Biography
Leila Säälik (born December 4, 1941) is an Estonian actress known for her work on stage, in film, and on radio.
Born in Tallinn, Säälik was the daughter of a machinist father and a seamstress mother. She completed her primary and secondary education in Tallinn, graduating from Tallinn 7th Secondary School in 1960. She then pursued studies at the Viljandi Cultural School (now the University of Tartu Viljandi Culture Academy), graduating in 1963.
Säälik’s film debut came in 1971 with the role of Anete in Kaljo Kiisk's drama Tuuline rand, produced by Tallinnfilm and adapted from Adu Hint’s 1951 four-volume novel of the same name. In 1973, she starred as Reet alongside Latvian actor Uldis Pūcītis in Kiisk’s romantic drama Maaletulek. After this, she focused primarily on stage acting and did not appear in another film until 1990, when she played Mrs. Rinnus in the short drama Teenijanna, directed by Veiko Jürisson and based on Mait Metsanurk’s short story Epp.
Säälik returned to film in 2006 as Mathilde III in Roman Baskin’s Vana daami visiit, an adaptation of Friedrich Dürrenmatt’s 1956 tragicomic play. The following year, she took on a small but significant role as Kaspar’s grandmother in Ilmar Raag’s Klass (The Class), a film about two bullied secondary school boys who carry out a school shooting. Klass received awards at the Karlovy Vary International Film Festival, the Warsaw International Film Festival, and the Tallinn Black Nights Film Festival. It was Estonia’s official submission for the Best Foreign Language Film category at the 80th Academy Awards but was not shortlisted. Säälik reprised her role in the 2010 Eesti Televisioon mini-series Klass: Elu pärast (The Class: Life After), which explored the aftermath of the shooting.
In 2013, she appeared as Malle in Ilmar Raag’s romantic drama Kertu, featuring Ursula Ratasepp and Mait Malmsten, produced by Amrion.
Since 2010, Säälik has portrayed Maimu Laurand, a sharp-tongued and spiteful mother-in-law, on the popular Kanal 2 drama series Pilvede all (Under the Clouds), which has won three Estonian Entertainment Awards.
Alongside her screen and stage work, Säälik has performed in numerous radio theatre productions. Notably, she played Anne in the 1975 radio adaptation of Inge Trikkel’s Öölaul, acting opposite Rein Malmsten.
She was married to actor Toomas Kalmet from 1964 until their divorce in 1969. Säälik has three children—two sons and a daughter—and is a grandmother. She currently lives in Abja-Paluoja, Viljandi County.
