After secretarial training and a period of work at the Agricultural Board, where she counted fox tails, she studied at Gösta Terserus' theatre school before being accepted into the Dramaten theatre school in Stockholm in 1947.
By then, her film debut had already been completed, two years earlier she had participated in Hasse Ekman's "Royal Patrasket". Another 50 or so films and TV series would follow over the years, including roles in "The House of Silfvercrona's Mystery", "The Shipping Company", "Pippi Longstocking" and "Pip-Larsson's".
Loyal to the Stage
Above all, she was loyal to the stage with over 90 performances, not infrequently of a comedic nature. Most of her nearly 75 years on stage were spent at the Stockholm City Theatre, now known as the Kulturhuset City Theatre.
She was part of the theatre's first ensemble when it was established in 1960 and would stay there for the rest of her life - with a certain break, as Meta Velander herself recounted in an interview with TT in 2014, which began when she was "forced to retire" at the age of 67.
Despite great disappointment, she did not give up, but continued on other stages - she toured with the Riksteatern as well as played in a free theatre group - until the Kulturhuset City Theatre's incoming manager Benny Fredriksson called her up. After 13 years, Meta Velander was welcome back.
Strong Love
In later years, she often played against her close actor colleague Yvonne Lombard, for example in Kristina Lugn's "Night Orienteers" which premiered in 2016. Then Meta Velander was 92 years old and had no plans whatsoever to retire. The love for the theatre public was simply too strong.
A few days before her 90th birthday, in August 2014, she described it like this:
I wouldn't want to be without the meetings with the audience. You feel how people listen and hold their breath, get moved or touched. The theatre is so alive. I get so happy when people come forward and show appreciation. Then I've succeeded with something in my life, she said to TT then.
Meta Velander fell asleep, 100 years old, on Friday.
Born: 1924 in Djursholm, north of Stockholm
Family: Married to the actor, director and theatre manager Ingvar Kjellson from 1949 until his death in 2014.
Background: Attended Dramaten's theatre school between 1947-1950. Was active at Uppsala City Theatre in the 1950s, together with her husband Ingvar Kjellson. In 1960, she was back in Stockholm and the then newly established City Theatre, now known as the Kulturhuset City Theatre.
Film and TV roles in selection: Pip-Larsson's, The Archipelago Doctor, Solbacken: Ward E, Friends and Enemies, Sun's Christmas, Allis with Ice.
Theatre roles in selection: Night Orienteers, Grandma and Our Lord, The Last Dance, The Good Person of Szechwan, Hamlet, Mio, My Mio.
