Sigrid Gurie

Gurie was born in Brooklyn, New York. Her father was a civil engineer who worked for the New York City Subway from 1902 to 1912. As she and her twin brother, Knut, were born in the United States, the twins held dual Norwegian-American citizenship. In 1914, the family returned to Norway. Sigrid subsequently grew up in Oslo and was educated in Norway, Sweden, and Belgium.^[3]

In 1935, Gurie married Thomas Stewart of California; she filed for divorce in 1938.^[4] Her brother became a noted member of the Norwegian resistance movement during World War II. Knut Haukelid died at age 82 in 1994.^[5]

In 1936, Gurie arrived in Hollywood. Film magnate Sam Goldwyn reportedly took credit for discovering her, promoting his discovery as "the Norwegian Garbo" and billed her as "the siren of the fjords".^[6][4] When the press discovered Gurie's birth in Flatbush, Goldwyn then claimed "the greatest hoax in movie history."^[7]

Gurie performed well in the supporting role of Ines in Algiers (1938), but did less well in Universal’s Three Faces West (1940), the New York Times deeming her effort “less than adequate.”^[8] Gurie accepted the lead role in Voice in the Wind (1944), but the production was panned by critics.^[9] She had a minor role in the classic Norwegian film Kampen om tungtvannet (1948). The movie was based principally on the book Skis Against the Atom which was written by her brother,^[10] Knut Haukelid, a noted saboteur and member of the Norwegian resistance against German occupation in World War II.

In the late 1940s she attended the Kann Art Institute, operated in West Hollywood by abstract artist Frederick I. Kann (1886–1965). She studied oils and portraiture. Among her works were landscapes, portraits and pen and ink sketches.

From 1961 to 1969 she lived in San Miguel de Allende, Mexico, where she continued painting, and was also designing jewelry for Royal Copenhagen in Denmark. She entered the hospital in Mexico City on an emergency basis for a recurring kidney problem, then developed a blood clot that passed through her lungs, which led to her death.