# Anna Borg

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{{Short description|Danish-Icelandic actress and autobiographer (1903–1963)}}
{{Infobox person
| name          = Anna Borg
| birth_name    = Anna Guðmundína Guðrún Borgþórsdóttir
| birth_date    = {{Birth date|1903|07|30|df=y}}
| birth_place   = [Reykjavík](/source/Reykjav%C3%ADk), Iceland
| death_date    = {{Death date and age|1963|04|14|1903|07|30|df=y}}
| death_place   = [Nesøya, Akershus](/source/Nes%C3%B8ya%2C_Akershus), Norway
| occupation    = Actress
| years_active  = 1912–1963
| relatives     = {{ill|Stefanía Guðmundsdóttir|is|Stefanía Guðmundsdóttir}} (mother)
| spouse        = {{marriage|[Poul Reumert](/source/Poul_Reumert)|1932}}
| children      = 2
| awards        = [Ingenio et arti](/source/Ingenio_et_arti)<br />[Tagea Brandt Rejselegat](/source/Tagea_Brandt_Rejselegat)<br />{{ill|Läkerol's Culture Award|no|Läkerols kulturpris|sv|Läkerols kulturpris}}<br />{{ill|Teaterkatten|da|Teaterkatten}}
}}
'''Anna Guðmundína Guðrún Borg''' ({{nee|Borgþórsdóttir}}; 30 July 1903 – 14 April 1963) was a Danish-Icelandic actress of stage and screen and autobiographer. The daughter of the Icelandic actress {{ill|Stefanía Guðmundsdóttir|is|Stefanía Guðmundsdóttir}}, she grew up in a household where theatre was part of her daily life and began acting at age nine. Borg joined the [Royal Danish Theatre](/source/Royal_Danish_Theatre) in 1928, portraying strong and pure female characters, and also performed in the {{ill|Dagmar Theatre|da|Dagmarteatret|no|Dagmarteatret|sv|Dagmarteatern}} and the [National Theatre of Iceland](/source/National_Theatre_of_Iceland). She and 11 other people were killed in an aeroplane accident near Oslo in April 1963 and her memoirs were published posthumously the following year. Borg was a recipient of the [Ingenio et arti](/source/Ingenio_et_arti) theatre award, the [Tagea Brandt Rejselegat](/source/Tagea_Brandt_Rejselegat), the {{ill|Läkerol's Culture Award|no|Läkerols kulturpris|sv|Läkerols kulturpris}} and the {{ill|Teaterkatten|da|Teaterkatten}}.

