Noomi Rapace Siblings: All About Særún Norén

Noomi Rapace, born Noomi Norén on December 28, 1979, in Hudiksvall, Sweden, is a renowned Swedish actress.

The daughter of Swedish actress Nina Norén and Spanish flamenco singer Rogelio de Badajoz, Rapace experienced a nomadic childhood marked by her parents’ separation shortly after her birth.

She saw her father only sporadically before his death, describing their encounters as rare and distant.

At the age of five, she relocated to the small Icelandic town of Flúðir with her mother and stepfather, Hrafnkell Karlsson, where she immersed herself in a unique cultural environment.

Returning to Sweden as a teenager, Rapace left home at 15 to pursue acting at the Stockholm Theatre School, a bold move that underscored her early determination.

Fluent in multiple languages including Swedish, English, Danish, Norwegian, and Icelandic, she brings a global perspective to her roles.

Rapace adopted her professional surname, meaning “bird of prey” in French and Italian, upon marrying actor Ola Rapace in 2001; the couple divorced in 2011 but share a son, Lev, born in 2003.

Siblings

Noomi has a younger sister named Særún Norén who has carved out a notable career as a photographer based in Stockholm.

Særún’s work often captures intimate, black-and-white portraits, including several of her famous sibling, showcasing a deep artistic bond between the two.

Career

Rapace’s acting journey began in earnest during her teenage years, igniting with a non-speaking role in the Icelandic film Í skugga hrafnsins at age eight, which sparked her passion for the craft.

By 15, she had enrolled in Stockholm’s theater schools, honing her skills through rigorous training at institutions like Skara Skolscen from 1998 to 1999.

Her professional debut arrived in 1996 with a recurring role as Lucinda Gonzales in the long-running Swedish soap opera Tre kronor, marking her entry into television.

Throughout the early 2000s, Rapace built a solid foundation in Swedish theater, performing at prestigious venues such as Theater Plaza, Orionteatern, Teater Galeasen, Stockholms stadsteater, and the Royal Dramatic Theatre.

Her transition to film came with supporting roles, but it was the 2007 Danish drama Daisy Diamond that propelled her forward, where she portrayed a struggling single mother with raw vulnerability, earning critical acclaim across Scandinavia.

The true pinnacle of her early career arrived in 2009 with her iconic portrayal of the fierce, tattooed hacker Lisbeth Salander in the Swedish adaptations of Stieg Larsson’s Millennium trilogy: The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, The Girl Who Played with Fire, and The Girl Who Kicked the Hornets’ Nest.

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These films not only dominated box offices but also introduced Rapace to international audiences, blending gritty realism with high-stakes thriller elements.

Capitalizing on this breakthrough, she ventured into Hollywood with Guy Ritchie’s Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows in 2011, playing the enigmatic Gypsy fortune-teller Simza Heron alongside Robert Downey Jr. and Jude Law.

The following year, Ridley Scott’s Prometheus saw her as archaeologist Elizabeth Shaw, a role demanding physical intensity, including a harrowing self-caesarean scene that showcased her commitment to immersive performances.

Rapace continued diversifying her portfolio with thrillers like Dead Man Down (2013) opposite Colin Farrell, The Drop (2014) with Tom Hardy, and Child 44 (2015), navigating the challenges of American cinema while maintaining her European edge.

In 2017, she delivered a tour de force in What Happened to Monday (also known as Seven Sisters), portraying seven identical septuplet sisters in a dystopian sci-fi thriller, a technically demanding role that required extensive motion-capture work and highlighted her range.

Subsequent projects included the fantasy crime drama Bright (2017) with Will Smith, the survival thriller Black Crab (2022), and the folk horror Lamb (2021), where she played a grieving farmer in an Icelandic setting, earning praise for its eerie subtlety.

Television expansions came with her role as intelligence operative Harriet Baumann in the second season of Tom Clancy’s Jack Ryan (2019), and more recently, as astronaut Jo Ericsson in the Apple TV+ series Constellation (2024), exploring psychological depths in space.

Accolades

For her riveting portrayal of Lisbeth Salander in The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo (2009), Rapace secured the Guldbagge Award for Best Actress—Sweden’s equivalent of the Oscar—along with a Satellite Award for Best Actress in a Motion Picture, Drama.

This performance also garnered her two Nymphe d’Or awards at the Monte-Carlo Television Festival, underscoring her impact in both film and the miniseries adaptation.

Nominations poured in from major international bodies, including a BAFTA Award for Best Actress in a Leading Role, an International Emmy for Best Actress, and a European Film Award for Best Actress, affirming her as a force in European cinema.

Her role in the trilogy’s sequels further solidified her status, earning additional honors like the Alliance of Women Film Journalists’ EDA Award for Best Female Action Star and the Empire Award for Best Actress in 2011.

Earlier accolades include Bodil and Robert Awards for Daisy Diamond (2007), Denmark’s top film prizes, celebrating her as an emerging talent.

For Beyond (2010), she clinched another Guldbagge for Best Actress, while her work in Babycall (2011) brought an Amandaprisen for Best Actress in Norway.

In 2021, her haunting performance in Lamb won her the Best Actress award at the Sitges Film Festival, with a nomination from the North Texas Film Critics Association.

Rapace’s contributions have also been honored with spotlight awards, such as the Hollywood Film Festival’s Spotlight Award and the Richard Attenborough Film Award, recognizing her breakthrough influence.

Over her career, she has amassed wins from critics’ circles like the Houston Area Film Critics Society, Las Vegas Film Critics Society, and St. Louis Film Critics Association, often for her action-heroine prowess.