# Alicia Vikander
**Alicia Vikander** (full name Alicia Amanda Vikander) is a Swedish actress, dancer, and producer who won the [Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress](https://www.edgepedia.org/academy-award-for-best-supporting-actress) for her role as [Gerda Wegener](https://www.edgepedia.org/gerda-wegener) in *The Danish Girl* (2015). Trained first as a ballet dancer, she moved from Swedish film and television into European costume dramas and then Hollywood productions, and has continued to alternate between large studio projects and smaller European films.[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm2539953/) • [2](https://variety.com.se/alicia-vikander-balances-hollywood-and-european-cinema/)
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Full name / origin | Alicia Amanda Vikander; born and raised in Gothenburg, Sweden, to the stage and screen actress Maria Fahl and the psychiatrist Svante Vikander[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm2539953/) |
| First training | Child roles at The Göteborg Opera; ballet at the Royal Swedish Ballet School in Stockholm and the School of American Ballet in New York; a chronic back injury ended her dance ambitions[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm2539953/) • [3](https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/films/features/alicia-vikander-interview-earthquake-bird-netflix-tomb-raider-lara-croft-michael-fassbender-a9180671.html) |
| Breakthrough | Lead in *Pure* (2009), winning the Guldbagge Award for Best Actress; international attention in 2012 as Kitty in *Anna Karenina* and Queen Caroline Mathilde in *A Royal Affair*, with a BAFTA Rising Star Award nomination[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm2539953/) • [4](https://www.silverscreencinemastudios.com/assets/silver-screen-cinema-studio-business-plan.pdf) |
| 2015 season | Seven major film releases, with Golden Globe nominations for *Ex Machina* and *The Danish Girl*[5](https://www.theguardian.com/film/2015/dec/13/alicia-vikander-danish-girl-interview-ex-machina) |
| Oscar | Best Supporting Actress for *The Danish Girl* at the 88th Academy Awards, held February 28, 2016[6](https://www.oscars.org/oscars/ceremonies/2016) |
| Action work | Lara Croft in the 2018 *Tomb Raider* reboot, for which she gained 12 pounds of muscle through weight training, rock climbing, swimming, and MMA fighting[3](https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/films/features/alicia-vikander-interview-earthquake-bird-netflix-tomb-raider-lara-croft-michael-fassbender-a9180671.html) |
| Personal life | Married her *The Light Between Oceans* co-star Michael Fassbender in October 2017; the couple settled in Lisbon[7](https://www.aliciavikander.org/category/interviews/) |
## Early life and ballet training
Vikander grew up in [Gothenburg](https://www.edgepedia.org/gothenburg) in a household split between her mother, the actress Maria Fahl, and her father, the psychiatrist Svante Vikander; through her mother she is one-quarter Finnish, with a maternal great-aunt who moved from Finland to Sweden to escape World War II.[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm2539953/) She began acting as a child in minor stage productions at The Göteborg Opera, and appeared in the musical *Kristina från Duvemåla* at the age of seven.[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm2539953/) • [8](https://www.sviv.se/wp-content/uploads/2016/06/svenskarivaerlden_nummertvaa_tvaatusensexton.pdf)
**Ballet came first.** At 15 she moved to Stockholm to attend the Royal Swedish Ballet School, where she danced seven hours a day, six days a week, and she also trained at the [School of American Ballet](https://www.edgepedia.org/school-of-american-ballet) in New York.[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm2539953/) • [3](https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/films/features/alicia-vikander-interview-earthquake-bird-netflix-tomb-raider-lara-croft-michael-fassbender-a9180671.html) A chronic back injury ended her plans to become a dancer. She has said the training remained the foundation of her work, and the physical discipline shows in her screen acting, from the controlled movements of the android Ava in *Ex Machina* to the action choreography of *Tomb Raider*.[3](https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/films/features/alicia-vikander-interview-earthquake-bird-netflix-tomb-raider-lara-croft-michael-fassbender-a9180671.html)
Her first professional acting work came in Swedish short films and television series, and she first gained recognition in [Northern Europe](https://www.edgepedia.org/northern-europe) as Josefin Björn-Tegebrandt in the TV drama *Second Avenue* (2007).[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm2539953/)
## Breakthrough in Swedish and European cinema
At 20 she took the lead in the Swedish coming-of-age film *Pure* (2009), directed by Lisa Langseth, playing a troubled young woman whose solace is classical music. The performance won Sweden's Guldbagge Award for Best Actress and caught the attention of European casting directors.[9](https://www.vanityfair.com/hollywood/2016/08/alicia-vikander-cover-story) • [1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm2539953/)
