Livia Millhagen

Livia Maria Millhagen (born 23 May 1973) is a Swedish actress known for her roles on stage and screen. She has received various accolades for her work, including the Thaliapriset from Svenska Dagbladet and the Litteris et Artibus royal medal in recognition of contributions to theatre. The daughter of and , she grew up primarily in Stockholm. After graduating from the Malmö Theatre Academy in 1999, she appeared in productions at Uppsala City Theatre and made her feature film debut in Miffo, for which she received critical praise and was nominated for the Guldbagge Award for Best Actress. She became a member of the Royal Dramatic Theatre's permanent ensemble, and since appeared in numerous productions. Some of her most acclaimed stage performances were playing Lydia Stille in The Serious Game at Stockholm City Theatre (2008) and Blanche DuBois in A Streetcar Named Desire at the Royal Dramatic Theatre (2019). In addition to her stage roles, she has appeared in films such as Road to Italy (2005), (2008), and (2022). She had major television roles in (2013), Veni Vidi Vici (2017), and the first season of Bäckström (2020). Millhagen has also worked as a voice actress, narrating audiobooks and contributing to Swedish-language dubs of Disney/Pixar films.

Early life and education Livia Maria Millhagen was born in Stockholm on 23 May 1973 to and . The family was artistic: her father a sculptor and cartoonist, while her mother was an art critic and writer who also served as director for The House of Culture. She has an older sister and also had an older brother who died shortly after he was born. Growing up largely in the Gamla Stan neighbourhood of Stockholm, she attended for her primary education. When she was a teenager, her family moved to Washington, D.C. for several years after her mother took a posting at the Swedish embassy there. Millhagen credited this period abroad with building her self-esteem and offering her the creative freedom to pursue acting seriously for the first time. After moving back to Sweden, she attended Kungsholmens gymnasium. She had roles in several productions before being admitted to the Malmö Theatre Academy in the autumn of 1995. In May 1996, about a year into her studies, her father died of cancer. During her 1997 internship at the Royal Dramatic Theatre, she appeared in their production of August Strindberg's Fadren, directed by Staffan Valdemar Holm.

Career

1999–2002: Career beginnings on stage After completing her education, Millhagen was employed at Uppsala City Theatre, where she participated in a number of productions. She appeared in Rebecca Prichard's play Essex Girls, which was adapted into a Swedish setting by with a new title of Ur funktion. With direction by , the play centred on four teenage girls, played by Millhagen, Alexandra Rapaport, Frida Hallgren, and . In preparation for the role, the actresses met with youths from the Uppsala suburb of Gottsunda. It premiered on 24 September 1999. The following year, she was a member of the ensemble for Lage, a musical revue directed by at in Stockholm. Then she returned to the Uppsala City Theatre, to play the "enterprising" (driftiga) Loretta in Phyllis Nagy's Las Vegas in 2001. The play had again been translated into Swedish by Gredeby and the production was directed by ; it marked the first time that Las Vegas had been staged in Sweden. Millhagen's performance was described as "remarkably good" (anmärkningsvärt bra) by Pia Huss in Dagens Nyheter. She had a supporting role in another Englin-directed work: Sophocles' Ancient Greek tragedy Electra, which premiered on International Women's Day in 2001. Millhagen and Magdalena Eshaya played the title character's best friends, Cissi and Linda. In addition to showings in Uppsala, the production made a guest appearance at the Royal Dramatic Theatre that autumn. She returned to Uppsala City Theatre for a production of Född skyldig, an adaptation of Peter Sichrovsky's book of interviews with the children and grandchildren of Nazis. She also played a supporting role in the television film Beck – Annonsmannen, a thriller installment in the Martin Beck saga.

