Inger Nilsson: everything you need to know about the Pippi Longstocking actress
For many, she is a childhood heroine: Inger Nilsson. In her role as Pippi Longstocking, she is responsible for many fond childhood memories. Find out here what life was like after Pippi Longstocking and what the actress does today.
Karin Inger Monica Nilsson (born 4 May 1959 in Kisa) is a Swedish actress who achieved international fame in her role as Pippi Longstocking.
| Born | 4 May 1959 |
|---|---|
| Awards | Honorary Actor Award of the Eat My Shorts – Hagen Short Film Festival (2015), Language Award of the Northern Association (2019) |
Who is Inger Nilsson?
Inger Nilsson was born on 4 May 1959 in Kisa, a small town in south-east Sweden, just half an hour’s drive from Astrid Lindgren’s birthplace. In 1968, when Inger was 9 years old, she began filming Pippi Longstocking, her first major role, which was part of several films and a TV series.
The Pippi Longstocking films and series of the 1960s and 70s were very popular and the leading actress, the young Karin Inger Monica Nilsson, known as Inger, thus became very well known. She later took on other roles and is still active today. For example, she starred in the German-Swedish series The Inspector and the Sea (from 2007).
Inger Nilsson in Pippi Longstocking
The children’s books Pippi Longstocking by Astrid Lindgren are cult. They were made into films in the series Pippi Longstocking (1969) and films such as Pippi in Taka-Tuka-Land (1970) and Pippi out of control (1970) with Inger Nilsson in the leading role as Pippi Longstocking.
Alongside Pär Sundberg as Tommy and Maria Persson as Annika, Inger played the leading role in several Pippi Longstocking films between 1968 and 1970.
Several films were edited from the series, which were released under the titles Pippi Longstocking (1969), Pippi Gets Off the Boat (1969) and Here Comes Pippi Longstocking (1970).
Inger Nilsson’s life after Pippi Longstocking
After filming Pippi Longstocking, Inger Nilsson finished school and took a job as a secretary. A short time later, she took on more acting roles while also working as a holiday replacement for secretaries at a clinic.
She then took part in several local theatre productions and released the song Keep on Dancing in 1977. Inger auditioned for numerous TV and film roles, but found it difficult to gain a foothold in the industry as her most famous role, that of Pippi Longstocking, lingered.
Awards
- 2015: Honorary Actor Award of the Eat My Shorts – Hagen Short Film Festival
- 2019: Language Prize of the Northern Association
What does Inger Nilsson do today?
Today, Inger Nilsson appears in productions such as the popular Swedish-German TV series The Inspector and the Sea (from 2007), Dream On (2017) and Black Circle (2018). Most of her appearances come from Swedish productions, but she has also appeared in German films such as the German literary adaptation Gripsholm (2000).
She later said that her role as Pippi Longstocking was a burden sometimes, as reported by NDR . Today, however, she finds it “really great to have been part of it”, as she had not expected the production to be so successful at the time.
Filmography (selection)
- 1969: Pippi Longstocking (Pippi Långstrump) (TV series, not shown in Germany until 1971)
- 1970: Pippi in Taka-Tuka-Land (Pippi Långstrump på de sju haven, TV title: Pippi Longstocking and the pirates)
- 1970: Pippi out of control (På rymmen med Pippi Långstrump, TV title: On the road with Pippi Longstocking)
- 1989: Kajsa Kavat
- 1994: Panik på kliniken (TV film)
- 1995: Que pasó con (TV series, 1 episode)
- 2000: Gripsholm
- 2006: AK3 (TV mini-series)
- 2007: Numerologists
- since 2007: The Inspector and the Sea (TV series)
- 2015: Efterskalv
- 2017: Dream on (Dröm vidare)
- 2018: Black Circle
