Ann Petrén

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Wikipedia

Ann Petrén
Petrén in 2013
Born
Ann Louise Maria Petrén

(1954-05-25) 25 May 1954 (age 71)
Västerås, Sweden
OccupationActress
Years active1979–present
SpouseBengt Berger
​
​
(m. 2002)​
AwardsGuldbagge Award for Best Actress

Ann Louise Maria Petrén (born 25 May 1954) is a Swedish actress. She is known for her performances in Daybreak [sv] (2003) and Happy End [sv] (2011); for each she received a Guldbagge Award for Best Actress. She has also starred in multiple stage productions, having been a member of the permanent ensemble at Stockholm City Theatre since 1988.

Early life and education

Ann Louise Maria Petrén was born 25 May 1954 in Västerås to Folke Petrén [sv] and Maud Jacobsson.[1][2] Her father was an executive at Svenska Metallverken [sv].[3] She was educated at Malmö Theatre Academy from 1976–1979.[1]

Career

In 1988, she became a permanent member of the ensemble at Stockholm City Theatre.[4] Her first role was in a production of Staffan Göthe's A Stuffed Dog.[5]

She played a long-suffering wife of an alcoholic womanizer in the 1992 coming-of-age film Night of the Orangutan, also known as My Great Big Daddy.[6]

In 2003, she played Anita in Daybreak [sv]. Stephen Holden wrote of her performance for The New York Times, "Petrén's avenging demon, in particular, is as frightening a surrogate for every wife who has been dumped for a younger woman as the screen has produced."[7] For this role, she received a Guldbagge Award for Best Actress, the Jarl Kulle Scholarship, and the Swedish Theatre Critics Association Award.[8]

Petrén starred in Björn Runge's 2011 film Happy End [sv]. She played Jonna, a widowed driving instructor. The film premiered at the San Sebastián International Film Festival.[9] She received her second Guldbagge Award for Best Actress and the Dagens Nyheters Culture Prize [sv] for Happy End.[10]

She had a supporting role in Border, a 2018 fantasy-thriller film directed by Ali Abbasis.[11]

She starred opposite Frida Westerdahl [sv] in Björn Runge's play Jag är en annan nu (English: I am different now). Her performance received praise in Dagens Nyheter and Västerbottens-Kuriren.[12][13]

In 2022, she played a domineering drama teacher in a production of Staffan Valdemar Holm's Månen och de andra planeterna (English: The moon and other planets) at Stockholm City Theatre. Later that year she also acted in Lars Norén's Temps Morte.[3]

Personal life

In 2002, she married Bengt Berger.[14]

Filmography

Film

Year Title Role Notes Ref.
1986 The Mozart Brothers
In the Name of the Law [sv]
1989 Peter och Petra
1992 Night of the Orangutan
2000 A Summer Tale
2002 Outside Your Door
2003 Daybreak [sv] Anita [7]
2004 Dalecarlians
2005 Mouth to Mouth
2011 Åsa-Nisse – wälkom to Knohult [sv]
Happy End [sv] Jonna [9]
2018 A Serious Game
2018 Border Agneta [11]
2020 Inland [sv]

Television

Year Title Role Notes Ref.
2001–2002 Olivia Twist
2020 LasseMajas detektivbyrå
2021 Beck – Gamen

Awards and nominations

Year Award Work Result Ref.
2003 Guldbagge Award for Best Actress in a Leading Role Daybreak [sv] Won
2011 Happy End [sv] Won
Dagens Nyheters Culture Prize [sv] Won [10]
2015 Litteris et Artibus Won [15]

References

  1. 1 2 Ullberg, Sara (2011-09-21). "Ann har valt att ta plats" [Ann has chosen to take her place]. Norrköpings Tidningar (in Swedish). Retrieved 2025-06-19.
  2. ↑ "777 (Vem är det : Svensk biografisk handbok / 1957)". runeberg.org (in Swedish). Retrieved 2025-06-19.
  3. 1 2 Ring, Lars (2022-09-26). "En hyllning till skådespelaren som bejakar det besvärliga" [A tribute to the actor who embraces the difficult]. Svenska Dagbladet (in Swedish) – via PressReader.
  4. ↑ "Ann Petrén om livet som skådis" [Ann Petrén about life as an actress]. Bohusläningen (in Swedish). 2018-02-10. Retrieved 2025-06-18 – via PressReader.
  5. ↑ "Ann Petrén fyller 65 år" [Ann Petrén turns 65]. Aftonbladet. 2019-05-24. Retrieved 2025-06-18 – via PressReader.
  6. ↑ James, Caryn (1994-03-26). "Review/Film Festival; A Boy and His Dad (With Bergman in the Background)". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2025-06-28.
  7. 1 2 Holden, Stephen (2005-02-02). "Until Deception Do Us Part: Scenes From 3 Chilly Marriages". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2025-06-19.
  8. ↑ Höök, Arne (2010-08-24). "'Jag tror alltid allt ska gå åt helvete'". Aftonbladet (in Swedish). Retrieved 2025-06-28.
  9. 1 2 van Hoeij, Boyd (2011-10-18). "Happy End". Variety. Retrieved 2025-06-28.
  10. 1 2 "Dagens Nyheters kulturpris". Dagens Nyheter (in Swedish). 2011-03-02. ISSN 1101-2447. Retrieved 2025-06-28.
  11. 1 2 Hellsten, Anna (2018-08-31). "Gräns. Vältänkt, välspelad och vacker – "Gräns" är ljuvlig. Den sommaren. Fördjupad bild av överklassmisär". Svenska Dagbladet (in Swedish) – via PressReader.
  12. ↑ "Scenrecension: "Jag är en annan nu" rör om i maggropen". Dagens Nyheter (in Swedish). 2018-01-28. ISSN 1101-2447. Retrieved 2025-06-28.
  13. ↑ Böhlin, Lars (2019-03-02). "Manegen krattad för Ann Petrén". Västerbottens-Kuriren (in Swedish) – via PressReader.
  14. ↑ ""Jag vill se ut som jag gör"" [“I want to look like I do”]. Aftonbladet (in Swedish). 2024-05-25. Retrieved 2025-06-18 – via PressReader.
  15. ↑ "Litteris et artibus till Ann Petrén". Svenska Dagbladet (in Swedish). 2015-01-28. ISSN 1101-2412. Retrieved 2025-07-29.