Rakel Wärmländer

Rakel Amalia Wärmländer (born 3 October 1980) is a prominent Swedish actress whose career spans stage, television and film. She was born to Tom Zacharias and Dorotea Wärmländer, and after her mother remarried Governor Lennart Sandgren the family moved to the historic Tessin Palace, providing a unique childhood backdrop that sparked her early interest in performance. At the tender age of nine she made her theatrical debut in Kalas i Lönneberga at the Royal Dramatic Theatre in Stockholm, an experience that cemented her passion for acting. By nineteen she ventured abroad to New York City, where she studied for a year at the Neighborhood Playhouse School of the Theatre, sharpening her craft under the influence of American method techniques. Upon returning to Sweden she joined the innovative ensemble Darling Desperados at Teater Galeasen, and later earned a degree from the Malmö Theatre Academy in 2006, rounding out a solid formal education. Wärmländer’s on‑screen breakthrough came with the 1996 television mini‑series Skuggornas hus, where she portrayed the character Tina, a role that opened doors to further TV work in series such as Cleo, Skilda världar and Spung. She collaborated repeatedly with director Helena Bergström, appearing in the film Se upp för dårarna and later in the comedy En underbar jävla jul, where she played a surrogate mother for her gay friends. In 2007 she delighted audiences as Pippi Longstocking in Jonna Nordenskiöld’s stage production and lent her voice to Fio in the animated feature Porco Rosso. Her most recognizable leading role arrived with the 2013 romantic‑comedy Love and Lemons (Små citroner gula), a film that showcased her chemistry with longtime friend Josephine Bornebusch. Throughout her career she has demonstrated versatility across drama, comedy and musical theatre, earning a reputation as one of Sweden’s most adaptable and beloved performers.