes abbreviated UES, is a neighborhood in the boroughs of New York City, borough of Manhattan in New York City. It is bounded approximately by 96th Street (Manhattan), 96th Street to the north, the East River to the e ...

, in

Manhattan Manhattan ( ) is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the Boroughs of New York City, five boroughs of New York City. Coextensive with New York County, Manhattan is the County statistics of the United States#Smallest, larg ...

, in New York City, but later returned to Finland. Elg was an American and Finnish dual citizen. Elg died at a nursing home in Helsinki, on 15 May 2025, at the age of 95.https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/movies/movie-news/taina-elg-dead-les-girls-39-steps-1236230869/

Filmography

*''

The Prodigal ''The Prodigal'' is a 1955 Eastmancolor biblical epic CinemaScope film made by MGM starring Lana Turner and Edmund Purdom. It was based on the New Testament parable about a selfish son who leaves his family to pursue a life of pleasure. T ...

'' (1955) *'' Diane'' (1956) *'' Gaby'' (1956) *''

'' (1957) *''

Imitation General ''Imitation General'' is a 1958 American black-and-white comedy war film in CinemaScope, directed by George Marshall, produced by William B. Hawks, and starring Glenn Ford, Red Buttons, and Taina Elg. The film, distributed by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer ...

'' (1958) *'' The 39 Steps'' (1959) *'' Watusi'' (1959) *'' The Bacchantes'' (1961) *'' Hercules in New York'' (1970) *'' Liebestraum'' (1991) *''

The Mirror Has Two Faces ''The Mirror Has Two Faces'' is a 1996 American romantic comedy-drama film produced and directed by Barbra Streisand, who also stars. The screenplay by Richard LaGravenese is loosely based on the 1958 French film ''Le Miroir à deux faces'' wri ...

'' (1996)

Television

*''

Wagon Train ''Wagon Train'' is an American Western television series that aired for eight seasons, first on the NBC television network (1957–1962) and then on ABC (1962–1965). ''Wagon Train'' debuted on September 18, 1957, and reached the top of the ...

'' "'' The Countess Baranof Story''" (1960)

Stage appearances

*''

Irma la Douce ''Irma la Douce'' (, "Irma the Sweet") is a 1963 American romantic comedy film directed by Billy Wilder from a screenplay he co-wrote with I. A. L. Diamond, based on the 1956 French stage musical of the same name by Marguerite Monnot and Al ...

'' (U.S. national tour) *''

Look to the Lilies To look is to use sight to perceive an object. Look or The Look may refer to: Businesses and products * Look (modeling agency), an Israeli modeling agency * ''Look'' (American magazine), a defunct general-interest magazine * ''Look'' (UK ...

'' *'' Two By Two'' (U.S. national tour) *''

'' *''

'' *'' The Utter Glory of Morrissey Hall'' *''

A Little Night Music ''A Little Night Music'' is a musical with music and lyrics by Stephen Sondheim and book by Hugh Wheeler. Inspired by the 1955 Ingmar Bergman film '' Smiles of a Summer Night'', it involves the romantic lives of several couples. Its title is a ...

'' (in Australia) *''Chéri'' (off-Broadway, New York)

References

External links

*
Soap Central character brief
{{DEFAULTSORT:Elg, Taina 1930 births 2025 deaths 21st-century American women American dancers American female dancers American film actresses American musical theatre actresses American soap opera actresses American television actresses Best Foreign Newcomer Golden Globe winners Best Musical or Comedy Actress Golden Globe (film) winners Finnish dancers Finnish emigrants to the United States Naturalized citizens of the United States Finnish female dancers Finnish film actresses Finnish people of Russian descent Finnish television actresses Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer contract players People from Turku