**2012 made her internationally visible.** She played Princess Ekaterina "Kitty" Alexandrovna Shcherbatskaya in [Joe Wright](https://www.edgepedia.org/joe-wright)'s adaptation of *Anna Karenina*, her first major English-language role, for which she came to London to lobby Wright directly; and she played Queen Caroline Mathilde in the Danish historical drama *A Royal Affair*, opposite [Mads Mikkelsen](https://www.edgepedia.org/mads-mikkelsen). She had to learn to act in new languages for both international productions. She received a BAFTA Rising Star Award nomination for this breakthrough period.[4](https://www.silverscreencinemastudios.com/assets/silver-screen-cinema-studio-business-plan.pdf) • [10](https://www.the-independent.com/arts-entertainment/films/features/alicia-vikander-make-room-for-a-new-swedish-sensation-8139031.html)
## The 2015 season and the Oscar
In 2015 Vikander appeared in seven major movies, culminating in Golden Globe nominations for two of them: the android Ava in [Alex Garland](https://www.edgepedia.org/alex-garland)'s science-fiction film *Ex Machina* and Gerda Wegener in [Tom Hooper](https://www.edgepedia.org/tom-hooper)'s *The Danish Girl*.[5](https://www.theguardian.com/film/2015/dec/13/alicia-vikander-danish-girl-interview-ex-machina) That awards season she received BAFTA nominations in both categories, Leading Actress for *The Danish Girl* and Supporting Actress for *Ex Machina*.[11](https://time.com/4172583/bridge-of-spies-and-carol-top-2015-bafta-award-nominees/)
*Ex Machina* drew wide attention in the United States. For her self-tape audition she pulled her hair into a tight bun and applied a full bottle of sunscreen to her face to achieve the robot's shiny appearance.[7](https://www.aliciavikander.org/category/interviews/) Critics singled out the physical precision of the performance, which drew directly on her dance training.[12](https://time.com/3789656/ex-machina-review/)
At the 88th Academy Awards on February 28, 2016, she won the Oscar for Best Supporting Actress for *The Danish Girl*, in which she played Gerda Wegener, the wife of [Lili Elbe](https://www.edgepedia.org/lili-elbe) ([Eddie Redmayne](https://www.edgepedia.org/eddie-redmayne)), one of the first known recipients of gender-affirming surgery. Her date that evening was her mother.[6](https://www.oscars.org/oscars/ceremonies/2016) • [7](https://www.aliciavikander.org/category/interviews/) Vikander later said the film had become dated in its portrayal of trans experience, while describing it as an early step in that conversation.[7](https://www.aliciavikander.org/category/interviews/)
## Hollywood, action roles, and later work
After the Oscar she moved between studio films and independent productions. She starred in *The Light Between Oceans* (2016) with [Michael Fassbender](https://www.edgepedia.org/michael-fassbender), filmed on a remote part of New Zealand where the two leads lived in a secluded lighthouse for a month; the two actors began a relationship during the production.[13](https://time.com/4435113/michael-fassbender-alicia-vikander-light-between-oceans/) She joined the Bourne franchise in [Paul Greengrass](https://www.edgepedia.org/paul-greengrass)'s *Jason Bourne*, opposite [Matt Damon](https://www.edgepedia.org/matt-damon), saying she took the part because she had been a huge fan of the series.[7](https://www.aliciavikander.org/category/interviews/)
**Tomb Raider.** In 2018 she played [Lara Croft](https://www.edgepedia.org/lara-croft) in the reboot of the video-game adaptation, adding 12 pounds of muscle through weight training, rock climbing, swimming, and MMA fighting, and training at 4 a.m. on most days before filming.[3](https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/films/features/alicia-vikander-interview-earthquake-bird-netflix-tomb-raider-lara-croft-michael-fassbender-a9180671.html) • [7](https://www.aliciavikander.org/category/interviews/) That year the Göteborg Film Festival screened her indie drama *Euphoria*, which she also produced, and gave her the Nordic Honorary Dragon Award for lifetime achievement.[14](https://mediafiles.cineplex.com/Attachments/NewItems/CineplexMagazine_MAR-APR2018_20180301154714_0.pdf) A *Tomb Raider* sequel did not proceed: MGM lost the rights to the property in May 2022 after failing to greenlight a new installment, and Vikander described the collapse as a disappointment, saying she would be interested in another action role.[7](https://www.aliciavikander.org/category/interviews/)
Her later credits include the title role in the Netflix film *Earthquake Bird* (2019), one of four actors playing Gloria Steinem at different ages in *The Glorias* (2020), and Catherine Parr, the sixth and final wife of Henry VIII, in Karim Aïnouz's *Firebrand*, opposite Jude Law.[3](https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/films/features/alicia-vikander-interview-earthquake-bird-netflix-tomb-raider-lara-croft-michael-fassbender-a9180671.html) • [7](https://www.aliciavikander.org/category/interviews/) In *The Assessment*, a dystopian drama directed by Fleur Fortuné, she played Virginia, a government assessor who evaluates whether a couple may have a child, opposite Elizabeth Olsen and Himesh Patel; critics highlighted her performance, and she filmed the role while pregnant.[15](https://www.whattowatch.com/watching-guides/the-assessment-release-date-trailer-cast-and-everything-we-know-about-the-elizabeth-olsen-sci-fi-movie) • [16](https://www.thewrap.com/alicia-vikander-pregnant-while-filming-the-assessment-interview/) She also plays Ksenia in *The Wizard of the Kremlin*, which had its premiere screening at the Venice Film Festival.[17](https://omni.se/a/rPwJKl)
