Jump to content

Ellen Horn

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Ellen Horn
Minister of Culture
In office
17 March 2000 – 19 October 2001
Prime MinisterJens Stoltenberg
Preceded byÅslaug Haga
Succeeded byValgerd Svarstad Haugland
Personal details
Born
Ellen Stoesen

(1951-02-01) 1 February 1951 (age 73)
Montreal, Quebec, Canada
NationalityNorwegian
SpouseJon Christensen
ChildrenKjersti Horn
Emilie Stoesen Christensen
OccupationActor, Minister and Theater director

Ellen Horn (born Ellen Stoesen, 1 February 1951) is a Norwegian actress, theatre director, and politician for the Labour Party.[1]

Career

[edit]

Horn started as a puppet actor at Oslo Nye Teater (1969–70), and was educated at the Teaterhøyskolen (1972–75), and since the late 1980s has been one of the most central and prominent figures in Norwegian theater. As an actress, she has distinguished herself by her versatility; as director at the Nationaltheatret (1992–2000), she managed to turn a money-losing company with a highly turbulent business culture into a thriving theater both financially and artistically.[1] Horn has been an associate of Norsk Rikskringkasting and Nationaltheatret, and is currently director of Riksteatret.[2]

Horn further developed and consolidated the Ibsen Festival, and led the Nationaltheatret through its 100th anniversary in 1999. On that occasion, she was appointed Commander of the Order of St. Olav. During Stoltenberg's First Cabinet she was Minister of Culture (2000–2001).[1]

After leaving the cabinet, Horn returned to the Nationaltheatret as an actor, and in recent years she has toured with the theater productions Undset and Jeg kunne gråte blod (about Marie and Knut Hamsun). Both as theater director and as minister, she was met by doubts and questions whether she was qualified enough to undertake such large tasks, but she put most of the skepticism to shame with her hard and focused work and her pragmatic attitude, and by growing with the new roles.[1]

Private life

[edit]

Horn was married (1988) to the Norwegian Jazz drummer Jon Christensen (1943–2020),[1] and she has two children: theater director Kjersti Horn (b. 1977, from her marriage (1973–81) to scenographer Per Kristian Horn, b. 1941), and singer and actress Emilie Stoesen Christensen (b. 1986) from her current marriage.[3]

Honors

[edit]
  • Commander of the Order of St. Olav in 1999[1]

Selected acting roles

[edit]

Theater

[edit]

Film

[edit]
  • 1976: Oss as Vera
  • 1985: Adjø solidaritet (Farewell Illusions) as Margrete[5]

References

[edit]
  • Rossiné, Hans. "Ellen Horn". Norsk biografisk leksikon (in Norwegian). Kunnskapsforlaget. Retrieved 28 January 2010.
Notes
[edit]
Cultural offices
Preceded by Director of the National Theatre
(with Ole-Jørgen Nilsen and Sverre Rødahl)

1988–1990
Succeeded by
Preceded by Director of the National Theatre
1992–2000
Succeeded by
Preceded by Director of the Riksteatret
2005–present
Incumbent
Political offices
Preceded by Norwegian Minister of Culture
2000–2001
Succeeded by