Nanna Terese Blondell is a Swedish actress and director known for work in theatre, Swedish television and international film. Her screen roles include Livet enligt Rosa, Real Humans, Hassel, Red Dot, Black Widow and House of the Dragon. She has worked at Stockholm's Royal Dramatic Theatre since 2013 and directed the short film Noni & Elizabeth.
Background
Nanna Blondell was born on August 6, 1986, in Stockholm, Sweden. She has described growing up in Vasastan and Skärholmen, two Stockholm districts with different social and urban settings. Her family also had a connection to Dalarna through her mother and grandfather.
Blondell has spoken publicly about the limited representation of Black women in Swedish film and television and about the difficulty of finding roles that were not shaped by stereotypes. These concerns later informed her interest in developing stories centered on complex women and in creating work of her own.
Education
Blondell studied acting at the Stockholm Academy of Dramatic Arts, then known in Swedish as Stockholms dramatiska högskola, and graduated in 2013. The institution is Sweden's principal higher-education center for professional training in acting, directing, film and related performing arts.
Her training preceded a career that combined stage work at Stockholm's Royal Dramatic Theatre with television, cinema and later directing. The school provided a professional foundation for work across Swedish theatre and screen production rather than limiting her to a single medium.
Career
Blondell began appearing on screen in the Swedish television drama Livet enligt Rosa in 2005. She subsequently worked as a presenter and video jockey for MTV Sweden and acted in Beck – Det tysta skriket, Andra Avenyn and the Irene Huss film I skydd av skuggorna. These early roles established her in Swedish television and crime drama.
From 2013, Blondell worked at Stockholm's Royal Dramatic Theatre, Sweden's national theatre, whose stage tradition is associated with major productions of classical and modern drama. Her Dramaten work included The Mental States of Sweden, Roberto Zucco, Don Giovanni, Götgatan and Persona, persona, persona, as well as the productions Trots allt svävar jag bland molnen, Theatrum Mundi and Projekt Persona.
Her television career expanded through the science-fiction series Real Humans, in which she played Yuma, and later through roles in Hassel, The Inner Circle, Twin, Ture Sventon and the Bermudatriangle secret, Partisan, Omerta 6/12 and Concordia. Her film work includes Sisters in Arms, Red Dot, Black Widow, Attack on Finland and Nelly Rapp – Porten till underjorden. Red Dot was produced as Netflix's first Swedish feature film, while Black Widow brought her into the international Marvel production system.
Blondell also developed work behind the camera. She directed and wrote the short film Noni & Elizabeth, which premiered at the Göteborg Film Festival in 2016 and was later selected for festivals including Palm Springs ShortFest, the Los Angeles Film Festival and the Giffoni Film Festival. The film draws on childhood material while presenting a fictional story about two stepsisters navigating adult instability, racism and sexism.
Blondell expanded from Swedish television and theatre into international film and television, with roles in Sisters in Arms, Red Dot, Black Widow and House of the Dragon.
She directed and wrote Noni & Elizabeth, a short film presented at international film festivals including Palm Springs ShortFest, the Los Angeles Film Festival and the Giffoni Film Festival.
Works
film
Red Dot
(Swedish action thriller and Netflix's first Swedish featu...)
2021
Sisters in Arms
(French war drama, also known as Soeurs d'armes, in which ...)
2019
Stockholm Stories
(Swedish film in which Blondell appeared as Minou, Jessica...)
2013
Irene Huss: I skydd av skuggorna
(Crime film in the Irene Huss series, in which Blondell pl...)
(Short film directed and written by Blondell. The fictiona...)
2016
TV series
House of the Dragon
(HBO fantasy television series in which Blondell played th...)
2022
Concordia
(International television series in which Blondell played ...)
2024
Livet enligt Rosa
(Swedish television drama series in which Blondell made he...)
2005
Real Humans
(Swedish science-fiction television series in which Blonde...)
2013
The Inner Circle
(Swedish political drama series in which Blondell played L...)
2019
Andra Avenyn
(Swedish television series in which Blondell played Olga S...)
2007
Hassel
(Swedish crime series in which Blondell played Eira Lindhe.)
2017
Twin
(Norwegian television series in which Blondell played Mary.)
2019
Views
Blondell has argued that representation in Swedish film and television should reflect the country's population more fully. She has emphasized the importance of stories in which Black women are not confined to stereotyped roles and has pursued this aim through acting, directing and story development.
Her comments about Noni & Elizabeth and later interviews connect creative work with personal experience, social observation and the desire to present characters with contradictory qualities rather than simplified identities.
Personality
In interviews, Blondell has described herself as ambitious and purposeful in her professional development. She has also spoken about becoming less affected by performance anxiety with age and about seeking demanding, complex roles.
Physical Characteristics:
Blondell is approximately 1.75 meters tall.
Interests
Blondell has an interest in developing and producing stories about women, identity and representation. She has also participated in conversations and interview projects focused on successful Swedish women from minority backgrounds.
Connections
Blondell is married to Oskar Blondell. She has children and has spoken publicly about combining acting with family life in Stockholm.
Nanna Blondell i exklusiv intervju i ELLE
Interview covering Blondell's roles in Red Dot and Black Widow, education, family life and views on representation in Swedish entertainment.