She made her London stage debut in *The Lady From the Sea* at the Bridge Theatre.[18](https://www.vogue.com/article/alicia-vikander-the-lady-from-the-sea-interview)
## Career pattern and personal life
Vikander's career has been defined by movement between Hollywood studio projects and smaller European productions rather than a single track.[2](https://variety.com.se/alicia-vikander-balances-hollywood-and-european-cinema/) She has described preferring to choose projects by the people involved rather than by awards prospects, particularly after becoming a mother.[7](https://www.aliciavikander.org/category/interviews/)
She married Michael Fassbender in October 2017 in a low-key ceremony on a beach in Ibiza, and the couple settled in Lisbon, choosing it to get away from London and big cities.[7](https://www.aliciavikander.org/category/interviews/) She has been an ambassador for Louis Vuitton, a partnership of several years' standing.[7](https://www.aliciavikander.org/category/interviews/)
## References
1. [Alicia Vikander, IMDb biography](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm2539953/)
2. [Alicia Vikander Balances Hollywood and European Cinema, Variety Sweden](https://variety.com.se/alicia-vikander-balances-hollywood-and-european-cinema/)
3. [Alicia Vikander: 'It makes me sad to say, but women are very harsh against one another', The Independent (2019)](https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/films/features/alicia-vikander-interview-earthquake-bird-netflix-tomb-raider-lara-croft-michael-fassbender-a9180671.html)
4. [Alicia Vikander career summary, Silver Screen Cinema Studios](https://www.silverscreencinemastudios.com/assets/silver-screen-cinema-studio-business-plan.pdf)
5. [Alicia Vikander: 'I made five films in a row before I had a scene with another woman', The Guardian (2015)](https://www.theguardian.com/film/2015/dec/13/alicia-vikander-danish-girl-interview-ex-machina)
6. [The 88th Academy Awards (2016), Oscars.org](https://www.oscars.org/oscars/ceremonies/2016)
7. [Interviews archive, Alicia Vikander Online (THR Awards Chatter at Cannes; ELLE October 2020; Variety Firebrand interview)](https://www.aliciavikander.org/category/interviews/)
8. [Svenskar i världen 2/2016, SVIV](https://www.sviv.se/wp-content/uploads/2016/06/svenskarivaerlden_nummertvaa_tvaatusensexton.pdf)
9. [How Alicia Vikander Unleashed Her Inner Superstar, Vanity Fair (2016)](https://www.vanityfair.com/hollywood/2016/08/alicia-vikander-cover-story)
10. [Alicia Vikander: Make room for a new Swedish sensation, The Independent (2012)](https://www.the-independent.com/arts-entertainment/films/features/alicia-vikander-make-room-for-a-new-swedish-sensation-8139031.html)
11. [Bridge of Spies and Carol Top 2015 BAFTA Award Nominees, Time](https://time.com/4172583/bridge-of-spies-and-carol-top-2015-bafta-award-nominees/)
12. [Ex Machina review, Time (2015)](https://time.com/3789656/ex-machina-review/)
13. [Alicia Vikander Spent a Whole Month Secluded With Michael Fassbender for a Movie, Time (2016)](https://time.com/4435113/michael-fassbender-alicia-vikander-light-between-oceans/)
14. [Taking Her Shot, Cineplex Magazine March–April 2018](https://mediafiles.cineplex.com/Attachments/NewItems/CineplexMagazine_MAR-APR2018_20180301154714_0.pdf)
15. [The Assessment: release date, reviews, trailer, cast, What to Watch](https://www.whattowatch.com/watching-guides/the-assessment-release-date-trailer-cast-and-everything-we-know-about-the-elizabeth-olsen-sci-fi-movie)
16. [Alicia Vikander on Filming Dystopian Pregnancy Thriller While Pregnant, TheWrap](https://www.thewrap.com/alicia-vikander-pregnant-while-filming-the-assessment-interview/)
17. [Vikander om Putinfilmen: "Kunde ta från mig själv", Omni](https://omni.se/a/rPwJKl)
18. [Alicia Vikander on Making Her London Stage Debut, Vogue (2025)](https://www.vogue.com/article/alicia-vikander-the-lady-from-the-sea-interview)
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*Topic: Encyclopedia › Arts and culture › Screen and stage › Film and television › Screen people and creators › Screen actors of the Anglosphere and Europe › Nordic actors*
*Initially written Sep 17, 2026 · Reviewed: Sep 17, 2026; Sep 19, 2026; Sep 30, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Sep 17, 2026; Sep 30, 2026; Oct 12, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Last review: Oct 25, 2026*
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