Biography

Actress Ellen Helinder grew up in Karlstad, western Sweden, and has since lived in London, Oslo and Stockholm. She made her stage debut at the age of ten, at Värmlandsteatern in her hometown. In her early 20s, she moved to Stockholm and started pursuing acting as a career, studying the craft through techniques such as the Chubbuck and Meisner ones.

Helinder has acted in numerous Swedish hit series including Gåsmamman (2016) and Sommaren med släkten (2020). In 2018, she landed the role of Magdalena in the mega success series Exit, which has become Scandinavia’s most viewed series of all time. Her stellar performance has led to her character becoming one of the main roles in the third season.

In an interview about Exit season 3, creator Øystein Karlsen described her acting as “Honest, raw, vulnerable and brave. She has that special, unexplainable quality that comes alive when the camera starts rolling, and that you just can’t take your eyes off of until she exits frame.”

Helinder starred in the comedy drama Homecoming (2019), for which she was awarded ‘Best Actress’ at the Across the Globe Festival, and received a nomination for ‘Best Swedish Female Actor’ at the Västerås Film Festival.

Furthermore, Helinder debuted as a filmmaker in 2020, with her documentary Little Big Brother, which premiered on Swedish TV4. The documentary has been distributed internationally and featured in among else The Guardian and The Daily Mail.