Siw Malmkvist has sung, danced and acted her way into generations of Swedish hearts since her breakthrough as a hostess in Lennart Hyland's television program "Stora famnen" in 1959.
Before her job as a Christmas host at SVT, she had neither practiced nor worried much, but she waves away questions about red tape and funding. She takes it in stride, she says.
I'm just going to sit and talk. It shouldn't be that remarkable. At least I'm better today than I was in "Big Embrace". Back then I was a useless hostess.
The year of Siw Malmkvist
On New Year's Eve, when Siw Malmkvist turns 89, she can look back on an eventful year. The acclaimed "The Film About Siw" premiered in cinemas in September, a follow-up documentary series came out in December – and then the honorary assignment on Christmas Eve.
"It's not wise. There's way too much Siw Malmkvist right now," she says, laughing.
She was surprised when SVT called. Why would anyone be interested in her? It sounded the same when director Stina Gardell contacted her about "The Film About Siw."
Siw Malmkvist is described in words as iconic and beloved, but she herself does not understand the uproar.
"I don't see myself the way others see me. It's nothing special, it's just me," she says, shrugging her shoulders.
No Christmas lover
She likes Arne Weise, candles and brown cabbage. But she has never been a Christmas fan. It was the children who encouraged her to accept the role of Christmas host.
So there won't be any disappointment that you won't be with them on Christmas Eve?
No, I don't think they notice that I'm not there, she chuckles.
Just over two years ago, Siw Malmkvist lost her life partner of over 50 years. She has spoken about the emptiness Fredrik Ohlsson left behind and, in the run-up to Christmas Eve, she has thought a lot about being a Christmas host for the lonely.
I think that's what a Christmas host should see as their task. There sits someone who may not have children or a family, or whose children may be very far away. I think of them when I sit there, and I'm talking to them. That would be fantastic.
88 years old. She had her breakthrough in 1959 when she became the hostess of Lennart Hyland's TV program "Stora famnen" and won the Melodifestivalen with "Augustin".
In parallel with her having big hits like “Tunna skivor”, “Flickor bak i bilen” and “Mamma är lik sin mamma” in Sweden during the 1960s, she also became a big star in Germany. In 1964, she topped the German charts with “Liebeskummer lohnt sich nicht”.
On stage, she played Pippi Longstocking in a production in 1980 and was a success in the musical "Nine" in 1983–84.
In 2016, she was elected to the Swedish Music Hall of Fame.
Since Arne Weise retired, SVT has appointed new Christmas hosts every year.
2003: Lotta Bromé, 2004: Ernst Kirchsteiger, 2005: Blossom Tainton, 2006: Ingvar Oldsberg, 2007: Anne Lundberg, 2008: Lasse Kronér, 2009: Lisbeth Åkerman, 2010: André Pops, 2011: Kalle Moraeus, 2012: Sarah Dawn Finer, 2013: Petra Mede, 2014: Henrik Dorsin, 2015: Gina Dirawi, 2016: Sanna Nielsen, 2017: Lotta Lundgren and Erik Haag, 2018: Kattis Ahlström, 2019: Marianne Mörck, 2020: Lars Lerin, 2021: Tareq Taylor, 2022: Babben Larsson, 2023: David Batra, 2024: Mark Levengood.
