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Steinunn Ólína Þorsteinsdóttir (born 2 July 1969 in Reykjavík, Iceland) is an Icelandic actress, television host, producer, and writer.
Raised in Reykjavík by her mother, actress Bríet Héðinsdóttir, and her father, Þorsteinn Þorsteinsson, a writer and translator of dramatic literature, Steinunn Ólína gained early recognition with a leading stage role at fifteen. At seventeen, she moved to London to study drama at the Drama Centre London, graduating in 1990 alongside peers such as Helen McCrory and Tara FitzGerald. She later returned to Iceland to relaunch her career on stage and television as a mature artist, debuting at the National Theatre of Iceland as Solveig in Henrik Ibsen's Peer Gynt.
Television and Film Career
In 2015, Steinunn Ólína starred as detective Gabriela in the Netflix original series Case, earning international acclaim. She received the FIPA D'OR award for Best Actress and Iceland’s Edda Film and Television Award for Actress of the Year for this role. She appeared as Aldis in season one of the series Trapped and portrayed Didda in the 2017 series Fangar (also known as Prisoners), which won her the Best Supporting Actress Edda Award in 2018. Additionally, she played lawyer Edda in season one of Stella Blomquist in 2017.
Steinunn Ólína created, wrote, directed, produced, and hosted her own live talk show, Over My Dead Body with Steinunn Ólína, on Icelandic State Broadcasting Television Channel 1. She has contributed as a comedian and writer to other television programs such as RUV-TV’s New Year’s Eve Comedy Hour Variety Show, Iceland’s premier annual television event. Her acting credits also include numerous TV plays, sitcoms, and films like Vargur (2018) and Beowulf and Grendel (2005), which starred Gerard Butler.
Theatre Work
Following her graduation, Steinunn Ólína was engaged as a lead actress at the National Theatre of Iceland, where she spent fourteen years appearing in over 50 productions. She portrayed a wide range of leading roles in both contemporary and classical plays. Notable performances include Eliza Doolittle in My Fair Lady by Lerner and Loewe, Hodel in Fiddler on the Roof, and roles in comedies such as Ray Cooney’s Two for One and Michael Frayn’s Noises Off, where she played the hapless actress Dotty Otley. Her classical roles encompass Irena in Chekhov’s Three Sisters, Aglaja in a dramatization of Dostoyevsky’s The Idiot, and Queen Margaret in Shakespeare’s Richard III, the latter earning her the prestigious Gríma (The Mask) Award in 2004. Steinunn Ólína has also appeared in major productions with various theatre companies, including the lead role of Roxy Hart in Chicago by Kander and Ebb with the Reykjavík Theatre Ensemble and performing in Eugène Ionesco’s The Lesson.
Personal Life
Steinunn Ólína ventured into writing with her semi-autobiographical novella Parental Guidance, which became a bestseller in Iceland in 2006. She is the owner and editor-in-chief of kvennabladid.is (The Women’s Magazine), an online newspaper founded by her great-grandmother in 1895. In 2002, she married actor Stefán Karl Stefánsson, well-known for his role in Lazy Town. Together they had four children. Stefán Karl passed away on August 21, 2018, after a two-year battle with bile duct cancer. Steinunn Ólína currently resides in Reykjavík with their children.
