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Ella Eronen (29 January 1900 — 9 October 1987) was a Finnish people actor and poetic reciter, and one of the country's leading actresses of the 20th century, especially of the 1930s through to 1950s. She was variously known as Diiva ('The Diva'), La Ella and Ella Suuri ('Ella the Great'). The noted Finnish theatre and film critic Jukka Kajava called her "possibly Finland's most legendary theatre actor".
The Eronen family was bilingual (Finnish from the father's side, Swedish from the mother's), and Ella was educated in both languages.
She first began learning acting at the Swedish Theatre in Helsinki in 1915, initially in the dance corps, but as she already had some acting experience she did not take well to formal training, and in the end was largely self-learned. Eronen's interest in acting and dance was encouraged by her mother, while her father was against it; her mother's death in 1916 put paid to her aspirations, until a couple of years later when she moved to Stockholm to continue her studies at the drama school of Sweden's royal national theatre Dramaten. In addition to acting and dance, Eronen also received tuition in singing.
Eronen was attached to several leading theatre companies during her career, including the Swedish Theatres of Helsinki and Turku, as well as the National Theatre for over two decades. Although her repertoire was wide and varied, she remains particularly remembered as a tragedienne; of the over 300 roles she played, some of the more notable ones included:
In February 1940, as Finland was in the midst of the Winter War against the Soviet Union, she notably recited the lyrics of the Finnish national anthem, Maamme (Swedish language: Vårt land), in both Swedish and Finnish at the Stockholm Olympic Stadium, which helped to raise funds and support for Finland's war effort among the Swedish population, rally Finland's morale, as well as giving a significant boost to Eronen's own reputation. (A 1957 recording of her recital is available online.) The recital was broadcast on public radio in both Sweden and Finland, and as a result Eronen became popularly known as the 'Voice of Finland'.
Later in her career she also appeared in several television series and dramas.
In 1977, the honorary title of Professori was conferred on Eronen.
She had two children: a daughter from her marriage to Wilhelms, and a son with Tarkkonen.
Despite her fame and reputation as a diva, Eronen was a private person, with only a small, trusted circle of close friends and relatives. She went to great efforts to manage her public image.
Eronen suffered from ill health in her final years, including in the autumn of 1987 a major stroke, which took away her ability to speak, and she died shortly afterwards. She is buried in the artists' section of the Hietaniemi Cemetery of Helsinki.
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