Teatterineuvos
Vapaaherratar

Kyllikki Forssell
Kyllikki Forssell in 2007
Forssell in 2007
Born
Kyllikki Kaarina Forssell

(1925-05-02)2 May 1925
Helsinki, Finland
Died7 October 2019(2019-10-07) (aged 94)
Helsinki
Occupation(s)actress, director
Spouses
Patrick Bruun
​
​
(m. 1945; div. 1950)​
    Erik Indrenius-Zalewski
    ​
    ​
    (m. 1951; died 1962)​
    Awards
    • Pro Finlandia (1976)
    • Ida Aalberg Prize (1991)

    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]

    Early life and education

    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]

    Publicity photo of Forssell, for the 1951 Finnish film Ylijäämänainen

    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]

    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

    [11][9]

    Filmography as director

    • Kolmiopila (1953)
    • 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]

    Personal life

    In 1945, Forssell married the historian, Professor Patrick Bruun, but the marriage ended in divorce only five years later.[2]

    In 1951, she married Freiherr Erik Indrenius-Zalewski, thus becoming entitled Freifrau (Finnish: Vapaaherratar).[2]

    In the 1960s her affair with fellow actor Esko Salminen, 15 years her junior, caused something of a scandal due to their age difference.[7]

    Forssell retired in 2012, and died in 2019 at the age of 94, after a long battle with cancer.[1]

    References

    1. 1 2 3 "Teatterineuvos Kyllikki Forssell on kuollut". Helsingin Sanomat (in Finnish). 7 October 2019. Retrieved 19 April 2022.
    2. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 "Forssell, Kyllikki (1925-2019)". Kansallisbiografia.fi (in Finnish). National Biography of Finland. Retrieved 19 April 2022.
    3. 1 2 3 Kuka Kukin On (Who's Who) (in Finnish). Helsinki: Otava. 1978. p. 139. Retrieved 19 April 2022.
    4. 1 2 "Forssell, Kyllikki". Uppslagsverket.fi (in Swedish). Retrieved 21 April 2022.
    5. ↑ "Ensimmäiset neljä naista – vain he saivat ohjata suomalaisen elokuvan kultakaudella" [The first four women - only they got to direct in the golden age of Finnish film]. YLE.
    6. 1 2 "Vapaaherratar löysi sisältään intohimoisen naisen". Turun Sanomat (in Finnish). 26 October 2007. Retrieved 19 April 2022.
    7. 1 2 3 "Kyllikki Forssell oli Suomen johtava teatteridiiva – suhde Esko Salmiseen teki hänestä aikansa kohujulkkiksen" (in Finnish). Yle. 7 October 2019. Retrieved 19 April 2022.
    8. ↑ "Teatterineuvos Kyllikki Forssell, 94, on kuollut". Iltalehti (in Finnish). 7 October 2019. Retrieved 19 April 2022.
    9. 1 2 "Kyllikki Forssell". IMDb.com. Retrieved 19 April 2022.
    10. ↑ "Rakastettu näyttelijä Kyllikki Forssell on kuollut". Kansallisteatteri.fi (in Finnish). National Theatre. 7 October 2019. Retrieved 21 April 2022.
    11. ↑ "Kyllikki Forssell". Elonet. Retrieved 20 April 2022.
    12. ↑ "SUOMEN LEIJONAN PRO FINLANDIA -MITALIN SAAJAT 1945-2021". Ritarikunnat.fi (in Finnish). The Orders of the White Rose of Finland and the Lion of Finland. Retrieved 19 April 2022.
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