Just 2 days ago, one of Norway´s leading actresses, Eva Wenche Steenfeldt-Foss, more commonly known as Wenche Foss, passed away. Foss was born in 1917 in Kristiania (the old name for Oslo), Norway to her mother, Alfhild and father, Christian (an engineer). Foss made her debut on the stage in her early 20s in an operetta called Taterblod. Two of the theaters she was a part of were Carl Johan Teater and Centralteateret.
In addition to acting in theater, film, and on television, Foss was also a remarkable singer. She was a mezzo-soprano who starred in several major theater performances, including Kiss Me Kate, Hello, Dolly and Cabaret. As part of her on-screen roles, Foss combined her acting and her vocal talent into voice acting! She was the voice of Enkefru Stengelføhn-Glad in the 1975 film, Flåklypa Grand Prix. Commencing in the 1940s, Foss became very involved with Nationalteateret and the Oslo Nye Teater, for whom she played roles in several of Ibsen´s plays including Hedda Gabler, Rosmersholm and Peer Gynt.
Perhaps because she was so well-loved for her acting roles, Wenche Foss had quite strong political opinions, especially for a woman during that time. She completely supported gay rights and actually spoke out against the Christian Democratic Party for their opposition to gay marriage and gay rights. A progressive thinker indeed, Foss once said that the Christian Democratic Party should never have developed in the first place as religion and state should not mix. She was very influential in encouraging openness in the Norwegian people, despite her own personal struggles. Foss gave birth to a child with Down´s Syndrome and later in life suffered from breast cancer.
Wenche Foss received several prestigious awards for her excellent work as an actress and her integrity as a brilliant individual. An award held by few other Norwegian civilians, in 1972, Foss was named Commander of the Royal Norwegian Order of St. Olav (a Norwegian Order of Chivalry) and 16 years later in 1988 she was promoted to Commander with a Star.
Another award she received was the Order of Dannebrog, an Order of Denmark, which resulted in a campaign by Christian V of Denmark to break the absolutism of the monarchy.
Yet another award that Foss received was the Red Cross Badge of Honor. And to top it all, an artist named Per Ung created a statue of Foss, which Queen Sonja presented outside of Nationalteateret in 2007!
Please see here for a beautiful article depicting Foss´life.
And here is a link to a blog written in Norwegian about Foss.
