On Tuesday (24 November), Norwegian actress Anneke von der Lippe received the International Emmy for Best Actress for the six-part thriller series Eyewitness, which Jarl Emsell Larsen created for Norwegian pubcaster NRK. 

At the International Academy of Television Arts & Sciences’ ceremony in New York, she became the first performer in Norway and, indeed, the Nordic countries to win the TV world’s equivalent of the Oscar. She also garnered the first Norwegian nomination for the prize in 2005, when she played a government minister in Leidulv Risan’s By the King’s Table. 

In Eyewitness, the 51-year-old actress plays police investigator Helen Sikkeland as she looks into a murder case in Mysen, a provincial town close to Sweden; two teenage boys, who have realised they are attracted to each other, witness the shoot-out but say nothing – they are terrified that the killer will return and their relationship will be found out.

“The Norwegian Emmy is a great moment for Norwegian actors, for the Norwegian film and TV industry, and obviously for von der Lippe herself,” said Sindre Guldvog, managing director of the Norwegian Film Institute. “Congratulations – Norwegian acting and TV drama are world-class,” added Norwegian Culture Minister Thorhild Widvey. 

Educated at the National Theatre High School in 1988, von der Lippe has worked on stage in Bergen and Stavanger, and is currently under contract with Oslo’s National Theatre. She has twice been awarded the Amanda, Norway’s national film prize, for Risan’s The Warrior’s Heart in 1992, and for Eva Isaksen’s Stork Staring Mad and Henning Carlsen’s Pan in 1995. She also picked up the Danish Bodil Award in 1996 for Best Supporting Actress in Nils Malmros’ Barbara.