Michael and Catharina Nyqvist (Instagram)
Michael Nyqvist, the star of the original Swedish film The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo and John Wick, died June 27 after a battle with lung cancer. He was 56-years old and is survived by his wife Catharina and their two children.
Nyqvist was in 2014’s John Wick alongside Keanu Reeves and was also the villain in Mission: Impossible — Ghost Protocol, starring Tom Cruise. His most notable role — at least in his home country of Sweden — was as Mikael Blomkvist in The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo.
His wife Catharina, 48, has also been involved in the entertainment industry for over 20 years as a set designer and has had much of her work featured in movies, TV shows and commercials.
Here’s what you need to know about Catharina:
1. Michael & Catharina Got Married in 1990 & Have 2 Children
(Instagram)
It’s unclear how Michael and Catharina met, but they did so in the late 1980s and got married in 1990. Soon, the couple had two children together, Ellen and Arthur.
Ellen has taken after her father and acted in a few smaller films.
Michael’s family were the ones to announce that he died and said how grateful they were for him being able to do what he loved every day of his life in a statement.
“Michael’s joy and passion were infectious to those who knew and loved him,” the statement read. “His charm and charisma were undeniable, and his love for the arts was felt by all who had the pleasure of working with him.”
2. Catharina’s Design Work Has Been Featured on Many TV Shows &Amp; Movies
(Instagram)
Like her husband, Catharina has spent many years in the entertainment industry. While Michael chose to be an actor, Catharina’s calling was as a scenographer.
Her first role was in 1992 when she helped design the art for the Swedish TV series Rederiet, which is considered as one of the most successful and longest-running series’ in Swedish TV history.
Catharina has played a role as a set designer in 22 TV shows and films. She’s listed as a designer in many other Swedish films, including Bit by Bit, Reparation and Hotel. Her last listed role as a set designer, according to IMDb, is The Deposit in 2015.
3. She Studied at an Art Institute in Sweden
(Instagram)
According to her Facebook page, Catharina studied at Dramatiska Institutet. The school is known nowadays as the University College of Film, Radio, Television and Theatre and merged with the Swedish National Academy of Mime and Acting to become Stockholm Academy of Dramatic Arts.
When Catharina attended the school, which was founded in 1970, many famous personalities from the country also studied there. That included Josef Fares, Mark Levengood and Stina Lundberg Dabrowski.
The school was involved in some controversy in 2005 when a student read an erotic story in front of a group of 6-year-olds as part of a project to see what effect sex has on children. The incident garnered much media coverage in Sweden and school leaders said that it hadn’t been approved by them before the reading took place.
An investigation into the matter led to the school announcing that the incident would help “lay the foundation for change” at the school.
4. She Currently Works at ARTOFFICIAL AGENCY
(Instagram)
Catharina’s Facebook page says that she’s currently employed at ARTOFFICIAL AGENCY, which is a firm made up of photographers, set designers, costume designers, hair stylists, composers and sound designers and more.
Catharina works as a production designer for the firm and much of her work is available to view by clicking here.
Her work on the website doesn’t only feature her work on TV shows and movies, it also shows that she has spent a lot of time being the production designer on commercials.
5. Her Husband Was Adopted From an Orphanage
(Instagram)
Catharina’s Facebook page says that she still lives in Stockholm, the same place that her husband was born. Michael was born to a Swedish mother and Italian father but was given up to an orphanage shortly after. Soon enough, he was adopted from the orphanage and moved to the United States as a teenager to be an exchange student.
When he was 17, Michael went to school in Omaha, Nebraska and started taking his first acting classes in high school. Once he got back to Sweden, he went to ballet school but ended up giving up. Instead of doing ballet, his ex-girlfriend told him it may be worthwhile to pursue a career in theatre. When he was 24, he was accepted into Malmo Theatre Academy. After he graduated, he worked primarily in theatre but found his way to smaller roles on films, where he eventually found his calling.
His first breakthrough in the entertainment industry was in 2000 when he acted in Together.
