Kyllikki Forssell

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.[2][3][4]

Teatterineuvos
Vapaaherratar

Kyllikki Forssell
Forssell in 2007
Born
Kyllikki Kaarina Forssell

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

      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.[5]

      She received her education in Finnish, Swedish and German,[5] 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.[6]

      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.[6][4] She also worked extensively with the Helsinki City Theatre.[7]

      She also directed four productions at the National Theatre,[2] as well as three television dramas.[8]

      Stage work (selected)

      A small selection of Forssell's many roles included (all at the Finnish National Theatre, unless otherwise indicated):[2][9]

      Her portrayal of Annie Sullivan in The Miracle Worker was considered by some as the performance of the decade.[2]

      Filmography (selected)
      • Tyttö Astuu Elämään (1943) — Aino Mäkinen
      • Nuoria Ihmisiä (1943) — Leni
      • Suomisen Olli Yllättää (1945) — Leila
      • Ylijäämänainen (1951) — Ella Quist

      [10][8]

      Honours and awards

      In 1976, Forssell received the Pro Finlandia medal of the Order of the Lion of Finland,[11] 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 becaming 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.[6]

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

      References
      1. "Teatterineuvos Kyllikki Forssell on kuollut". Helsingin Sanomat (in Finnish). 7 October 2019. Retrieved 19 April 2022.
      2. "Forssell, Kyllikki (1925-2019)". Kansallisbiografia.fi (in Finnish). National Biography of Finland. Retrieved 19 April 2022.
      3. Kuka Kukin On (Who's Who) (in Finnish). Helsinki: Otava. 1978. p. 139. Retrieved 19 April 2022.
      4. "Forssell, Kyllikki". Uppslagsverket.fi (in Swedish). Retrieved 21 April 2022.
      5. "Vapaaherratar löysi sisältään intohimoisen naisen". Turun Sanomat (in Finnish). 26 October 2007. Retrieved 19 April 2022.
      6. "Kyllikki Forssell oli Suomen johtava teatteridiiva – suhde Esko Salmiseen teki hänestä aikansa kohujulkkiksen" (in Finnish). Yle. 7 October 2019. Retrieved 19 April 2022.
      7. "Teatterineuvos Kyllikki Forssell, 94, on kuollut". Iltalehti (in Finnish). 7 October 2019. Retrieved 19 April 2022.
      8. "Kyllikki Forssell". IMDb.com. Retrieved 19 April 2022.
      9. "Rakastettu näyttelijä Kyllikki Forssell on kuollut". Kansallisteatteri.fi (in Finnish). National Theatre. 7 October 2019. Retrieved 21 April 2022.
      10. "Kyllikki Forssell". Elonet. Retrieved 20 April 2022.
      11. "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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