Pippi Longstocking is simply a part of Christmas. The humorous stories about the strongest girl in the world and her friends Tommy and Annika have been delighting TV fans for decades. Over 50 years have passed since it was first broadcast. That’s why we ask the question: What happened to the child stars of the Swedish cult classic?
Pippi Longstocking is cult: This is what the child actors of Pippi, Annika and Tommy became
The first Pippi Longstocking film was released in Germany in 1969 and hit like a bomb. To this day it is one of the most successful films of all time in this country. The film adaptations of the children’s book classics written by cult author Astrid Lindgren (Ronja the Robber’s Daughter) became an international hit, providing warm, cozy moments of nostalgia, especially at Christmas. But what actually happened to the Pippi stars? Here is a photo that shows the actors today. Would you have recognized her?
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Tommy – Doesn’t want to know anything about the acting business anymore
The role of nine-year-old Thomas Settergren (better known as Tommy) was played by Pär Sundberg. The blonde rascal has become a down-to-earth adult: the former child actor is now 67 years old. After the success of Pippi Longstocking, Sundberg had no interest in further acting roles. He himself is said not to have rated his talent particularly highly. The former child star made a career in the marketing business and now lives away from the celebrity hustle and bustle in Sweden and Spain.
Annika – Sad fate after the Pippi success
The role of Annika was played by Maria Persson, and the actress is now 65 years old. Although she became famous overnight, Persson was not granted a long-lasting career in the film business. As Merkur reports, the child stars hardly benefited from the mega success of the Pippi films. They are said to have received a ridiculous 2,000 euros for the roles.
Persson appears angry in an interview with Kurier.at: “If you think about how many people have become rich because of this and we have nothing.”
After the Pippi films, the Annika actress worked as a nurse, but she had to give up the job for health reasons. She now lives on the subsistence level.
Pippi – She is still in the acting business today
Inger Nilsson became world famous in the role of Pippi Longstocking. Back then, she stood out with her memorable laugh, which made millions of children’s hearts beat faster. At first everything seemed to indicate that the now 65-year-old would no longer have any further success as an actress, because interest suddenly waned after Pippi. For many years she worked as a secretary away from the media hype and only had small theater roles.
In the 2000s, Nilsson made a surprising comeback: From 2007 to 2020 she played the role of forensic doctor Ewa in the ZDF crime thriller The Commissioner and the Sea. The actress can now be seen more often in crime films and her smile is still recognizable today.
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