Julie Sødring

Julie Weber Sødring née Rosenkilde (19 July 1823 – 17 April 1894) was a self-taught Danish actress who made her debut in 1843 as Madam Rust in Henrik Hertz's comedy Sparekassen. She was engaged by the Royal Danish Theatre in 1847 where she played roles in plays by the four H's: Holberg, Heiberg, Hertz and Hostrup, often those of older women. Although she never took leading roles, she became popular with her audiences. Sødring retired at the age of 51, after which she recounted her biography to her youngest son Marius who published it in two volumes as Erindringer (1894–95).

Early life and family Born in Copenhagen on 19 July 1823, Rosenkilde was the daughter of the actor Christen Niemann Rosenkilde (1786–1861) and his wife, Maren née Falck Christensen. She was the couple's fifth child. The family lived in a small apartment on Adelgade. When she was six, they moved to Østerbro (Østerbrogade No. 44-46). In 1843, they moved to an apartment at Nyhavn 11. When her father discovered she was a talented imitator of two elderly aunts, he encouraged her to learn theatrical roles of older women as a basis for her debut.

In May 1849, Julie married the Norwegian-born mineral water manufacturer Christopher Hansen Sødring (1822–1881) with whom she had five children: Rose Cecile (1850), Christen (1852), Johanne Louise (1854), Christopher (1856) and Marius Frederik Carl Adolph (1858).