2003–2008: Film breakthrough and critical success She made her feature film debut in Miffo (2003), directed and written by Daniel Lind Lagerlöf and Malin Lagerlöf, respectively. Millhagen played Carola, a wheelchair user living in a run-down flat with her alcoholic mother, who meets and begins a relationship with Tobias, a sheltered, upper-class minister played by Jonas Karlsson. Millhagen's performance garnered critical praise. In a review for Dagens Nyheter, wrote she was "absolutely brilliant in her debut film role" (alldeles utmärkt i sin debutroll på duken). Gunnar Rehlin of Variety agreed, calling her the "real find" of the film. Millhagen was nominated for a Guldbagge Award for Best Actress for Miffo. In an academic analysis of disability in Swedish cinema by Josefine Wälivaara and Karin Ljuslinder, Millhagen's Carola was noted as a rare exception to the standard, de-erotized depiction of disabled characters, in that her portrayal conveyed a fully realized woman with sexual experience.

In the autumn of 2003, Millhagen returned to the Royal Dramatic Theatre to perform in Anders Paulin's experimental staging of Bertolt Brecht's Mother Courage and Her Children on the Målarsalen stage. She played Kattrin, the mute daughter of Stina Ekblad's Mother Courage. The production received a mixed review overall from of Dagens Nyheter; she found the experimental direction unsuccessful but praised the performances of the cast. Waaranperä wrote that Millhagen's portrayal was convincing and emotionally moving. Millhagen played Siri von Essen in 's 2004 staging of the Henning Mankell play Valpen at Strindberg's Intimate Theatre. Reviewing the production for Expressen, wrote that Millhagen's Siri was presented not as an innocent victim but as a calculating, formidable figure; she felt the characterisation was bordering on caricature.

She collaborated again with Lagerlöfs for Road to Italy (2005), where she played the lead role of Ylva, a woman who learns about her husband's affair right before taking her choir group on a trip. Her performance was commended by Rehlin in Variety and in Aftonbladet. She played Isabella in Yannis Houvardas's production of William Shakespeare's Measure for Measure at the Royal Dramatic Theatre, which was translated into Swedish by . Anna Swärdh, a scholar from Karlstad University, noted a distinctive performance choice she made during the play's notoriously ambiguous ending; rather than conveying a "silent protest" in response to the Duke's marriage proposal, Millhagen's Isabella turned toward the audience to display a "beaming smile". The performance was negatively received by in Dagens Nyheter. Suggesting she may have been miscast, he argued that her vocal delivery obscured the character's emotional depth.

She had a role in , a two-part miniseries based on 's 1939 mystery novel of the same name, which was broadcast on SVT in January 2006. premiered in November, where she co-starred as Sara, the wife of an idealistic young priest whose idea to commission a church ceiling painting upends their rural community. Millhagen also participated in two productions at the Royal Dramatic Theatre in 2006. First, she played Gertrud in I skuggan av Hamlet by . Second, she played the title role in Frank Wedekind's Lulu, translated into Swedish by and directed by . Her performance was described in a review for Dagens Nyheter as a "strong, modern" (stark, modern) character interpretation centred on a "longing for a lost self" (längtan efter ett förlorat jag). Waaranperä credited her performance as a core strength of the production, as her character transitioned from an object of sexual fantasy to a victim of violence. In November, she received the Gunn Wållgren Award, an annual scholarship given to dramatic and lyrical performers. The award justification praised her ability to differentiate between varied types of roles, citing her recent performances in Measure for Measure, I skuggan av Hamlet, and Lulu.

In 2007, Millhagen appeared in Sam Shepard's Buried Child, known in Swedish as Hem till gården, which premiered at the Elverket stage of the Royal Dramatic Theatre. The production marked her first of many theatre collaborations with director . In 2008, she played Lydia Stille opposite Gustaf Skarsgård's Arvid Stjärnblom in Lagerlöf's stage directing debut of The Serious Game at Stockholm City Theatre. Although the production itself received mixed reviews, Millhagen's performance was praised by critics. of Dagens Nyheter wrote that it was her "accurately portrayed rebellion and vulnerability that cuts through the game and makes it serious" (träffsäkert gestaltade uppror och sårbarhet som skär genom leken och gör den allvarsam). In Expressen, criticised the direction and Skarsgård's performance but felt that Millhagen had excelled in her character interpretation. On screen the same year, she played Li in the SVT drama series , which centred on a women's football team in a small community where accused witches had once been burned at the stake. She then had a supporting role in Maria Blom's low-budget black comedy film (2008), as the protagonist's best friend Mio. Hedvig Weibull of Borås Tidning praised Millhagen's performance, writing that she "[brightened] up the film like a bold red lipstick" (piffar upp filmen som ett knallrött läppstift).

