1. Gullan Marianne, Princess Bernadotte, Countess of Wisborg, known as Princess Marianne Bernadotte, is a Swedish actress, fashion icon and philanthropist who in 1961 married Sigvard Bernadotte, the second son of Gustaf VI Adolf of Sweden and is officially included in the Swedish royal family.
Marianne Bernadotte was in the motion picture Kulla Gulla in 1956 with Hugo Bjorne and appeared in two plays on Swedish television in 1957 and 1959.
The theatre was closed for renovation in 1956, and after leaving there Marianne Bernadotte was trained by the NK department store and took over their gift shop.
In 1983, Marianne Bernadotte graduated as Bachelor of Arts in Art history at Stockholm University.
Marianne Bernadotte became particularly close and lifelong friends with Balmain and with his successor Erik Mortensen, and they as well as several other French houses of haute couture often for publicity dressed the easily fitted Bernadotte in their latest work.
In 1985 Marianne Bernadotte was named one of the 10 best dressed women in the world, by the Chambre Syndicale de la Haute Couture in Paris alongside Gina Lollobrigida, Princess Ira von Furstenberg and Princess Gersende d'Orleans.
Marianne Bernadotte began fundraising efforts, procured valuable artwork from artist friends and was assisted by other prominent members of Stadsbrudskaren for an auction at Bukowskis in 1990 which brought in SEK 1.2 million.
Since 1992 over 20 million SEK have been awarded by the foundation and a prize in Marianne Bernadotte's name has been given for clinical research.
Marianne Bernadotte has founded The International Research Foundation for Children's Eye Care Inc and The Marianne Bernadotte Scholarship Fund for Prominent Dyslexia Research and Education, and through these and other civic commitments actively supports public and voluntary service.
The over 300 members of the Friendship Association of the Prince Sigvard Bernadotte and Princess Marianne Bernadotte Couple include top Swedish business people who contribute considerably to these charities.
In 1998, she was awarded an Honorary Doctorate of Medicine by that institute, and Marianne Bernadotte Center, founded in 2013, is slated to move into new facilities there from its current location at St Eriks Hospital in Stockholm.
Marianne Bernadotte was born and grew up in Helsingborg, Sweden, the daughter of Helge Lindberg and his wife Thyra Dahlman.
Marianne Bernadotte's parents were divorced when she was a girl and she then lost touch with her father for many years, which she has described as a grievous, while greatly admiring her strong mother for taking charge of her and her brother.
Marianne Bernadotte's brother Rune suffered from dyslexia before it was an understood problem, and that plus her discovery much later, that members of the Swedish royal family struggled with the affliction, led to her keen interest in the subject.
Marianne Bernadotte married, secondly, on 30 July 1961 in Stockholm, the former Swedish prince Sigvard Bernadotte, whom she had met much earlier when he was designing scenography at Dramaten, and again in 1957 when seeing mutual friends in Bastad.
Since the death of her sister-in-law Gunnila Bernadotte in 2016, Marianne Bernadotte is the last surviving aunt of King Carl XVI Gustaf of Sweden, Queen Margrethe II of Denmark and Queen Anne-Marie of Greece.
Marianne Bernadotte has a much younger half-sister Ylva Lindberg, who married Indian-born Swedish hotelier Barun Chakraborty, one of the richest men in Scandinavia.
Marianne Bernadotte has several grandchildren and a great-grandson, through her daughter Marielle Tchang Lagergren.