Before finishing her studies, she attracted the attention of Ingmar Bergman, who cast her in his film Fanny and Alexander (1982),[4] playing the nanny in the director's romanticised portrait of his childhood. That marked the beginning of two decades of collaboration, collecting several international awards, including television series The Best Intentions (1991),[5] in which she portrayed Bergman's mother and met her second husband to be, director Bille August,[4] and TV-productions Private Confessions (1996), directed by Liv Ullmann and Bergman's own In the Presence of a Clown (1997).[6]
In October 2011, August was asked to direct a new Danish drama series, Arvingerne (The Legacy). The series premiered on DR on 1 January 2014,[16] and proved to be very successful, winning several awards and selling internationally to over 40 countries. It was renewed for two further series, which finished airing in 2017.[17]
In 2002 she was honoured with the Royal Swedish medal Litteris et Artibus for her artistic work.[20]
Personal life
August has been married twice and changed her name both times. In 1982, she married Klas Östergren, with whom she had one daughter.[21] The marriage ended in divorce in 1989. Her second marriage, in 1991, was to Bille August, with whom she has two daughters. That marriage also ended in divorce, in 1997.[22] Her daughters are Agnes, Asta, and Alba.[23]
She has been known as Pernilla Östergren, Pernilla Wallgren, and Pernilla Wallgren-Östergren.[24]