2009–2015: Establishment at the Royal Dramatic Theatre

The Royal Dramatic Theatre added six actors, including Millhagen, to its permanent ensemble in May 2009. Later that year, she and Jonas Karlsson starred as Marianne and Johan in a Larsson-directed production of Ingmar Bergman's 1973 miniseries Scenes from a Marriage. Bergman had simplified the story while adapting it for stage during his time in Munich. This play version had thus not been previously shown in Sweden before the premiere in August 2009. Expressen theatre critic Sörenson praised the performances of both Millhagen and Karlsson. After 60 sold-out showings at the Royal Dramatic Theatre, a touring production was announced, featuring Karlsson and Millhagen, in association with the National Swedish Touring Theatre. Later that year, Millhagen again appeared on the Royal Dramatic Theatre's main stage in a production of Ingmar Bergman's Autumn Sonata. The production, which was directed by Larsson, marked the first time the 1978 film had ever been presented as a play in Sweden. Millhagen played Charlotte's disabled daughter, Helena.

Millhagen returned to the Royal Dramatic Theatre in 2010 to portray Karen in a staging of Tracy Letts's family drama August: Osage County; the production was reported to be Larsson's farewell directorial effort at the venue before taking over at the Aarhus Theatre. The following year, she played Célimène in the Royal Dramatic Theatre's production of Molière's The Misanthrope. Millhagen was next involved with 's two-part adaptation of Stendhal's The Red and the Black. Lars Ring of Svenska Dagbladet praised the production and singled out Millhagen's performance as the protagonist's first and last lover. She appeared in a stage adaptation of Fanny and Alexander by the Royal Dramatic Theatre. It had an American premiere at the Kennedy Center from 7–9 March 2013, as part of the Nordic Cool Festival. She had a leading role as cardiologist Fanny Molander in (2013). The series focused on the titular family moving from Stockholm to Alingsås. The same year, she was one of several recipients of the , given to artists involved in Swedish theatre. She played one of the lead roles in 's Cupcake, which won Best Short Film at the Warsaw Film Festival in 2014. The same year, Millhagen starred as Rebekka West opposite Jonas Malmsjö in Henrik Ibsen's Rosmersholm at the Royal Dramatic Theatre, directed by Larsson and featuring a translation by P. O. Enquist. Theatre critic Maria Edström found the minimalist production initially compelling, but concluded the performances ultimately failed to build effectively toward the play's tragic conclusion. Millhagen was awarded with a Litteris et Artibus royal medal in 2015 by King Carl XVI Gustaf, in recognition of outstanding contributions to theatre.

2016–present: Recent work on stage and screen In 2016, she played the titular role in Medea at the Royal Dramatic Theatre. Maina Arvas of Dagens Nyheter characterised Millhagen as the driving force of the production. Next year, she again played the titular role in 's large-scale production of Anna Karenina on the main stage of the Royal Dramatic Theatre, based on Helen Edmundson's stage adaptation. Lars Ring of Svenska Dagbladet called Millhagen's portrayal "magnificent" (magnifik) but felt that even with a skilled cast, the production could not overcome the fragmented script. Meanwhile on screen, she had supporting roles in Helena Bergström's dramatic comedy film Mending Hugo's Heart and in the series Veni Vidi Vici. In 2018, she appeared in the miniseries Sisters 1968. The same year, she starred as Ann in Larsson's production of Lars Norén's Höst och vinter on the Royal Dramatic Theatre's small stage. Co-starring alongside Alexandra Rapaport and Ingela Olsson, Millhagen played the younger sister who serves as a catalyst for the play's family conflict, believing her parents' frigidity caused her own neuroticism. Reviewing the production, Lars Ring praised the play and noted that Millhagen's performance successfully conveyed Ann's lingering bourgeois roots despite a working-class job.

