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She was raised alongside four brothers, one of whom, Gustav Hedberg, later pursued acting as well. Her father studied organ building and music in Leipzig. Influenced by her German nanny and piano teacher, she was exposed to German language and culture from an early age. Beginning in 1911, she took violin and piano lessons, and by 1913, at age six, she competed in a Chopin competition. She attended high school until 1922, honing her German skills. In 1926, she married actor Nils Leander, with whom she had two children; they separated in 1932. Her second marriage, from 1932 to 1948, was to journalist Vidar Forsell. Without prior singing or acting training, she debuted as a chanson singer in 1929 at a Swedish traveling theater. Her career quickly advanced, and within months she performed in the revue "The Cheerful Stockholm" and appeared in her first film, "Dante's Mysteries."
She signed with the Swedish record label Odeon, recording 80 songs by 1936, and gained initial success with tracks like "I Don't Know Why I Do It." Between 1929 and 1935, she participated in numerous revues with Karl Gerhard and starred in three Swedish feature films. She later performed in Franz Lehár's operetta "The Merry Widow" and acted in the film "The False Millionaire." In 1935, she relocated to Vienna, starring in the operetta "Axel at Heaven's Door" and leading in the Austrian crime film "Premiere." Following this success, she signed with Universum Film AG (Ufa), which aimed to position her as an international star rivaling Marlene Dietrich and Greta Garbo. From 1937 to 1942, she appeared in ten Ufa films, including "A Lavish Ball Night" and "The Heart of a Queen."
Portrayed as a "femme fatale," she became one of Ufa’s most popular and highly paid stars. Often cast in melodramas, she typically portrayed beautiful, passionate, and confident women, becoming the most renowned melodramatic actress in German cinema during the Nazi era. Though lacking political ambitions, she featured in propaganda films such as "Heimat" (1938). She also released film songs on records; hits like "Can Love Be a Sin" and "I Know, a Miracle Will Happen One Day" were recorded in multiple languages and achieved international success. In 1943, she ended her contract with Ufa, left Germany, and returned to her estate in Lönö, Sweden. After World War II, she was banned from performing in Germany and Austria until 1948 due to her career under the Nazi regime.
She continued performing in Sweden and later resumed singing and acting in Germany during the 1950s, appearing in films like "Gabriela" and "The Blue Moth," though she could not replicate her previous success. In 1956, she married bandleader Arne Hülphers. Two years later, she made a significant stage comeback with the lead role in "Madame Scandaleuse" in Vienna, Munich, Berlin, and Hamburg. Throughout the 1960s, she toured globally with concerts, took on musical theater roles in Vienna and Berlin, and published her autobiography in 1972 titled "It Was So Wonderful: My Life." She completed a final U.S. tour in 1973. In 1978, she suffered a stroke during a performance in Stockholm, which ended her stage career.
