
Swedes at the Golden Globes

Ebba Rydqvist Ryan, editor The Swedish Film Database
2018 marked the 75th anniversary of the Golden Globe Awards. With Swedish actor Alexander Skarsgård awarded for his role in the HBO-hit Big Little Lies, it also marked our country’s first Golden Globe since 1988.
When Alexander Skarsgård won the Golden Globe for his role in the tv-series Big Little Lies, he became the first ever Swedish male actor to win an award. He was also the first ever Swede to win a Golden Globe in a television category. Up until now, the acting category for Sweden has been dominated by women. Ingrid Bergman and Anita Ekberg are the only Swedish actors to have won Golden Globes before 2018. Ingrid won it no less than three times, with four further nominations, while Anita just won it the once and not in one of the main acting categories. They were followed by Ann-Margret and Alicia Vikander with two nominations each, and Lena Olin with one nomination. The only Swedish male actor to have been nominated before Alexander Skarsgård is Max von Sydow, for his iconic role as Father Merrin in The Exorcist, in 1974.
Facts about the Golden Globe
2018 marked the 75’th anniversary of the Golden Globe Awards. It is an american film- and television award that was founded by the Hollywood Foreign Press Association in 1944 to recognize excellence in film- and television productions, both international and domestic. Ingrid Bergman and Anita Ekberg was up until 2018 the only Swedes to be awarded acting Golden Globes. Bergman won it no less than three times, for her roles in Gaslight, The Bells of St. Mary’s and Anastasia.
Below all Swedes nominated for or awarded with a Golden Globe are listed chronologically since the start in 1944. Also listed are Swedish films awarded for Best Foreign Language Film.
(published in January, 2018, and edited in 2021)
Swedes at the Golden Globes
The list is comprised of the films where Swedish actors who have been nominated for or awarded a Golden Globe took part, listed chronologically. If the production was a TV series and therefore is not entered in the Swedish Film Database, the link goes to the post of the actor instead.
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1945 (WINNER) – Ingrid Bergman wins for her role in Gaslight (Best Actress – Motion Picture Drama)
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1946 (WINNER) – Ingrid Bergman wins for her role in The Bells of St. Mary's (Best Actress – Motion Picture Drama)
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1956 (WINNER) – Anita Ekberg wins for her role in Blood Alley (New Star of the Year Actress, along with two other actresses)
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1957 (WINNER) – Ingrid Bergman wins for her role in Anastasia (Best Actress – Motion Picture Drama)
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1959 – Ingrid Bergman is nominated for her role in Inn of the Sixth Happiness (Best Actress – Motion Picture Drama)
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1959 – Ingrid Bergman is nominated for her role in Indiscrete (Best Actress – Motion Picture Musical or Comedy)
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1964 – Ann-Margret is nominated for her role in Bye Bye Birdie (Best Actress – Motion Picture Musical or Comedy)
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1970 – Ingrid Bergman is nominated for her role in The Cactus Flower (Best Actress – Motion Picture Musical or Comedy)
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1974 – Max von Sydow is nominated for his role in the Exorcist (Best Supporting Actor – Motion Picture)
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1978 – Ann Margret is nominated for her role in Joseph Andrews (Best Supporting Actress – Motion Picture)
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1979 – Ingrid Bergman is nominated for her role in Autumn Sonata (Best Actress – Motion Picture Drama)
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1989 – Lena Olin is nominated for her role in The Unbearable Lightness of Being (Best Supporting Actress – Motion Picture)
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1994 – Ann-Margret is nominated for her role in the tv-series Alex Haley’s Queen (Aka Queen) (Best Supporting Role in a Series, Miniseries or Motion Picture Made for Television)
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2014 – Alicia Vikander is nominated for her role in Ex Machina (Best Supporting Actress – Motion Picture)
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2015 – Alicia Vikander is nominated for her role in The Danish Girl (Best Actress – Motion Picture Drama). She later wins an Oscar for her role.
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2018 (WINNER) - Alexanders Skarsgård wins for his role in the tv-series Big Little Lies (Best Supporting Actor in a Series, Limited Series or Motion Picture made for Television).
Swedish films that have been awarded a Golden Globe in the category Best Foreign Language Film
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1960 – Wild Strawberries, directed by Ingmar Bergman
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1961 – The Virgin Spring, directed by Ingmar Bergman
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1973 – The Emigrants & The New Land, directed by Jan Troell
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1975 – Scenes From a Marriage, directed by Ingmar Bergman
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1977 – Face to Face, directed by Ingmar Bergman
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1979 – Autumn Sonata, directed by Ingmar Bergman
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1984 – Fanny and Alexander, directed by Ingmar Bergman
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1988 – My Life as a Dog, directed by Lasse Hallström