by Emma Firth
1. She calls London home
Vikander is no stranger to slumming it. After leaving Gothenburg in 2011, she rented a rat-infested flat in Notting Hill with Swedish electropop duo Icona Pop (Aino Jawo and Caroline Hjelt) and another pal. ???Four girls sharing two single beds,??? she told the Telegraph in February 2015. ???The area was great, but the flat was the dirtiest bachelorette pad! We had a big pile of clothes in the middle of the room and we just shared everything.??? Their Sunday night DVD binge? The ???Bourne??? franchise, naturally. Good film prep!
2. Ballet is in her blood
It???s hard to be believe acting was her Plan B. Vikander trained from aged nine until she was 18 years old at the Royal Swedish Ballet School in Stockholm, leaving her home in Gothenburg at 15 to board there. ???I realised I really loved to dance and be on stage, but it???s also three, four hours of training every day to do that,??? Alicia told Harper???s Bazaar in 2015. ???I was quite hard on myself and jealous emotionally of some of the girls who I saw just loved it.??? After a brief flirtation of becoming a lawyer, at 20 she bagged the lead role in the critically acclaimed coming-of-age film, Pure (2002). The rest is history.
1. She calls London home
Vikander is no stranger to slumming it. After leaving Gothenburg in 2011, she rented a rat-infested flat in Notting Hill with Swedish electropop duo Icona Pop (Aino Jawo and Caroline Hjelt) and another pal. ???Four girls sharing two single beds,??? she told the Telegraph in February 2015. ???The area was great, but the flat was the dirtiest bachelorette pad! We had a big pile of clothes in the middle of the room and we just shared everything.??? Their Sunday night DVD binge? The ???Bourne??? franchise, naturally. Good film prep!
2. Ballet is in her blood
It???s hard to be believe acting was her Plan B. Vikander trained from aged nine until she was 18 years old at the Royal Swedish Ballet School in Stockholm, leaving her home in Gothenburg at 15 to board there. ???I realised I really loved to dance and be on stage, but it???s also three, four hours of training every day to do that,??? Alicia told Harper???s Bazaar in 2015. ???I was quite hard on myself and jealous emotionally of some of the girls who I saw just loved it.??? After a brief flirtation of becoming a lawyer, at 20 she bagged the lead role in the critically acclaimed coming-of-age film, Pure (2002). The rest is history.
3. Alicia’s been dubbed the next Keira Knightley
After making a name for herself on the Scandinavian film and TV circuit in her early 20s, it was a role in Joe Wright’s adaptation of Anna Karenina in 2012, her first English-language film, that propelled her to international stardom. Since then, she’s gained accolades for her roles in period dramas from Testament of Youth (2014), playing a young Vera Brittain to The Danish Girl (2015). Next up? There’s Tom Stoppard’s Tulip Fever set in the 17th century, opposite Cara Delevingne and Judi Dench to look forward to and talks of playing a young Agatha Christie in a new biopic.
4. She’s in the driving seat
Aware of her fortune taking on strong, feminist characters, she’s now shining the spotlight on female-driven films in Hollywood, after launching her new production company, Vikarious. Solid name choice. “It’s more about equality,” Alicia shared with Stylist magazine in July 2016. “And making sure that we have both women and men both in front of the camera, but even more, also, behind [the camera].”
5. She fashion’s new darling
She channeled Princess Belle to pick up her first Academy Award in February and donned a sci-fi sequined ensemble at the Jason Bourne premiere in London. The 27-year-old’s effortless Scandi style has captured the attention of pretty much every major designer. Although Louis Vuitton get first dibs dressing her; in 2015 LV’s artistic director Nicolas Ghesquière enlisted the then up-and-comer to front their AW15 campaign. And voilà – a style icon is born.
6. Her relationship is Hollywood’s worst kept secret
Sorry, Hiddleswift, but 2016’s hottest – and most humble – A-list pairing goes to Alicia Vikander and actor Michael Fassbender. While the duo have remained tight-lipped on their romance since meeting two years ago on the set of intimate drama The Light Between Oceans (2016), actions speak much louder than words. No cosy selfies to see here though – they’re both social media-free.
After making a name for herself on the Scandinavian film and TV circuit in her early 20s, it was a role in Joe Wright’s adaptation of Anna Karenina in 2012, her first English-language film, that propelled her to international stardom. Since then, she’s gained accolades for her roles in period dramas from Testament of Youth (2014), playing a young Vera Brittain to The Danish Girl (2015). Next up? There’s Tom Stoppard’s Tulip Fever set in the 17th century, opposite Cara Delevingne and Judi Dench to look forward to and talks of playing a young Agatha Christie in a new biopic.
4. She’s in the driving seat
Aware of her fortune taking on strong, feminist characters, she’s now shining the spotlight on female-driven films in Hollywood, after launching her new production company, Vikarious. Solid name choice. “It’s more about equality,” Alicia shared with Stylist magazine in July 2016. “And making sure that we have both women and men both in front of the camera, but even more, also, behind [the camera].”
5. She fashion’s new darling
She channeled Princess Belle to pick up her first Academy Award in February and donned a sci-fi sequined ensemble at the Jason Bourne premiere in London. The 27-year-old’s effortless Scandi style has captured the attention of pretty much every major designer. Although Louis Vuitton get first dibs dressing her; in 2015 LV’s artistic director Nicolas Ghesquière enlisted the then up-and-comer to front their AW15 campaign. And voilà – a style icon is born.
6. Her relationship is Hollywood’s worst kept secret
Sorry, Hiddleswift, but 2016’s hottest – and most humble – A-list pairing goes to Alicia Vikander and actor Michael Fassbender. While the duo have remained tight-lipped on their romance since meeting two years ago on the set of intimate drama The Light Between Oceans (2016), actions speak much louder than words. No cosy selfies to see here though – they’re both social media-free.
