12 Facts About Ella Eronen

Ella Eronen was a Finnish actor and poetic reciter, and one of the country's leading actresses of the 20th century, especially of the 1930s through to 1950s.

Ella Eronen was variously known as Diiva, La Ella and Ella Suuri.

The Eronen family was bilingual, and Ella was educated in both languages.

Ella Eronen first began learning acting at the Swedish Theatre in Helsinki in 1915, initially in the dance corps, but as she already had some acting experience she did not take well to formal training, and in the end was largely self-learned.

Ella Eronen was attached to several leading theatre companies during her career, including the Swedish Theatres of Helsinki and Turku, as well as the National Theatre for over two decades.

Outside of the world of theatre, Ella Eronen performed many poetry recitals, in particular works of Eino Leino and excerpts from the Finnish national epic, Kalevala.

In 1952, Ella Eronen received the Pro Finlandia medal of the Order of the Lion of Finland, and in 1977, Finland's premier theatre award, the Ida Aalberg Prize.

Ella Eronen was married three times: first to Swedish actor Per Eugen Andersson, then to sculptor Carl Wilhelms, and finally to portrait painter Eino Olavi Tarkkonen ; the first, unhappy marriage ended in the death of her husband from alcoholism, the latter two in divorce.

Ella Eronen had two children: a daughter from her marriage to Wilhelms, and a son with Tarkkonen.

Ella Eronen went to great efforts to manage her public image.

Ella Eronen suffered from ill health in her final years, including in the autumn of 1987 a major stroke, which took away her ability to speak, and she died shortly afterwards.

Ella Eronen is buried in the artists' section of the Hietaniemi Cemetery of Helsinki.