==Early life and education==
Borg was born on 30 July 1903 in [Reykjavík](/source/Reykjav%C3%ADk), Iceland,<ref name=DBLEntry>{{cite encyclopedia|last=Kragh-Jacobsen|first=Svend|title=Anna Borg|url=https://biografiskleksikon.lex.dk/Anna_Borg|encyclopedia=[Dansk Biografisk Leksikon](/source/Dansk_Biografisk_Leksikon)|language=da|date=17 July 2011|access-date=29 October 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210803205646/https://biografiskleksikon.lex.dk/Anna_Borg|archive-date=3 August 2021}}</ref><ref name=SNLEntry>{{cite encyclopedia|last=Larsen|first=Svend Erik Løken |title=Anna Borg|url=https://snl.no/Anna_Borg|encyclopedia=[Great Norwegian Encyclopedia](/source/Great_Norwegian_Encyclopedia)|language=no|date=4 June 2021|access-date=29 October 2022|archive-url=https://archive.today/20221030080129/https://snl.no/Anna_Borg|archive-date=30 October 2022}}</ref> the fourth child of the actress {{ill|Stefanía Guðmundsdóttir|is|Stefanía Guðmundsdóttir}} and the barrister Borgthór Jósefsson.<ref name=StefaníusjóðurBio>{{cite web|last=Jonsson|first=Jon Vidar|title=Poul Reumert and Anna Borg|trans-title=Poul Reumert og Anna Borg|url=http://stefaniusjodur.is/index.php?m=&id=M_POUL_ANNA|publisher=Stefaníusjóður|language=is|access-date=29 October 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220405104917/http://stefaniusjodur.is/index.php?m=&id=M_POUL_ANNA|archive-date=5 April 2022}}</ref><ref name=KVINFOEntry>{{cite encyclopedia|last=Wiingaard|first=Jytte|title=Anna Borg|url=https://kvindebiografiskleksikon.lex.dk/Anna_Borg|encyclopedia=[Dansk kvindebiografisk leksikon](/source/Dansk_kvindebiografisk_leksikon)|language=da|date=20 October 2022|orig-date=2001|access-date=29 October 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221030075939/https://kvindebiografiskleksikon.lex.dk/Anna_Borg|archive-date=30 October 2022}}</ref> As was the case with many children of actors in Iðnó,<ref name=StefaníusjóðurBio/> she was raised in a household where the theatre was part of her day-to-day life.<ref name=DBLEntry/> Because Borg could not receive an education in theatre in Reykjavík, she was sent to Copenhagen to study at the {{ill|Det Kongelige Teaters elevskole|da|Det Kongelige Teaters elevskole|no|Det Kongelige Teaters Elevskole}} at the request of the theatre director {{ill|Adam Poulsen|da|Adam Poulsen|es|Adam Poulsen|sv|Adam Poulsen}} and was educated by the actor [Poul Reumert](/source/Poul_Reumert).<ref name=KVINFOEntry/> She initially struggled with speaking Danish but was offered further schooling because of her talent.<ref name=DBLEntry/> Borg graduated from the theatre in 1928,<ref name=GyldendalsBio>{{cite encyclopedia|last=Wiingaard|first=Jytte|title=Anna Borg|url=https://teaterleksikon.lex.dk/Anna_Borg|encyclopedia=Gyldendals Teaterleksikon|language=da|date=9 July 2012|orig-date=2007|access-date=29 October 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210603144101/https://teaterleksikon.lex.dk/Anna_Borg|archive-date=3 June 2021}}</ref> becoming one of the first Icelanders to do so.<ref name=StefaníusjóðurBio/>

==Career==
She portrayed strong and pure female characters,<ref name=SNLEntry/> and joined the [Royal Danish Theatre](/source/Royal_Danish_Theatre) in 1928.<ref name=KraksBlåBogEntry/> She made her on-stage debut as Tóta lila in ''{{ill|Eyvind of the Hills|is|Fjalla-Eyvindur: Leikrit í fjórum þáttum}}'' at the age of nine and became a participant in her mother's play tours to the West Coast of the United States and Canada from 1920 to 1921.<ref name=DBLEntry/><ref name=StefaníusjóðurBio/> On 22 March 1929,<ref name=DBLEntry/> Borg made her major debut as the lead role of Maria in Finnish-Swedish poet [Runar Schildt](/source/Runar_Schildt)'s ''Galgemanden'', a two-person one-act play.<ref name=StefaníusjóðurBio/><ref name=KVINFOEntry/> She went on to portray Margarete in [Johann Wolfgang von Goethe](/source/Johann_Wolfgang_von_Goethe)'s ''[Goethe's Faust](/source/Goethe's_Faust)'' two years later.<ref name=DSDEntry>{{cite encyclopedia|last=Kvam|first=Kela|title=Anna Borg|url=https://denstoredanske.lex.dk/Anna_Borg|encyclopedia=[Den Store Danske Encyklopædi](/source/Den_Store_Danske_Encyklop%C3%A6di)|language=da|date=7 May 2020|access-date=29 October 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220524162755/https://denstoredanske.lex.dk/Anna_Borg|archive-date=24 May 2022}}</ref> That same year, Borg played [Anne Boleyn](/source/Anne_Boleyn) in [Kaj Munk](/source/Kaj_Munk)'s ''Cant''.<ref name=GyldendalsBio/> She also portrayed  Agnete in [Johan Ludvig Heiberg](/source/Johan_Ludvig_Heiberg_(poet))'s ''[Elves' Hill](/source/Elves'_Hill)'' and was featured in some plays by [Adam Oehlenschläger](/source/Adam_Oehlenschl%C3%A4ger) such as Valborg in ''[Axel and Valborg](/source/Axel_and_Valborg)'' in 1929 and [Gudrun](/source/Gu%C3%B0r%C3%BAn_%C3%93sv%C3%ADfrsd%C3%B3ttir) in ''[Laxdæla saga](/source/Laxd%C3%A6la_saga)''.<ref name=KVINFOEntry/><ref name=GyldendalsBio/>

