Alicia Vikander is a multifaceted Swedish artist who has made a significant impact in the entertainment industry. Born and raised in Gothenburg, Västra Götalands län, Sweden, she is the daughter of Maria Fahl, a renowned actress, and Svante Vikander, a psychiatrist. Through her mother, Vikander has Finnish heritage, and her maternal great-aunt fled Finland to Sweden to escape the devastation of World War II.
Vikander's journey in the performing arts began at a young age, with minor stage productions at The Göteborg Opera and training in ballet at the Royal Swedish Ballet School in Stockholm and the School of American Ballet in New York. Her early career saw her appear in Swedish short films and television series, earning recognition in Northern Europe for her role as Josefin Björn-Tegebrandt in the TV drama Second Avenue (2007).
Vikander's feature film debut came in 2009 with Pure, for which she received the Guldbagge Award for Best Actress. Her breakthrough performance in the 2012 film adaptation of Anna Karenina, where she portrayed Princess Ekaterina "Kitty" Alexandrovna Shcherbatskaya, earned her a BAFTA Rising Star Award nomination. She also starred in the acclaimed Danish film A Royal Affair (2012),as Queen Caroline Mathilde, and appeared in the 2013 Swedish drama film Hotel.
In 2013, Vikander played a significant role in the Julian Assange biopic The Fifth Estate. Her subsequent performances in Testament of Youth (2014),Ex Machina (2014),and The Danish Girl (2015) cemented her status as a global star. Her portrayal of activist Vera Brittain in Testament of Youth earned her widespread acclaim, and her performance as an AI in Ex Machina received a Golden Globe and BAFTA Award nomination for Best Supporting Actress.
Vikander's most notable role to date is perhaps her portrayal of painter Gerda Wegener in The Danish Girl, for which she received the Academy Award and the Screen Actors Guild Award for Best Supporting Actress. Her remarkable range and versatility have solidified her position as one of the most talented and sought-after actresses of her generation.
