Emmi Jurkka

{{Short description|Finnish actress, director and theatre manager}}

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| image = File:Emmi Jurkka Tussan Lyytin roolissa Nyrki Tapiovaaran elokuvassa Miehen tie (musketti.M012-HK19681123-234).jpg

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| caption = Jurkka in her role as Tussan Lyyti, in Nyrki Tapiovaara's One Man's Fate (1940)

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| birth_name = Emmi Irene Bergström

| birth_date = {{Birth date|1899|04|21|df=yes}}

| birth_place = Helsinki, Grand Duchy of Finland

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| death_date = {{Death date and age|1990|10|17|1899|04|21|df=yes}}

| death_place = Helsinki, Finland

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| spouse = {{marriage|Eino Jurkka|1922|1931|end=div}}

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Pro Finlandia (1954)
Jussi Award (1954)
Ida Aalberg Prize (1977)}}

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Emmi Jurkka ({{nee}} originally Bergström, later Tuomi; 21 April 1899 — 17 October 1990) was a Finnish actor and theatre manager, with a career in stage, film and TV spanning over 60 years.{{cite news |title=Emmi Jurkka |url=https://www.hs.fi/muistot/art-2000002625744.html |access-date=19 September 2022 |work=Helsingin Sanomat |date=17 October 1990 |language=fi}}

Career

Emmi Jurkka has been described as "legendary" in the world of Finnish theatre. As an actor, she was physical, sensual, expressive and immersive.{{cite web |title=Jurkka, Emmi (1899-1990) |url=https://kansallisbiografia.fi/kansallisbiografia/henkilo/5083 |website=Kansallisbiografia.fi |publisher=National Biography of Finland |access-date=19 September 2022 |language=fi}} She performed a wide range of roles, from tragic to comic, and serious to lighthearted.

=Stage=

During her career, Jurkka was attached to several Finnish theatres, including Turku City Theatre, Tampere Theatre Helsinki City Theatre and the Finnish National Theatre.

In 1953, Emmi Jurkka, together with her daughter Vappu, founded a small studio theatre, {{ill|Teatteri Jurkka|fi}}, which continues to operate to this day.{{cite web |title=Jurkka, Emmi |url=https://uppslagsverket.fi/sv/sok/view-170045-JurkkaEmmi |website=Uppslagsverket.fi |access-date=19 September 2022 |language=sv}}

=Film=

Jurkka appeared in over 40 films, mainly in the 1940s and 50s. Among her more notable roles was as Hilda Husso in the 1954 {{ill|Kun on tunteet|fi}}, for which she received the Best Supporting Actress Jussi Award.{{cite web |title=Emmi Jurkka |url=https://elonet.finna.fi/Search/Results?sort=main_date_str+asc&filter%5B%5D=%7Eauthor2_id_str_mv%3A%22kavi.elonet_henkilo_228946%22&filter%5B%5D=author2_id_role_str_mv%3A%22kavi.elonet_henkilo_228946%23%23%23act%22&filter%5B%5D=author2_id_role_str_mv%3Akavi.elonet_henkilo_228946%23%23%23drt&lookfor=emmi+jurkka&type=AllFields |website=Finna.fi |publisher=Elonet |access-date=19 September 2022 |language=fi}}

She is also credited with directing five short films.

Honours and awards

In 1954, Jurkka received the {{ill|Pro Finlandia|fi}} medal of the Order of the Lion of Finland,{{cite web |title=SUOMEN LEIJONAN PRO FINLANDIA -MITALIN SAAJAT 1945-2021 |url=https://ritarikunnat.fi/ritarikunnat/palkitut/suomen-leijonan-pro-finlandia-mitalin-saajat-aakkosjarjestyksessa/ |website=Ritarikunnat.fi |publisher=The Orders of the White Rose of Finland and the Lion of Finland |access-date=1 May 2022 |language=fi}} and in 1977, Finland's premier theatre award, the {{ill|Ida Aalberg Prize|fi|Ida Aalberg -palkinto}}.

Personal life

Emmi Jurkka was married to fellow thespian {{ill|Eino Jurkka|fi}}, and the couple had three children, Sakari, Jussi and {{ill|Vappu Jurkka|fi}}, each of whom also went into acting.{{cite book |title=Kuka Kukin On (Who's Who) |date=1954 |publisher=Otava |location=Helsinki |page=288 |url=https://runeberg.org/kuka/1954/0288.html |access-date=19 September 2022 |language=fi}}