Borg and her family resided at a summer house Kandestederne or in Reykjavik from 1932. Between 1934 and 1936, she was employed at the {{ill|Dagmar Theatre|da|Dagmarteatret|no|Dagmarteatret|sv|Dagmarteatern}} and then at the Royal Danish Theatre from 1938 after a single role in Munk's ''Sejren''.<ref name=DBLEntry/><ref name=KVINFOEntry/> In 1940, Borg played Indra's daughter in [August Strindberg](/source/August_Strindberg)'s ''[A Dream Play](/source/A_Dream_Play)''.<ref name=DSDEntry/> Five years later, she had the role of the doctor-parent Martha Ellekær in the feature film ''[Affæren Birte](/source/Aff%C3%A6ren_Birte)'' and was Irene in ''[De kloge og vi gale](/source/De_kloge_og_vi_gale)''.<ref name=DFIBio>{{cite web|title=Anna Borg|url=https://www.dfi.dk/viden-om-film/filmdatabasen/person/anna-borg|publisher=[Danish Film Institute](/source/Danish_Film_Institute)|language=da|access-date=29 October 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210430071539/https://www.dfi.dk/viden-om-film/filmdatabasen/person/anna-borg|archive-date=30 April 2021}}</ref> Borg went on do character acting, being cast in the role of Klytemnestra in [Jean-Paul Sartre](/source/Jean-Paul_Sartre)'s ''[The Flies](/source/The_Flies)'' in 1946, portrayed Regina Hubbard Giddens in [Lillian Hellman](/source/Lillian_Hellman)'s ''[The Little Foxes](/source/The_Little_Foxes)'' a year later and Laura in Strindberg's ''[The Father](/source/The_Father_(Strindberg_play))'' in 1950.<ref name=KVINFOEntry/>

While doing a guest performance in the [National Theatre of Iceland](/source/National_Theatre_of_Iceland) in Reykjavík in 1951, she became seriously ill with gallstones, a serious metabolic disease, and did not return to theatre work until 1954. Borg's appearance had been affected by her illness.<ref name=DBLEntry/><ref name=KVINFOEntry/><ref name=KraksBlåBogEntry/> Her first on-stage role following her recovery from ill health was as [Queen Elizabeth I](/source/Queen_Elizabeth_I) in [Friedrich Schiller](/source/Friedrich_Schiller)'s ''[Mary Stuart](/source/Mary_Stuart_(Schiller_play))'' in 1954.<ref name=DSDEntry/> During this period of her life, Borg became a drama teacher for the opera staff at a school.<ref name=DBLEntry/><ref name=KVINFOEntry/> In 1957, she had a role in [Giuseppe Verdi](/source/Giuseppe_Verdi)'s ''[Un ballo in maschera](/source/Un_ballo_in_maschera)'';<ref name=GyldendalsBio/> [Hans Christian Branner](/source/Hans_Christian_Branner)'s ''Thermopylæ'' in 1958; ''Elsker-elsker ikke'' at [Aalborg Teater](/source/Aalborg_Teater) in 1960;<ref name=KVINFOEntry/> Queen Bera in Oehlenschläger's ''[Hagbard and Signe](/source/Hagbard_and_Signe)'' in 1961; and Verdi's ''[Rigoletto](/source/Rigoletto)'' in 1962.<ref name=GyldendalsBio/>

