Background
Kjelsberg was born in Svelvik, Vestfold. Her father was Norwegian, while her mother was from Scotland. After her father died, the family moved to Drammen, where Betzy"s mother married a merchant from the town.
Kjelsberg was born in Svelvik, Vestfold. Her father was Norwegian, while her mother was from Scotland. After her father died, the family moved to Drammen, where Betzy"s mother married a merchant from the town.
However, he had to close his shop, forcing them to move to Christiania (today Oslo). Instead, she fell in love with Oluf Fredrik Kjelsberg, a jurist, with whom she had six children. Kjelsberg is the great-grandmother of Siv Jensen, the leader of the Norwegian Progress Party.
In 1883, she founded the discussion group Skuld.
Kjelsberg created the organizations Kvinnelig Handelsstands forening (1894), Drammen Kvinnesaksforening (1896), with its own housewife school, Drammen Public Health (1899), and Drammen Women"s Council (1903). From 1926–1938, she was the vice-president of the International Council of Women.