Anna Bjorn
{{Redirect|Anna Björnsdóttir|the Icelandic poet|Anna Svanhildur Björnsdóttir}}
{{short description|Icelandic graphic designer, filmmaker, model, and actress}}
{{Icelandic name|Anna}}
{{Infobox pageant titleholder
| name = Anna Björnsdóttir
| image =
| alt =
| caption =
| birth_name =
| birth_date = {{Birth date and age|1954|07|04|df=y}}
| birth_place =
| nationality = Icelandic
| other_names = Anna Bjorn
| occupation = {{Hlist|Graphic designer|yoga instructor|documentary filmmaker|model|actress}}
| years_active =
| title = Miss Universe Iceland 1974
| competitions = Miss Universe Iceland 1974
(Winner)
Miss Universe 1974
(Unplaced)
}}
Anna Björnsdóttir (born 4 July 1954), also known as Anna Bjorn, is an Icelandic graphic designer, yoga instructor, documentary filmmaker, model, actress and beauty pageant title holder. In 1974, she represented Iceland in Miss Universe in Manila and was voted Miss Congenial by her fellow contestants.{{Cite news |title=Hún var vinsælust þeirra allra |url=https://timarit.is/page/3255102 |access-date=20 April 2022 |work=Vísir |date=22 July 1974 |language=Icelandic |via=Tímarit.is}} {{open access}}
Career
In the 1970s and 1980s, Anna had a successful modeling career, being represented by the Ford Modeling Agency in New York and Nina Blanchard in Los Angeles.{{cite news |author1=Katrín Pálsdóttir |title=Ford-fyrirsætur |url=https://timarit.is/page/4510599 |access-date=4 May 2022 |work=Vikan |date=27 February 1986 |page=5 |language=Icelandic |via=Tímarit.is}} {{open access}} She was featured in a great number of television commercials both in Europe and the United States and held exclusive contracts with Noxema and Vidal Sassoon. During that time she studied acting in Los Angeles and appeared in several films and television shows in the United States, such as More American Graffiti and The Sword and the Sorcerer and Get Crazy.{{cite news |title=Íslensk kvikmyndastjarna |url=https://timarit.is/page/4497127 |access-date=4 May 2022 |work=Vikan |date=24 December 1981 |page=25 |language=Icelandic |via=Tímarit.is}} {{open access}}{{cite news |author1=Ómar Valdimarsson |title=Málið er ekki að meika það |url=https://timarit.is/page/979384 |access-date=4 May 2022 |work=Helgarpósturinn |date=7 November 1983 |pages=12–13 |language=Icelandic |via=Tímarit.is}} {{open access}}
In 1982, Anna co-produced, filmed and edited the documentary From Iceland to Brazil, about Icelandic immigrants to Brazil in the 1870s, and in 1987, she produced and directed the documentary Love & War, about the "war brides" of Iceland.
She became a certified yoga instructor in 1994, having practiced yoga since the late 1970s. She opened her own yoga studio, Yogastöð Vesturbæjar/Yoga West, in Reykjavík, Iceland, in 1994{{cite news |title=Jógastöð Vesturbæjar í nýtt húsnæði |url=https://www.mbl.is/greinasafn/grein/687534/ |access-date=20 April 2022 |work=Morgunblaðið |date=13 September 2002 |language=Icelandic}} and sold the company in 2007.
In 2003, Anna graduated from the Iceland Academy of the Arts with a BA degree in graphic design. Since then she has worked as a freelance graphic designer, focusing on logo and book design.
Personal life
Anna was married to musician Jakob Frímann Magnússon.{{Cite web |title=Jakob Frímann Magnússon |url=https://www.althingi.is/altext/cv/is/?nfaerslunr=1114 |access-date=2023-01-08 |website=Alþingi |language=is}}
She divides her time between Europe and the United States.{{cn|date=July 2019}} Her partner since 1994 is advertising CEO Halldór Guðmundsson.{{cn|date=July 2019}}
In 2011, The Boston Globe claimed that she gave the FBI information that led to gangster and fugitive Whitey Bulger's capture.{{Cite web|date=2011-10-10|title=Former Beauty Queen To Receive $2 Million For Turning Whitey In|url=https://www.huffpost.com/entry/anna-bjorn-whitey-bulger-_n_1003638|access-date=2021-01-12|website=HuffPost|language=en}}{{cite news |author1=Kristjana Björg Guðbrandsdóttir |title=Nágranninn hættulegasti glæpamaður Bandaríkjanna |url=https://www.visir.is/g/20151513093d |access-date=20 April 2022 |work=Vísir.is |date=10 October 2015 |language=Icelandic}} A reward of US$2 million had been offered for information leading to his capture.
References
{{reflist}}
Filmography
=Film=
| class="wikitable" |
| Year
! Film ! Role |
|---|
| 1979
| Eva |
| 1982
| Elizabeth |
| 1982
| Með allt á hreinu (On Top: US title) | Hekla |
| 1982
| From Iceland to Brazil | producer |
| 1983
| Countess Chantaminaa |
| 1987
| Love and War | director/producer |
=Television=
| class="wikitable" |
| Year
! Title ! Role ! Other notes |
|---|
| 1981
| Kristin | Guest star |
| 1982
| Erica | Guest star |
| 1983/1984
| Connie/Monique | Guest star |
| 1985
| Reporter | Guest star |
| 1986
| Dream West (TV) | Angelique | Guest star |
| 1986
| Riptide | | Guest star |
| 1991
| Ingrid | Guest star |
External links
- {{IMDb name|id=0084861|name=Anna Bjorn}}
{{Miss Universe 1974 delegates}}
{{authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bjorn, Anna}}
Category:20th-century Icelandic actresses
Category:Icelandic graphic designers
Category:Women graphic designers
Category:Icelandic expatriates in the United States
Category:Icelandic female models
Category:Icelandic film actresses
Category:Icelandic television actresses