She was an honorary member of the [Danish Nurses' Organization](/source/Danish_Nurses'_Organization) and was on the board of the Copenhagen Acting Personnel's Private Fund.<ref name=KraksBlåBogEntry>{{cite encyclopedia|title=Borg Anna|url=https://www.rosekamp.dk/Kraks_BB_1957/B.htm|encyclopedia=[Kraks Blå Bog](/source/Kraks_Bl%C3%A5_Bog)|language=da|date=1957|access-date=29 October 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221026102422/http://www.rosekamp.dk/Kraks_BB_1957/B.htm|archive-date=26 October 2022}}</ref>

==Personal life and death==
Borg married Reumert in Reykjavik on 5 August 1932 and they had two children;<ref name=KVINFOEntry/> she was Reumert's third wife.<ref name=GyldendalsBio/> Borg and 11 other people were killed in an aeroplane accident on a hilltop in [Nesøya, Akershus](/source/Nes%C3%B8ya%2C_Akershus), Norway, west of Oslo while en route to Reykjavík on the morning of 14 April 1963.<ref name=SNLEntry/><ref name=StefaníusjóðurBio/><ref>{{cite news|title=Crash Near Oslo Kills 12 On Plane; Danish Actress Anna Borg Listed Among Victims Cuts 300-Foot Swath|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1963/04/15/archives/crash-near-oslo-kills-12-on-plane-danish-actress-anna-borg-listed.html|work=[The New York Times](/source/The_New_York_Times)|agency=[Associated Press](/source/Associated_Press)|page=3|date=15 April 1963|access-date=29 October 2022|url-access=subscription|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221030080903/https://www.nytimes.com/1963/04/15/archives/crash-near-oslo-kills-12-on-plane-danish-actress-anna-borg-listed.html|archive-date=30 October 2022}}</ref> Her memoirs, ''Anna Borgs erindringer'', were published posthumously in 1964.<ref name=KVINFOEntry/> Proceeds from book sales were distributed to the Mrs. Stefania Guðmundsdóttir Memorial Fund, which helped establish its first grant in 1970.<ref name=GyldendalsBio/>

==Awards==
In 1941, Borg received the [Ingenio et arti](/source/Ingenio_et_arti) theatre award.<ref name=DBLEntry/><ref name=GyldendalsBio/> She was named a winner of the [Tagea Brandt Rejselegat](/source/Tagea_Brandt_Rejselegat) seven years later and the {{ill|Läkerol's Culture Award|no|Läkerols kulturpris|sv|Läkerols kulturpris}} in 1955.<ref name=KraksBlåBogEntry/> Borg was a recipient of the {{ill|Teaterkatten|da|Teaterkatten}} in 1958.<ref>{{cite web|title=Teaterkatten|date=26 September 2022 |url=https://www.litteraturpriser.dk/pris/teaterk.htm|publisher={{ill|Litteraturpriser.dk|da|Litteraturpriser.dk}}|language=da|access-date=29 October 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220930160504/https://www.litteraturpriser.dk/pris/teaterk.htm|archive-date=30 September 2022}}</ref>

==References==
{{reflist}}

==External links==
* {{IMDb name}}

{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Borg, Anna}}
Category:1903 births
Category:1963 deaths
Category:Actresses from Reykjavík
Category:20th-century Danish actresses
Anna Borg
Category:20th-century Danish women writers
Anna Borg
Category:Danish stage actresses
Anna Borg
Category:Women autobiographers
Category:Danish autobiographers
Category:Recipients of Ingenio et Arti
Category:Victims of aviation accidents or incidents in Norway
Category:Victims of aviation accidents or incidents in 1963
Category:Danish women memoirists
Anna Borg

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Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Anna Borg](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anna_Borg) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anna_Borg?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.