Kyllikki Forssell
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Teatterineuvos Vapaaherratar Kyllikki Forssell | |
|---|---|
 Forssell in 2007 | |
| Born | Kyllikki Kaarina Forssell 2 May 1925 |
| Died | 7 October 2019 (aged 94) Helsinki |
| Occupation(s) | actress, director |
| Spouses | Patrick Bruun
(m. 1945; div. 1950)Erik Indrenius-Zalewski
(m. 1951; died 1962) |
| Awards |
|
Kyllikki Forssell (2 May 1925 – 7 October 2019)[1] was a leading Finnish stage and film actress, with a career spanning over 60 years from the mid-20th to the early 21st century and film director.[2][3][4]
She was one of the first four Finnish women film directors.[5]
Kyllikki Forssell was born in Helsinki to cavalry Colonel Juho Forssell and Kyllikki née Nyman-Linnove.[3] She had a strict, military-style upbringing, with her mother insisting — despite the family being Finnish-speaking — on speaking French to her daughter.[6]
She received her education in Finnish, Swedish and German,[6] completing her secondary school in 1943, and went on, against the wishes of her anti-thespian father, to study acting at the Suomi-Filmi cinematic school (1943–44) and the Swedish Theatre stage school (1944–46).[2][3]
Career
Forssell was regarded as an intelligent, confident, and technically skilled actor, with a line of strong, regal characters in her repertoire.[7]
Although she appeared in several films, she is best known as a stage actor, most notably attached to the Finnish National Theatre where she worked over 40 years from 1948 until the early 1990s.[7][4] She also worked extensively with the Helsinki City Theatre.[8]
She also directed four productions at the National Theatre,[2] as well as three television dramas.[9]
Stage work (selected)
A small selection of Forssell's many roles included (all at the Finnish National Theatre, unless otherwise indicated):[2][10]
- Jessica in Dirty Hands
- Annie Sullivan in The Miracle Worker
- Catharine in Suddenly Last Summer
- Gwendolen Fairfax in The Importance of Being Earnest
- Mary Tyrone in Long Day's Journey into Night
- Miss Mary Shepherd / Margaret Fairchild in The Lady in the Van
- Marquise de Merteuil in Les Liaisons Dangereuses
Her portrayal of Annie Sullivan in The Miracle Worker was considered by some as the performance of the decade.[2]
Filmography as actress (selected)
- Tyttö Astuu Elämään (1943) — Aino Mäkinen
- Nuoria Ihmisiä (1943) — Leni
- Suomisen Olli Yllättää (1945) — Leila
- Ylijäämänainen (1951) — Ella Quist
Filmography as director
- Shamrock (1953) - episode Happy Family
- Merihevonen (1961)
- Play Strindberg (1971)
Honours and awards
In 1976, Forssell received the Pro Finlandia medal of the Order of the Lion of Finland,[12] and in 1991, Finland's premier theatre award, the Ida Aalberg Prize.[2]
In 1989, the honorary title of Teatterineuvos (lit. 'Theatre Counselor') was conferred on Forssell by the President of Finland.[1]