Millhagen played Blanche DuBois in A Streetcar Named Desire, which premiered on 29 March 2019 during a period of turmoil at the Royal Dramatic Theatre, as the theatre's artistic director faced allegations of domestic violence. Because the play involves themes of spousal abuse and rape, the cast experienced significant anxiety ahead of their opening night. Millhagen noted that while the situation was difficult, it encouraged a sense of camaraderie from the ensemble. The production was ultimately a critical and commercial success. Leif Zern wrote for Dagens Nyheter that it was "one of the best Royal Dramatic Theatre performances in many years" (en av de bästa Dramatenföreställningarna på många år). He highlighted Millhagen's performance as "continuously captivating and gut-wrenching" (oavbrutet fängslande och gastkramande). Her work in A Streetcar Named Desire also earned her the Thalia Prize from Svenska Dagbladet. The same year, she appeared in Richard Hobert's Faroese drama (2019). In a generally negative review for Dagens Nyheter, praised Millhagen's "brilliant" (strålande) depiction of a "lively and domineering innkeeper" (livliga och dominanta värdshusvärdinnan). She also lent her voice to play Shenzi in the Swedish dub of The Lion King.

In February 2020, Millhagen reunited with Larsson for another Tennessee Williams play, starring as Maggie in Cat on a Hot Tin Roof. Her performance received praise, with Dagens Nyheter critic Per Svensson calling it a "masterpiece" (mästarprov). During theatre closures associated with the COVID-19 pandemic, Millhagen recorded audiobooks before returning to performing in front of a live audience with a reprisal of Cat on a Hot Tin Roof, which was staged again at the Maximteatern. She starred again as Maggie opposite Linus Wahlgren's Brick. Reflecting on the complicated dynamic of their characters, Millhagen described them as a couple "living together without living together" (lever ihop utan att leva ihop). In November of the following year, she appeared in another Maximteatern production, this time playing Hedda in Lars Norén's marital-strife drama Så enkel är kärleken. It featured Millhagen and Larsson as a self-involved couple, who observe a toxic and alcohol-fueled argument between their friends (played by Mikael Persbrandt and Ingela Olsson), while the underlying problems of their own relationship come to the surface. She appeared in the first season of the crime drama Bäckström as prosecutor Hanna Hwass. She also had a minor role in the first season of Young Royals in 2021, playing Felice's mother Smysan. She starred opposite Rolf Lassgård as a divorcing couple clearing out their summer home in (2022). In a review for Svenska Dagbladet, panned the film, noting that while Millhagen and Lassgård were both capable actors, the script prevented the film from making a meaningful impact.

She portrayed Rita in a production of Little Eyolf at the Royal Dramatic Theatre in 2024. In a somewhat mixed review for Dagens Nyheter, Maina Arvas described Millhagen as the production's greatest asset. She also wrote that her take on Rita was "an example of what can be done with Ibsen's female roles" (ett exempel på vad som går att göra med Ibsens kvinnoroller). Millhagen then appeared alongside French actor Denis Lavant in John Skoog's Cold War drama film . The film, which follows an eccentric Scanian farmer fortifying his house against a perceived enemy threat, had its world premiere at the 2025 San Sebastián International Film Festival. of Dagens Nyheter praised the film, calling it fascinating and original. In December 2025, Pelicoträttegången was staged at the Royal Dramatic Theatre. Directed by Milo Rau, the four-hour documentary theatre production featured reconstructed fragments and testimonies from the high-profile Pelicot rape case trial. Millhagen joined a large ensemble including Melinda Kinnaman and Sara Stridsberg to perform the text.

Personal life She is married to Oscar Norbeck, a psychiatrist. They have two children.

Acting credits Film

Television

Theatre

Awards and nominations